When I walked into health class my freshman year, I was expecting the basics: don’t vape, don’t drink, your mental health matters and how to have safe sex. I was met with most of what I anticipated, except the dreaded birds and the bees talk. When contraceptives came up, we were met with a response that they “weren’t allowed to show them” to us. An odd response that has haunted me for years. Why can we not teach our students the weight of their actions? Are the opinions of our community more important than our students’ well being and safety?

According to Michigan Legislature (MCL – Section 380.1507b), sex education is not required, rather it is up to the school system to decide whether they teach sex ed or not, with some requirements. The curriculum must have information on HIV and AIDS along with other sexually transmitted diseases. The class must also teach students the wrongness of taking advantage of someone, exploiting someone or harassing someone sexually, but consent is not mandatory to teach. In addition, it requires teachers to preach abstinence, but they are “not prohibited” from teaching ways of behavioral risk reduction.

South’s Curriculum, though said to have information on reproductive health, barely grazed on the subject my freshman year. From time to time, there was a statement on the effects of unsafe sex, but nothing that would actually prepare us for the results of the decisions we make in our lives. I personally believe that our sex ed unit must have more extensive content. When we do not provide the proper information to our students to keep them safe, they often result in making unsafe decisions. In a study through the Guttmacher Institute, it was found that condom availability in schools didn’t create a significant increase in sexual activity, but rather an increase in their usage. Shouldn’t protecting our students be highest on our priority list? So why do we choose to promote ideas that do not serve the best interest of our students?

In addition, we spent a significant amount of time coloring and working on stress management. While these tactics can be helpful, I feel as if time could be better spent on other things. Though mental health is a major issue, it is not that much more important than other things. I feel like we should be spending equal amounts of time on equally important matters.

Health should be a required class for every high school student, not just a box to check off for graduation. It’s one of the few courses that prepares us for the real world, teaching lessons that directly impact our safety, well-being and relationships. Yet, when schools treat health like an afterthought by pushing other “more academic“ classes onto students, we are left to fill in the blanks themselves, often through unreliable sources like social media or peers.

When we invest time in teaching students how to take care of themselves physically, mentally and emotionally, we build stronger, safer and more empathetic communities. By making it a required and comprehensive part of education, schools send the message that our well-being matters just as much as our grades.

So instead of glossing over the uncomfortable or difficult conversations, let’s face them. Students deserve a curriculum that doesn’t shy away from reality, but rather equips us to live it wisely.

There is a meeting scheduled for Wed. October 21, working with Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency (Wayne RESA) to align the curriculums in our district from kindergarten through high school.