Candidate: No Pregnant, Single Teachers

[Rose Siding]

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A U.S. Senate candidate who said recently that homosexuals should not be teaching in South Carolina's public schools has added another group to his list of poor role models for children — pregnant women with live-in boyfriends.

Jim DeMint, a Republican third-term congressman running for the Senate, made the comment about homosexuals during a debate Sunday with his Democratic opponent. Some gay organizations immediately demanded an apology.

On Tuesday, in an interview with the Aiken Standard, DeMint said: "I would have given the same answer when asked if a single woman, who was pregnant and living with her boyfriend, should be hired to teach my third-grade children. I just think the moral decisions are different with a teacher."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041006/ap_on_el_se/senate_south_carolina

[Voltaire99]

1. He'd order clitorectomies for them, too, if he could

The American Taliban will not stop until we are all molded in their image: crosses on our shields, swords in our hands, a bitter blackness in our hearts.

[BlueNomad]

26. ooowww

yikes.

[TaleWgnDg]

2. when I was in public primary school . . .

it was illegal to have a pregnant teacher. I remember this very well because my grade school teacher was fired due to her pregnancy. Yes, she was married.

I remember, too, that we had to stand up and receive an open bible from a classmate then find and read aloud a predetermined passage from the bible. No matter if one was atheist, Jewish, or that it wasn't your own religion's bible -- you read from it regardless.

Also, all public school teachers had to take an oath of non-communism in order to retain their jobs as teachers, and it was a screening device to hire teachers as well.

America has come a long way since the late 1940s and early 1950s in Massachusetts. Yes, that was public school in Massachusetts.

[LiberalFighter]

3. And they want to live the good old days

[DemBones DemBones]

5. I think that was public school everywhere in those days.

I remember teachers having to leave teaching once a pregnancy "showed" -- but in the sixties, women were still being made to take a leave of absence from most jobs that involved direct contact with clients/customers once they were obviously pregnant.

I was working in a BANK in 1967, in a department that had no contact with customers, and my supervisor lied to the bank officers about her due date so she could continue working. The rules said you had to quit at the start of your sixth month. She literally worked until a few hours before she delivered her baby, and two or three weeks later she started working at a different bank.

[Xithras]

7. Believe it or not, the anti-communism thing is still around

When I took my current position with a state funded college here in California a few years ago, I had to sign a legal form declaring that I am not, and never have been a member of the Communist Party. I was told that they are still required by some state law (a constitutional amendment?) to make every employee sign the form as a routine part of the hiring process. When I asked "What if I really was a communist?", the HR lady told me just to lie about it because nobody has actually done background checks on these things in 50 years. Despite that fact, it I had checked Yes on the form, they WOULD have denied me employment.

Apparently the law is still on the books because nobody has ever challenged it. This being California, I was kind of floored by that.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. Intolerant assholes should not have

positions of authority in this country.

[mindfulNJ]

6. would it be alright if

they sewed a big scarlet "A" on her shirt?:eyes:

[blindpig]

8. desperation

DeMint has totally blown a big lead over Inez Tenenbaum by pushing a national sales tax in his campaign ads. Counter ads ate him up and spit him out. Then he repeatedly patronized Inez at a recent debate until she called him on it, which was the headline on the debate. The asshole is floundering and attempting to shore up his base of bigots, morons and greedheads.

[Catfight]

9. They just need to vote his bigot ass out next round. n/t

[mainer]

10. In Hawaii, we parents had a baby shower for an unwed teacher!

And no one batted an eye. Everyone just wanted to celebrate the imminent arrival of a much-wanted baby. THIS is what i call the real definition of "pro-life:" when a baby is welcomed, regardless of the mother's marital status. Not hidden away in shame and disgust.

(And this was 15 years ago.)

[One_Life_To_Give]

11. Tough One

While I don't agree with his position. I can understand not wanting to encourage, by example, single parenthood. Same as we have discouraged teachers from smoking in areas where students may see them.

