Many middle schoolers just don’t consider oral sex to be sex. And why should they when they aren’t being taught to the contrary? Ignoring the issue does not make it go away.

Kids today seem to be growing up faster and faster. When I was twelve, I didn’t have a cell phone, a boyfriend or a sex life. Today our sixth, seventh and eighth graders are increasingly having more of these.

Since sex is becoming a big middle school topic, one would think that school systems would accommodate this trend with a more thorough sex ed class. This is not the case. In fact, many public schools are ignoring this increased interest in middle school sex and do not provide a complete sex curriculum to their students.

When I say sex, I don’t just mean sexual intercourse but also sexual touching, anal and oral sex. It seems that Milwaukee and most of the surrounding areas (Grafton, New Berlin, West Bend, Waukesha and Wauwatosa to name a few) do not include oral sex in their curriculum at all.

Oral sex is sex. By not teaching our youth this, we are simply throwing more fuel on the fire. Many middle schoolers just don’t consider oral sex to be sex. And why should they when they aren’t being taught to the contrary? Ignoring the issue does not make it go away.

I understand that the topic of sex makes people uncomfortable. It makes some parents uncomfortable, whether it pertains to their child or not. However, I must say, parents, you have to toughen up and have “the talk” with your 10-year-olds. And this talk should include all forms of sex, not just intercourse.

Some school faculty in Milwaukee have chosen not to address oral sex because the community doesn’t want their children to know about it. Well, community, here’s a rude awakening: They already know about it. You can’t keep your children from the real world, but you can educate them as to how to handle the real world. Let them know what’s out there, what the consequences are, and how to handle themselves best.

This, to me, seems like the superior response. And whether the community wants it or not, MPS should still be holding their sexual education classes, informing their students of all the aspects of sex: physical, emotional and mental. If the parents choose to keep their child out of that offered course, then that’s on them.

I think it’s terrible that our school system and communities are not accommodating our middle school students to the best of their ability. This is directly affecting the increase of sexually active middle schoolers.

We need to tell them that, like sexual intercourse, oral sex can transmit diseases. They need to know that oral sex is something intimate and can cause emotional distress. They need to know that they are too young to handle any sexual relationships and that such relationships are illegal.

By remaining quiet, you’re leaving them with a blank sheet to fill in as they please. We’re leaving our children to figure it out for themselves, and unless we change that, we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

> Comments