Sex education is a subject of major interest among adolescents, especially during puberty. The period of puberty is generally characterized by an increase in sexual desire and maturity of the sexual organs. Sex education is of utmost importance during this time to avoid deadly mistakes. The debate over sex education began in the early 1960s, when the government sponsored a $176 million school sex education campaign (Lemken 2). This innovation arouses the interest of many prestigious American citizens, and the debate on the legalization of sex education is intensifying. It is worth noting that towards the end of the 1960s, after analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of sex education, it was finally legalized in the United States. American journalist Cindy Patton estimates that "around 40% of all high schools in the United States have introduced sex." education as a free option for students. »(26). We therefore see that sex education has become an integral part of the high school curriculum. Although sex education has been frowned upon by many parents, it should be encouraged because it teaches adolescents how to live a healthy sex life; thereby reducing the rate of teenage pregnancies, rape and sexually transmitted diseases in society. The human body is a very complex structure and as such, understanding the delicate parts of the body should be fundamental among adolescents. Bailey Kristen, the author of Sex Education, notes that the trend toward sex education is over. He says most people feel sex education gives teens false information about their bodies. Additionally, they believe it is the duty of most parents to educate their children about their sex lives and not those of strangers. This statement is actually v...... middle of paper ......ation(NEA). New York: NEA.org, June 2008. Print. Manfredi, L. “Sexual desire among adolescents.” Sexis Magazine. New York: copyright 2009 SeXis Magazine Corporation, May 4, 2009. Page 4. Print. Ogunleye, Kingsley. “Open sex communication/education and HIV/AIDS prevention among Nigerian adolescents and youth.” Guardian Journal. Abuja: Copyright 2003-2009 Guardian Newspaper Limited, March 18, 2005. Page 12. Print.Patton, Cindy. Deadly Tip: How Safe Sex Ed Gone Wrong. Durham North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1996. Pages 23-26. Print Ridini, Steven. “Health and sexuality education in schools”. Journal of Social Change. Westport, CT, London: Bergin and Garvey, 1998. 31-42. Print.Sprecher, Susan. “Perceptions of sources of sex education and targets of sexual communication: sociodemographic and cohort effects.” Journal of Sexual Research 45 (2008). Pages 32 to 47. Print.