For as long as I’ve been able to string together a complete sentence adults have told me knowledge is power. Knowledge is power to – insert some random verb here.

But the promise of rewards for getting educated isn’t always as glorious as it seems. Since knowledge is dispensed by the government through the public school system there is a permanent filter that gives the thumbs up or down as to what young people are allowed to lodge into their growing brains.

Last week the United States Democratic lead Senate voted to continue funding the abstinence-education program in U.S. schools. As described by one of the supporters of the program, the National Abstinence Education Association:

“The extension for Abstinence Education reveals the bi-partisan support for this best health message,” said Valerie Huber, Executive Director, NAEA, “and while extremely helpful, the short-term extension makes it challenging for states to implement the program. Abstinence Education providers need sustained funding for a minimum of one year in order to assure a dependable and consistent operation of their programs.”

Obviously, not everyone is thrilled about the continuing use of abstinence in teaching young children about sex. The organization, Advocates for Youth, responded to the decision:

Last April, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc released the findings of a 10-year, congressionally-mandated evaluation of abstinence-only programs. The evaluation clearly stated that “Youth in the [abstinence-only] program group were no more likely than control group youth to have abstained from sex and, among those who reported having had sex, had similar numbers of sexual partners and had initiated sex at the same mean age [as the control group].” In short, the PROGRAMS DON’T WORK!

What I think the whole institute of education really needs is to be a lot less prepackaged. Instead of cramming our kids with our own ideals, we should be fostering an independent form of thinking. Give them both sides of the story and let them figure out what they want to do. Whether or not they would rather choose abstinence over a condom is really up to them, but it is their right to be informed first before making that decision.
—Eming Piansay