Sex, a three-letter word that has everyone on their toes. A word so simple, yet the problems that come with it are anything but. As of 2006, 46% of all 15-19-year-olds had engaged in sexual intercourse according to the Guttmacher Institute. According to the DeKalb County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2007), in DeKalb County alone, 56.7% of teens have had sex before.

With the threat of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), HIV, or AIDS the act of teens being responsible when partaking in sexual activities is imperative. While some states and counties take the abstinence approach, other school systems are taking the initiative in developing more responsible sexually active teenagers. They are no longer pretending to be oblivious to the situation. Many are now taking a better approach toward creating a more effective sex education program.

The typical approach taken by many states is the fear factor approach. “Don’t have sex, because you will get Chlamydia and die,” is a very familiar line for anyone who has seen the movie sensation, Mean Girls. Although this statement may be an exaggeration, it’s not far from the fear factor approach taken by many schools.

“Media is a negative influence,” said Biologist Molly Clay at the Fernbank Science Center and a member of the sex education board. “Putting on a condom is not considered ‘romantic’.”

In DeKalb County, the policy is abstinence-based. The instructors can show a condom in a package, but they cannot take the condom out of the package and let students practice using condoms. They are only allowed to talk about abortions, miscarriages, or homosexuality is asked.

“Teachers are legally required to say the best way to prevent an STI is abstinence, but if you are going to have sex this is how you can protect yourself,” said Clay.

In the 2007 DeKalb County Youth Risk Behavior Survey 14.1% of teens had sex before the age of 13, decreasing from 2005’s result of 15.1%. DeKalb’s ninth grade class of 2007 led the way with 19% of them having sex before 13 while the 12th graders had 7%.

With this alarming percentage of teens engaging in sexual activity at such a young age, it creates a dilemma about what age children should begin learning about sexual education because of their immaturity (inability to say penis without students laughing), or their being uncomfortable talking about sex in front of their peers.

Another approach toward educating teens about sex is being looked into. In North Carolina teens are using text messaging to educate themselves about sex. The teens send an anonymous text message to the Birds and Bees Text Line, headed by the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina relating to any sexual inquiries they may have. Many teens prefer this approach because it eliminates the factor of embarrassment. Teens text questions such as If you take a shower before you have sex, are you less likely to get pregnant? Why do guys think it’s cool to sleep with a girl and tell their friends? Does a normal penis have wrinkles? How can I stop myself from giving in to sexual temptations?

“I think communicating with teens in whatever way they need to ask a question is important,” said Sally Swanson, an expert who answers questions at the Birds and Bees Text Line in an interview with the New York Times.

Many teens are curious about sex but aren’t properly educated about sex to fulfill their sexual inquiries. Teens still engage in sexual activities with many of their curiosities unanswered. As a result, these teens are at a high risk of contracting an STI or HIV.