Celebrating Teen Pregnancy

[chanel]

As many of you know I am a high school teacher in NJ. Our county has the highest child abuse and substance abuse rates in the state according to Kids Count - a child advocacy group. We are 2nd in teen pregnancy. This year we have an unusually high number of visibly pregnant girls and several that are not yet showing. The preggers are given special privileges in school such as eating and drinking in class and to come and go as they please to the restroom. I don't have a problem with that. However in addition, they are allowed to leave class 5 mins early so they don't get "bumped into" in the halls and essentially lose 40 mins of instruction a day. Some of the teachers have hosted baby showers and taken up collections for the new babies. While noble and compassionate, I do not believe getting knocked up at 16 is something to celebrate with cake and balloons.

Your thoughts.

 

[AllieBaba]

There's nothing wrong with providing support, as it benefits the babies. But for kids who come from dysfunctional homes, of course seeing these pregnant girls get special privileges and gifts is going to send the message that pregnant = good. Perhaps they had it right when girls who got knocked up were hustled off to "homes" for their pregnancies, and the babies were put up for adoption..and the girls returned to their lives.

 

[chanel]

That is my fear. The girls are getting a lot of positive attention that they probably never got before, and it is sending the message that pregnancy is good. And in some cases I am certain that the baby is seen as another welfare check. I think its great that the girls aren't dropping out of school, but it is doubtful that many of them will be anything more than a welfare queen. That's all they know.

Another new phenomenon is girls intentionally not graduating in order to stay in school til they are 21. Free daycare.

I don't agree with putting these girls on a pedestal. Spreading ones legs is not an achievement.Squirrels can breed too.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Around these parts, unmarried girls, regardless of age - high school or older - wear being pregnant and unmarried as a badge of honor. Pretty sad, huh?

 

[xsited1]

I once heard Zig Ziglar say that if you don't find love at home, you'll look for it somewhere else. Some like to blame it on poverty, but I think it has more to do with an unstable home life. In any case, they are right on target to become welfare and section-8 housing recipients.

 

[Jay Canuck]

can I see a link to where they are sitting down to cake and balloons?

 

[Jay Canuck]

Teen birth rates highest in most religious states
MSNBC - 9-17-09Link may be due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.​

 

[RodISHI]

I think the pg girls will have a tough road ahead no matter what.

Teachers giving baby showers to the girls is maybe giving them some attention they do not get at home. Is that bad or is it something they will be able recall as a kindness they received in the years ahead when times are tough? Public housing and welfare never looked like a picnic to me.

If there are that many in your schools why can't they be in a class of their own? What kind of program does NJ have for these pg teens? What kind of programs does NJ have to help curb teen pregnancy? Are your classes overfull? Do the girls have counselors? If there are that many why not put them in a class of their own?

 

[alan1]

As many of you know I am a high school teacher in NJ. Our county has the highest child abuse and substance abuse rates in the state according to Kids Count - a child advocacy group. We are 2nd in teen pregnancy. This year we have an unusually high number of visibly pregnant girls and several that are not yet showing. The preggers are given special privileges in school such as eating and drinking in class and to come and go as they please to the restroom. I don't have a problem with that. However in addition, they are allowed to leave class 5 mins early so they don't get "bumped into" in the halls and essentially lose 40 mins of instruction a day. Some of the teachers have hosted baby showers and taken up collections for the new babies. While noble and compassionate, I do not believe getting knocked up at 16 is something to celebrate with cake and balloons.

Your thoughts.

Just curious, were those showers hosted at the school?
If a teacher want's to host a baby shower on their own time and not on school property, I guess that's ok.

Who were the teachers taking up the collection from? Was it other teachers?, Students? Was there any pressure put on people?
I don't think taking up collections is bad, but if they pressured anybody, or took time out from their actual work to do it, not so good.

My bottom line is that teen pregnancy shouldn't be glamorized, especially in a high school.
The other kids might learn something if the baby was brought to class while it was nothing but a crying machine at one end and a shit factory at the other. Let them see how often diapers have to be changed during the day, and some of them might not think its so special anymore.

