Third-year Miami University nursing students will serve as peer educators for the Mar. 9 and Mar. 30 sessions of the teen pregnancy prevention program FOCUS, sponsored by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Hamilton. The comprehensive sex education program, in its second year, provides information for both abstinence and safe sex practices and behaviors for young women ages 16 to 19.
The team educates young women about sexual health issues that may be uncomfortable to talk about, such as getting tested for STIs and understanding ovulation cycles, through role-play and presentations.
The editorial board of The Miami Student feels this program is a beneficial way to teach sex education.
The nursing students serving as peer educators will gain valuable experience for real world application, and the young women participating in the program will receive valuable information on an important aspect of their lives and wellbeing. In this situation, everyone wins.
These young women will perhaps respond better to another young adult talking to them about sex and protection, as opposed to someone older, where there may be a generational disconnect.
The Miami students involved in the program will gain constructive experience of their own as they learn to teach others and train to become nurses themselves.
These students are helping to form a better society-one where the more educated we are, the better choices we make.
The particular age group the program educates is important as well, as these are the ages where many young women are either becoming sexually active or already are sexually active.
In today's society, younger people are constantly bombarded with negative and unrealistic standards, such as MTV and "16 and Pregnant" where teenage mothers become celebrities. The peer educators will serve to be positive and helpful influences for these young women.
The editorial board is proud of the fact that this national Christian organization is supporting classes on the reality of sex- including contraceptive methods in addition to abstinence.
Overall, the program allows everyone the best and most trustworthy information from reliable sources, while not making the subject of sex a taboo in any way.
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