[jmcgowanjm]

12. single parenthood is the norm

I know too much about high school pregnancies in
NW Arkansas.

Kids are going to learn. The question is what.

[One_Life_To_Give]

13. Tis a shame

Difficult enough to raise kids with a partner, nevermind doing it solo. And studues are showing it is not good for the kids either.


Kids are going to learn. The question is what.{/i]

Hopefully not that dads are only important for 5 minutes before you were born.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

35. Hey, Mr. Quayle. Nice to hear from you.

[mike_c]

69. bear in mind the cultural context of those studies you cite....

If there is a cultural penalty attached to single-parenthood, then it's likely that being raised by a single parent will impact children. That is NOT the same as showing that single parents are inherently worse for children than dual parent households, and that does not even touch the issue of abusive dual parent settings.

We're not hunter-gathers any longer-- single parents can provide just as good an upbringing as dual parents, IMO, and the loss of a second role model is at least offset by the loss of a BAD second role model.

[One_Life_To_Give]

73. Girls self esteem?

You site "Cultural Context" but I believe there have been studies of young women which when normed for such variances still show negatives on self esteem, etc. from not having a relationship with a male parental/authority figure.

And while I have not seen any studies on the subject I wonder how boys learn to be men in the absence of a male authority figure.

[donco6]

14. Just curious - what about his earlier remark?

Should gay men/women be allowed to be teachers?

[One_Life_To_Give]

17. Why Not?

Why should I care about the sexual preference of the teacher? No kid is going to decide to be Gay or Straight based on their teachers orientation.

My concern is that young girls not be given the impression that being a single parent is
a) Not difficult without am partner
b) That the father is not improtant to the childs development

[gratuitous]

21. No kid is going to decide to be Gay or Straight?

So, when did you "decide" your sexual orientation? Was it in grade school, before you entered grade school, or after you'd gotten out of grade school?

[One_Life_To_Give]

23. When does anyone "Decide" sexual orientation?

In case you missed the point. This ain't something you decide? You either are or are not. This is not like deciding wether or not to smoke.

Hence the Irony in stating the obvious that the kids "Ain't going to change" based on observing/being around someone with a particular orientation, gay or straight.

[gratuitous]

24. You might state it a bit differently, then

Because when you say, "No kid is going to decide to be Gay or Straight based on their teachers orientation," it sure looks like the sort of nonsense that progressive folks in Oregon have been battling for the last 16 years.

The dangers of a flat medium.

[Minstrel Boy]

25. I don't think one young girl will become pregnant because

her teacher is a single mother.

But to the young girls who do become pregnant, the positive role model of a single parent will be a very welcome thing.

[One_Life_To_Give]

34. I respectfully Disagree

I think it will depend alot on how the single mother portrays the experience to the students. Would hope that a expectant teacher could be both a discourager of single motherhood and a role model to this that by choice or fate become single mothers as well.

Having kids is alot of work. Having kids while working to support them by yourself is very difficult. Having to take care of and support kids before the Masters or Bachelors and before completing High School is really a disservice to both parent and child IMHO.

[Occulus]

31. ok, suppose she's recently widowed

as in, during her pregnancy.

[One_Life_To_Give]

43. And this means what?

Aside from sometimes life sucks. Which in itself can be a important lesson for kids to learn. Wether or not a teacher is a single parent is not the important part. It is how this is portrayed to the children at different times during their development.

I don't think we should ban single parents from being teachers. But as in everything else teachers do. We want to be careful what messages were are sending to the kids. And yes it can be like the priesthood in some ways. Rememer the teachers in the lounge always trying to hide their cigarettes from the students? SHould we be telling toddlers about thhe joys of going to strip clubs? Maybe have an elective on the Art of Oral Sex? (Mybe it should be required along with US History. Could be a good lab course.)