 

[RodISHI]

My bottom line is that teen pregnancy shouldn't be glamorized, especially in a high school.
The other kids might learn something if the baby was brought to class while it was nothing but a crying machine at one end and a shit factory at the other. Let them see how often diapers have to be changed during the day, and some of them might not think its so special anymore.

Good idea if parents agree with this.

 

[AllieBaba]

Teen birth rates highest in most religious states
MSNBC - 9-17-09Link may be due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.​

And murders are highest in DC. We already went down this stupid path. We determined that government programs lead to syphillis, pregnancy, and disease. Remember?

 

[alan1]

Teen birth rates highest in most religious states
MSNBC - 9-17-09Link may be due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.​

And teen abortion rates are highest in liberal states, Top Ten States with Highest Teenage Abortion Rates
I hope neither of those facts is a surprise to you.

 

[Mr. H.]

My 21 y/o is fairly serious about his 17 y/o girlfriend. She's a senior in high school. I reminded him he probably does not want to become a father at this age. "Got it covered, dad."

I also told him pregnancy isn't a crisis nor is it a problem- it's a beautiful thing. But if and when the day comes he better be damn well prepared for the responsibility.

Schools should also use this opportunity to educate students about such responsibilities.

 

[alan1]

My 21 y/o is fairly serious about his 17 y/o girlfriend. She's a senior in high school. I reminded him he probably does not want to become a father at this age. "Got it covered, dad."

I also told him pregnancy isn't a crisis nor is it a problem- it's a beautiful thing. But if and when the day comes he better be damn well prepared for the responsibility.

Schools should also use this opportunity to educate students about such responsibilities.

Tell your 21 yo son he is also at risk of being charged for statutory rape.

 

[Modbert]

Tell your 21 yo son he is also at risk of being charged for statutory rape.

That's what I figured when I first read that. But I think it goes by AoC in each state. If one is under 15 however, I assume it is automatically statutory rape.

 

[alan1]

Tell your 21 yo son he is also at risk of being charged for statutory rape.

That's what I figured when I first read that. But I think it goes by AoC in each state. If one is under 15 however, I assume it is automatically statutory rape.

True, each state as AoC laws, and I don't know what state Mr H's son is in, but most frown upon 21 and 17 when it comes to sex.
Being tagged as a sex offender at age 21 might be hard on his life.

 

[Mr. H.]

Tell your 21 yo son he is also at risk of being charged for statutory rape.

Not in IL.

 

[eots]

As many of you know I am a high school teacher in NJ. Our county has the highest child abuse and substance abuse rates in the state according to Kids Count - a child advocacy group. We are 2nd in teen pregnancy. This year we have an unusually high number of visibly pregnant girls and several that are not yet showing. The preggers are given special privileges in school such as eating and drinking in class and to come and go as they please to the restroom. I don't have a problem with that. However in addition, they are allowed to leave class 5 mins early so they don't get "bumped into" in the halls and essentially lose 40 mins of instruction a day. Some of the teachers have hosted baby showers and taken up collections for the new babies. While noble and compassionate, I do not believe getting knocked up at 16 is something to celebrate with cake and balloons.

Your thoughts.

any pregnancy should be celebrated it is perfectly natural for a 16 yer old to be pregnant
it was that way for thousands of years it isn't the natural instincts of a 16 yr old girl that is askew it is our sick society..it is completely unnatural for a woman to not be pregnant or have children until they are 30 and beyond but we have been programed into thinking that is the way

 

[xotoxi]

Teenage pregnancy is, like, so cool! OMG! When one of those girls gets, like, pregnant, you know, like, all of her, like, friends, like, wanna hold the baby! It's SOOOO KEWL!!!

Then it's, like, OMG! WTF! The baby, like, threw the fuck up on me! That's, like, SO GROSS!!!

 

[eots]

Teenage pregnancy is, like, so cool! OMG! When one of those girls gets, like, pregnant, you know, like, all of her, like, friends, like, wanna hold the baby! It's SOOOO KEWL!!!

Then it's, like, OMG! WTF! The baby, like, threw the fuck up on me! That's, like, SO GROSS!!!

yes indeed ...it would be resources better used to teach these girls to be thoughtful young woman instead of discussing various sex acts and then setting them loose with a pocket full of condoms. and the number for planned parenthood