For 25 years or so, most public schools have taught a brand of sex education that supplies students with information about the body’s sexual system. They also have taught that sex is healthy, not “dirty,” but that waiting until marriage to have intercourse is a wise thing to do. Many teachers and public health officials felt that this approach would reduce the terrible toll of teenage sex: unwanted babies and sexually transmitted diseases. They were wrong. Mostly, these programs have failed.

But over the last 10 years, a new approach has been developed. Tightly focused on teaching methods that help teenagers change their behavior, this new method is showing signs of success. Instead of relying mainly on conveying information about sex or moral precepts, the new approach focuses on discovering and actually using behavior that will prevent pregnancy or disease.

Teachers of the new sex education approach are like coaches who help players perfect and apply what they learn at practice sessions. The goal is to win in an actual game. Through role-playing practice, for example, students anticipate some of the moves of their “opponents,” whose goal would be sexual intercourse or sex without protection. The strategy is to know what moves to expect and to achieve one’s own desired outcome: having fun without an unwanted pregnancy or a disease. Using games and interesting exercises that strengthen social skills, youngsters learn to say no effectively and confidently.

Acknowledging that many teens are sexually active, the new sex education pinpoints real-life results of irresponsible sex and urges self-protection. Pragmatic, not preachy, it combines learning theory with a hard look at the realities:

• Since the early 1970s, the teenage birthrate has been rising. Yearly, more than a million girls become pregnant, and about half of them give birth.

•   In some inner cities, 80 percent of teenagers’ babies are born out of wedlock. Nationally, the figure is closer to 50 percent.

•   More than 25 billion dollars a year in federal taxes support teenagers and their babies.

•   Most children who are parents before they leave high school – and before marriage – face a harsh future: less education, less chance of getting a job, dismal prospects for a happy marriage. Most of the hardship falls on the female.

•   Females more easily catch sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, one of the leading causes of death for Americans aged 25 to 44 (number 1 for men, number 4 for women). AIDS can be dormant for up to 10 years, so it would seem that many were infected as teenagers.

•   Teenage girls get gonorrhea at a rate 22 times greater than older women. And despite antibiotics, sterility can result.

The newer sex education programs, which require student interaction, can help teenagers change their sexual behavior for the better, social scientists say. Early studies of two new programs show that junior and senior high school students in the programs delayed first sexual intercourse by at least 2 years longer than their untaught peers. Also, unprotected sex among older students already sexually active fell by 40 percent. Research on other, similar programs showed that many students had even reduced the number of sexual partners.

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