Call me a freeper for it, but I see nothing good coming from kids having kids.

[Corgigal]

46. Careful about what message we send to the kids

Please. Kids can handle this information. It's the parents that are the damn problem. I have no business asking a teacher of my child about her/his personal life. NONE. They on the other hand, if they see a "problem" going on with my child can ask me if I'm aware of anything going on in their personal life. I can chose to answer if I want to.

I know my kids can handle a single (adult, educated) female teacher having a baby with a boyfriend, no boyfriend or a damn sperm bank because I can. Kids don't need to grow up but parent sure as hell do.

[One_Life_To_Give]

60. Let me rephrase

I think it is right to be concerned about the increase in teen pregnancy/parenthood. I disagree with this N.C. Repub's "solution" but it feel it is a important subject.

As for what teachers do on their own time, if it's legal I don't care. But what, and how, they choose to bring into the classroom becomes part of their lesson. Being Pregnant is a medical condition, what a teacher tells their students about being pregnant/raising a family is a choice. Care needs to be taken in what/how this information is passed to children.

[Ripley]

63. Is there a law in America where you have to be married

in order to get pregnant? If not, who the fuck's business is it if she is married to the father or not?

Are you ready for the Taliban to make other decisions for us as well? How about who I can have sex with and when, how, what time and for how long?

[One_Life_To_Give]

64. ???

Chill ;^)

Where did I say anything about marriage required?


What part of "What the teacher chooses to include, of their personnel lives, as class material" did you miss?

[KitSileya]

68. I think that lack of proper sexual education

is more detrimental to teenage pregnancy rates than unwed pregnant teachers in the classroom.

[One_Life_To_Give]

71. Both are problems

You may well be right. It is scary what kids do not know about how their own bodies work. But then again maybe there is not enough respect for the unintended outcome of not knowing.

[KitSileya]

77. Oh come on!

Having been educated in the Norwegian school system, I knew from elementary school exactly how babies were made. In junior high we were informed as to the social and personal aspects of sex ('you and your body,' 'don't be pressured into having sex,' 'having sex is *your* decision, no one elses' etc) as well as a more in-depth biological explanation on pregnancy. As a result, Norway has a very low teenage pregnancy rate (I doubt you can eliminate it completely) and the number of abortions are going down.

It's the repression and shame that Americans foist upon their children that help contribute to teenage pregnancies, and abortion rates. It does not help that American politicians are actively destroying the American educational system. Banning unwed pregnant teachers form the classrooms will certainly not teach children and teenagers about the wonder and miracle that is a pregnancy. Nor about the grave responsibility of having a child, nor that it is not all moonlight and roses, and that the roses may have very sharp thorns, especially for those who do not have jobs.

I'll never forget my own elementary school teacher explaining pregnancy to us - her daughter was pregnant, and she mentioned how awed she'd been when her daughter (not married) told her that the baby actually peed while in the womb. It didn't make us more likely to go out and have sex/get pregnant/have abortions as teenagers - in fact, the only girl in my Jr high class who go pregnant early was the daughter of overprotective, born-again Christian parents. How's that for irony.

[One_Life_To_Give]

80. Willingly

;^)

It sounds like Norway has the right idea. I agree with you that this information should be out there in the schools for these kids. Look at some of the questions that appear of Cornell's "Ask Alice" it's appalling.
Maybe I have just seen too much freeper TV, of young girls talking about how their unborn baby will love them and it will be so wonderful once they are a mother etc. As you cited kids need to know the down side of being a parent. How else do we expect them to ever make informed decisions.

BTW - I never heard of a mother being able to feel a baby peeing inside the womb. Is this common? (Wouldn't it of been contained in the Amniotic Sac (sp))

[KitSileya]

83. Norway has its problems as well.

There's no doubt about it. There are stupid girls/women who want babies because they're bored and boys/men who flee at the first mention of babies everywhere. However, one of the ironies in this case is that teenage mothers in Norway probably have a better chance of succeeding simply because the welfare system does help parents, even unwed, out-of-work teenagers.

