Just when you thought people couldn’t have more nerve in demanding to be rewarded for poor behavior:
Soon-to-be-moms at East High School ask for four weeks of maternity leave.
Article Last Updated: 01/07/2008 02:00:49 AM MST
Pregnant students in a Denver high school are asking for at least four weeks of maternity leave so they can heal, bond with their newborns and not be penalized with unexcused absences. The request is unusual in Colorado’s public schools, where districts tend to deal with pregnant students or new moms with specialized programs or individualized education plans.
Denver Public Schools has no districtwide policy, leaving it up to schools to work out plans for students to continue their education.
Two counselors from East High School approached the school board last month, saying the policy at their school is unfair and inconsiderate because it forces new moms to return to school the day after being discharged from the hospital or face being charged with unexcused absences.
(Warning: Explicit sarcasm ahead)
Clearly we have to offer maternity leave in high schools because we aren’t already doing enough to encourage little girls to have babies. Maybe while we’re at it we should make sure that all of these little girls are provided with a new car and the type of salary that’s necessary to raise a family – you know – to make sure that they are inconvenienced by this baby that was thrust upon them through no fault of their own.
(End sarcasm)
I’m not going to argue that we ought to completely shun these young ladies but we have got to stop rewarding destructive behavior in this country. Anyone in their right mind will admit that having a child as a teenager is one of the worst decisions a young person can make. It’s a simple fact that having a child before you graduate high school is a virtual one-way ticket to poverty.
Certainly we can find a way to help these girls in such a way that they still have an opportunity to make something of themselves but we have to do so in a way that doesn’t glamorize the process and we sure as heck don’t need to make it easy on them. Maybe we should start by finding the guys who are helping to create these babies and make them do a little babysitting to give the mothers some time to study. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we made a few teenage fathers take some respsonsibility for their actions for a change.
There’s one more quote from this article that is worth commenting on:
“My initial reaction is if we are punishing girls like that, that is unacceptable,” said Nicole Head, one of the counselors who brought the matter to the school board last month.
This line of thinking is absolutely absurd. These girls are punishing themselves. Period. And until we start approaching this situation with that mindset the problem is not going to get any better. The girls that are facing a pregnancy in high school have made some very poor choices and there need to be consequences for that. If they have to sit out a semester to take care of their newborn child and restart when the new semester begins, that isn’t unreasonable. The bottom line is this: if we continue to subsidize bad behavior, we can only expect to get more bad behavior.
by Chad Kent on January 7, 2008