So today I am going to get up on my soapbox a bit. I teach high school in a upper middle class suburb in Connecticut. Yet somehow my school is experiencing a baby boom, and I don't mean with the staff. Perhaps I am more senstive because I am pregnant myself and do not want to share preggo war stories with my students. Right now there are at least seven girls who are pregnant or who have given birth in the last month. One of my current student's who I have had for two years now and is a senior has a son the same age as my son. So anyone trying to do the math this girl was 15 when she had her baby. Several of the girls who are pregnant are not even 16 years old. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN. We live in a town that has health education programs, that has sex ed, yet clearly not enough. As a parent you know how much work goes into being a parent. There are some days that I still find being a mom overwhelming, and I have a husband, we both have decent jobs, and own our home. How can a 15 year old child be parent?
Sadly I know the answer to that question, they can't!!! Yet these girls never consider abortion (not that it is for everyone) and they don't consider adoption. How does it happen?
Where did we go wrong as a society that teenage girls think having a baby is "cool"? Where did we go wrong that we stopped empowering our young women to realize that they have enough value to say no (to sex or at least unprotected sex). I really think that if our girls, not just in my school but everywhere, were made to feel good about who they were they wouldn't need to seek out love from someone who doesn't respect them or thier body or from a baby.
What are your thoughts on this? What woudl prevent teen pregnancy in this situation? Or is this just the inevitable cycle?