As for the peeing in the amniotic sac, the mother doesn't feel it, but she thought it was so miraculous that the baby's digestive system etc works to the degree that it swallows amniotic fluid and then pees it. Neat, huh?

[heidler1]

53. Nobody is all bad, which is a judgment call to start with .

Likewise no one is all good. The Spartans had a town drunk on the payroll to set a hopefully bad example. I'm sure that the results were less than perfect. Now we seem to believe a bad example is sure to cause more kids to follow in those footsteps. This is crap, some people have a set of desires that will drive them into selfdistructive behavior and others have a different set of desires. Sure these desires are mailable to some extent, but mostly they are genetic. Thus they run in families and even show up in large pools of people like a nation when compared to another nation.

What is puzzling is why we avoid applying this truth, IMO, to these types of discussions. This is why we cannot solve the dilemma of whats wrong with our schools because we avoid looking at the fact that the kids are all different and square pegs don't fit in round holes.

[notadmblnd]

75. I'd like to ask....

what business is it of any student to know the marital status of any teacher? The question is illegal to ask even when applying for employment. These self rightous puritan prudes should stop trying to impose their "morals" upon others and mind their own damned business.

[One_Life_To_Give]

78. How true

How true, no one has the right to ask the teacher this question. But somehow I doubt a expectant teacher will be able to use saying nothing as a long term strategy. Hence why we pay teachers the "Big Bucks" (yeah right) to speak to our kids about this in a manner that is appropriate for their age and life experience.

[WillyT]

30. Somebody Forgot To Tell Teachers That They Were Joining The Priesthood !!!

Oops, so sorry... BAD EXAMPLE!!!

:grr::nuke::mad:

[kayell]

33. Perhaps we should screen out single teachers who have sex

especially the single women teachers who have sex. (the sluts!) After all, pregnancies came from somewhere, and we wouldn't want to encourage ammoral behavior now, would we?

[WillyT]

38. Yes... But Then How Would We Make Little Teachers ???

I thought single teachers who didn't have sex were called 'nuns'!

And ain't they a barrel of laffs? *smack* Ouch!?!?!

:spank:

[Peanut Gallery]

44. Yes, those single mothers are loathsome creatures,

aren't they?

Women are damned if they do, damned if they don't. If a woman has an abortion she's a murderer. If she takes the pregnancy to term and chooses the very difficult road of single motherhood, she's "setting a bad example."

Are you willing to allow the schools to fire, or not hire, male teachers who've fathered children out of wedlock?

You are completely stereotyping the situation by implying that single mothers are all either "radical feminists who hate men," or are themselves children. The fact is, there are as many circumstances surrounding unplanned pregnancy as there are people who find themselves in that situation.

[kayell]

52. Time to start sewing on the Scarlet Letters. Don't let these loose women

hide amongst us. We must all be able to see and name their shame.
/channeling christian reconstructionist

[DrWeird]

45. Don't forget...

female teachers who aren't wearing their burqas in public. That's a very bad example to set for the children.

[onenote]

51. singling out women

From my personal experience, most baby-making involves two people -- a man and a woman. If the message that pre-marital sex is bad is the target here, why not give establish a rule that if a male teacher is detemined to have fathered a child out of wedlock, he gets shown the door.

And what about the single teacher that chooses to get pregnant via in vitro?

onenote

[One_Life_To_Give]

61. Excuse me if I am implying Women only

When discussing parenting issues men need to speak out as much as women. (Having only women discussing parenting/pregnancy may send boys the message that they are not part of the parenting process.)I beleive children need both a male and female authority figure/ role model in their development.


I don't beleive the issue here is pre-marital sex. The issue is teen parenting. And perhaps does single parenthood, or not acknowledging a male authority figure, sends boys the message that the sole function of a man is sperm production?

