--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need to engage our youth with…" description: "\"We need to engage our youth with education at this point, because we tried our best to hide it from them, but the secret is out. Sex happens, and until..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/merle-rutledge-jr-12484_education_we-need-to-engage-our-youth-with-educati_2512781.jpg" --- # We need to engage our youth with education at this point… ![“We need to engage our youth with education at this point, because we tried our best to hide it from them, but the secret is out. Sex happens, and until we accept that this is just a normal way of life, than we already defeated our intent in trying to prevent a phenomenon.” quote by Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/merle-rutledge-jr-12484_education_we-need-to-engage-our-youth-with-educati_2512781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/merle-rutledge-jr-12484_education_we-need-to-engage-our-youth-with-educati_2512781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/merle-rutledge-jr-12484_education_we-need-to-engage-our-youth-with-educati_2512781.jpg) > “We need to engage our youth with education at this point, because we tried our best to hide it from them, but the secret is out. Sex happens, and until we accept that this is just a normal way of life, than we already defeated our intent in trying to prevent a phenomenon.” [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth must be educated about sex openly; hiding it fuels ignorance, and acceptance normalizes reality, preventing futile prevention attempts. **In simple terms:** Teach sex openly to youth; denial worsens the issue. Key Takeaway Educate rather than conceal. Themes education sexual health youth openness Mood concerned hopeful Type advocacy educational When to use this quote - schools - parental guidance - media campaigns Key Concepts public health social norms Questions to Reflect On - What barriers exist to honest sex education? - How can we balance cultural values with factual teaching? A Different Perspective Open discussion can clash with cultural taboos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Sex\] is something big and cosmic. What else do we have? There's only birth and death and the union of two people - and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/sex-is-something-big-and-cosmic-what-else-do-we-have-there-s-only/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [“JAX: I like secret sex in naughty places, and naughty places to have secret sex. 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The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/every-gun-that-is-made-every-warship-launched-every-rocket-fired/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/regardless-of-how-you-feel-about-war-and-peace-those-serving-military/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) ## More by Merle Rutledge Jr > [Even through rainy days, the sun will always shine. 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In the beginning it may seem like the world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge-jr/sometimes-break-ups-and-divorce-is-the-best-gift-you-can-have-in-life/) [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) > [Its the worse thing to be in a relationship, and have a empty feeling everyday while in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge-jr/its-the-worse-thing-to-be-in-a-relationship-and-have-a-empty-feeling/) [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) > [Change starts in someone life, when they decide to stop doing the same shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge-jr/change-starts-in-someone-life-when-they-decide-to-stop-doing-the-same/) [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) > [If you have a young leader in your home or in your neighborhood. 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The choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge-jr/we-can-get-what-they-are-willing-to-give-you-or-you-can-take-back/) [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) > [Its hard to look good if you spent most of your life acting ugly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge-jr/its-hard-to-look-good-if-you-spent-most-of-your-life-acting-ugly/) [Merle Rutledge Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge-jr/) > [Being single is a gift, take time to learn more about it and to enjoy it. 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But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. 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(Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need to engage our youth with education at this point, because we tried our best to hide it from them, but the secret is out. 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