tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post5881090854116253835..comments2023-10-25T10:42:18.553-05:00Comments on Flutter of Hope: What's in the news?Esperanzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14841585672805438897noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post-89967645645407461672008-06-24T14:20:00.000-05:002008-06-24T14:20:00.000-05:00As the economy tanks (particularly in MA), I belie...As the economy tanks (particularly in MA), I believe that girls like these, with few prospects for success, are essentially "opting out" of making decisions about their futures. <BR/><BR/>With this one decision they won't need to think seriously about education or about creating careers for themselves. This is what they will do now. At least some of their parents probably did it, and it must seem less scary than going out in the world and trying to succeed.<BR/><BR/>And as we all *painfully* aware, teen pregnancy as well as pregnancy in general has been glamorized by the media. Pregnant and new mother celebrities are on every magazine cover, and "bump watching" seems to have become our national pastime. <BR/><BR/>If you are starved for attention, this is one way to get it that is no longer socially unacceptable.<BR/> <BR/>What I find it amazing is the general expectation that the school staff should have parented these girls in the absence of any guidance from their actual parents. All in roughly thirty hours per week, on top of trying to teach them math, science, writing, driving, social skills, etc. and preparing them for the state testing they will need to pass to earn a HS diploma. <BR/><BR/>So what if there was a pact? So what if there wasn't? Regardless, these girls were not nurtured or supervised adequately by their families. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of the parent to guide a child's decision-making about sex and when to start a family. Schools can support and inform, but ultimately this is a parenting issue.<BR/><BR/>Also, while it is easy to believe everything reported in the media, it is important to remember that they are selling a story and advertising space/time, not protecting the best interests of the people involved. The truth is never as scandalous as the media portrays it to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post-73296102544420981362008-06-24T11:55:00.000-05:002008-06-24T11:55:00.000-05:00I was not surprised. Not only is pregnancy "trendy...I was not surprised. Not only is pregnancy "trendy" according to the popular media, but I knew several girls in high school (15 years ago) who thought that having children would give them both independence and unconditional love, which they weren't getting from their own families. <BR/><BR/>As my dad said, "Young, dumb, and fertile is a dangerous combination."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post-61103559226018624912008-06-23T21:03:00.000-05:002008-06-23T21:03:00.000-05:00That's just sick for those girls to be so desperat...That's just sick for those girls to be so desperate for love and affection that they slept with a homeless man in the hopes of getting pregnant. It just seems like either they really are completely clueless as to the responsibility of babies and children, or else their lives are so lacking they have nothing better do. Maybe it's a combination of both. Either way, just sad.Samanthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02799401502134619497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post-37508416746624886992008-06-23T15:21:00.000-05:002008-06-23T15:21:00.000-05:00I realize I may have postponed pregnancy until it ...I realize I may have postponed pregnancy until it was too late. But there is also such a thing as getting pregnant way, way too early in life. There has to be a happy medium...!loribethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09272814565916935113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29669025.post-90742990389548282032008-06-23T14:56:00.000-05:002008-06-23T14:56:00.000-05:00I do feel for these girls because I don't think th...I do feel for these girls because I don't think they truly understand what they are getting into. If adults can't completely fathom what it means to raise a child prior to doing so--and we've had plenty of life experience in terms of responsibility (and doing things because we must)--I don't know how these girls will survive this. Or how their kids will fare. Or how differently their world could have looked if they had waited.Lollipop Goldsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01020874415819057995noreply@blogger.com