[DrWeird]

62. So you're saying gay people make bad parents.

"I beleive children need both a male and female authority figure/ role model in their development."

At least that's what it sounds like.

[One_Life_To_Give]

65. No

Note: I said "Authority Figure" not parent. Be it Grand Parent, sibling of Parent or just a good family friend.

[DrWeird]

74. So gay people would be bad parents...

if they raised the child by themselves?

[One_Life_To_Give]

76. Possible Conclusion

Given some of the studies about the missing influence of one gender of parent. We would have to conclude that there was a deficiency. Is that "Bad Parenting"? Probably need 12 people to decide goodness or badness. But it appears to be sub-optimal.

IOW If your a Gay parent it would by my recomendation to find a good role model of the other gender to also spend time with the child.

[notadmblnd]

79. could you cite some documentation for your assertions?

which studies about missing influence of one gender or parent are you refering to? Please provide a link. I suspect that your diatribe is total BS and the arguement you are attempting to make here is only your own.

[One_Life_To_Give]

82. Was a TV Documentary IIRC

IIRC It was a TV Docu show. Will have to do some digging to find you a link.
It cited the absence of a father in girls growing up as resulting in ;
Lowered self esteem, earlier promiscuous activities, higher rate of criminal/police involvement.

Will see what I can find on the web. But you might want to take a look for yourself as well.

[notadmblnd]

86. take a look at myself?

I'm not the one sitting on his high horse defending this idiot and presenting what I suspect is only opinion as fact. I haven't presented any argument yet. I asked you for data and told you what I think.
1. It's no ones business whether a teacher is married or not.
2. That your argument is BS.

Perhaps you try selling it elsewhere.

[One_Life_To_Give]

90. Who is defending the Idiot?

I said his idea was wrong, but the problem is another story.

As for Cites how about;
aphroditewomenshealth.com
fathers.com

My only initial point was intended to be that just as a broken clock is right twice a day. This guy appeared to me to be talking about a real problem, teen pregnancy, that needs to be addressed.

[KitSileya]

56. It's not single parenthood if they're living with the father!

"pregnant women with live-in boyfriends"
If the woman is living with the father, she won't be a single mom. An unwed one, yes, but not a single one. I assume that if the two are a couple, and are living together, both wil be involved in raising the child, contributing financially etc.

If you have a problem with unwed couples having children, please say so.

KitSileya

[trogdor]

15. Welcome back to 1950.

Maybe they shouldn't let black women teach white students, either. /sarcasm

[saigon68]

37. This Turd wouldn't want "Darkies" to drink from the same Water Fountain

Or use the same toilet either.

What a disgusting piece of dog shit.

[notadmblnd]

81. I agree with you totally

this person thinks that their intellectual shit don stink, but their mental farts are giving them away.

[Sabriel]

16. Another person privileging marriage

My sister has three children by the same man, they've lived together for 14 years, share financial responsibilities... but they're aren't married. Does that make her a "single mother"?

Maybe it's time to start questioning societal ideas about what constitutes "marriage." And butt out of people's lives!

[hyphenate]

18. What an ass

And the problem is, too many people will agree with him!!!!

[Norquist Nemesis]

19. This is a clear demonstration of how they want to control

society in general and women specifically. The "moral" message. :eyes: What profession will be next?

They want to make abortion illegal in all circumstances AND want to put controls on women who become pregnant. If the message is concern for the children, where is the concern for the CHILD that will be born? What message is sent to this child who's mother is shunned and ostracized for giving life to him/her? Where is the celebration of this new life?

Bastards.

[Love Bug]

42. Good points

Why is it we expect teachers to live up to much higher moral standards than the parents who presumably have the greatest influence on their kids?

I have a friend who is an elementary school teacher and I recall the time a group of us gals wanted to go check out the Drag show at a large gay club downtown. She declined to go because if she were seen in a gay bar she could lose her job! Not official policy, mind you, but the fuss that would be made would effect her career and cause her to probably not be rehired the next school year.

Of course, the rest of us didn't have to worry about losing our jobs, but none of us work with children.

[Ilsa]

20. And what business is it of the kids?

Okay, what if the single teacher has an abortion?

Okay, what if the single teacher just quits her job and goes on welfare when she gets pregnant?

Okay, what if the single teacher just marries the first guy that asks and ends up in a loveless marriage destined for divorce? (Sounds like a Baptist marriage to me -- they have the higherst divorce rate, IIRC.)

[One_Life_To_Give]

29. Depends

Okay, what if the single teacher just marries the first guy that asks and ends up in a loveless marriage destined for divorce? (Sounds like a Baptist marriage to me -- they have the higherst divorce rate, IIRC.)

When the child has to stay out of daycare due to colds/fever etc. How much time off does one person have versus two? A lovless marriage may suck. But if it is the price if obtaining the necessary support for child, maybe we should expect parents to give up their hapiness for the benefit of their child.

[Corgigal]

22. Of course

this has to be where I am currently living. Now, how did I know that?

Where we just went "national" for our public High School pulling guns on certain bus load of kids. Oh yeah, they did target a specific bus where the poor parents live.

Where I just checked , on our Standard testing where 70 percent of disabled children failed. I just mailed 150 dollar check to a private school to even LOOK at my kid so I can get him out of there. If he gets lucky then I get to mortgage my paid for home.

However, we don't talk about those things in an election, oh no.
We worry about a professional woman who chose to have a baby with her live in boyfriend.

I always told others that moving to South Carolina is like stepping back in time, 40 years or so. I"m off by 10 years.

[WillyT]

27. Crikey !!! These Guys Don't Wanna Go Back To The 1950's, They...

wanna go back to the 1870's!!!

***************************************************************************

Rules for Teachers (1872)

1) Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.

2) Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.

3) Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.

4) Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.

5) After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.

6) Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

7) Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

8) Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.

9) The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

***************************************************************************

Link: http://www.geocities.com/prairiehomestead/pioneer/rules1872.html

:wtf:

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

54. you need to look further back in time than that.

Actually they want to go back to the 1350s where women were considered nothing but chattel. Anyone remember some Virginian politician who said mental illness was caused by demons?

[Southpaw Bookworm]

72. Mental illness caused by demons

That's probably the Shrub's idea of faith-based psychiatric care!

[DFWJock]

28. DeMint - Will you help me

build that bridge back to the 18th century....

[Bridget Burke]

32. What will the children think?

What will they say when they get home?

Where mom's latest boyfriend is semi-permanently ensconced. Or they can wait for the weekend & complain to dad & his latest flame....

Children of today don't live in a Father Knows Best world. Many of us didn't in the 50's, either.

[gatlingforme]

36. Sounds like an Alan Keyes to me. Here in Illinois we are blessed

with an opponent who is clueless and intellectually malevolent to the point he is pissing off the Republicans... if that is possible

[ProfessorGAC]

40. Wow! That's Weird!

I posted the same idea, 'cuz i didn't get to the bottom of the thread. I'm from IL, too!
The Professor

[gatlingforme]

41. LOL, that is funny, Alan Keyes seems to bless everyone with the

same impressions. LOL

[notadmblnd]

84. The rest of us wont hold it against Ill....

we know he was imported.

[ProfessorGAC]

85. Not Imported. Smuggled

Actually, i've got a theory on his being tabbed.

The Republican leadership in IL has been mostly moderate, pragmatic, Rockefeller type repubs. The lunatic right has been moaning about how they're not represented enough.

Well, i think after Ryan fell on his sword, they went out and tabbed Keyes so that when he gets slaughtered by Obama, they can look to the right and say "See, we told you that Illinois is not a conservative state. We have to stay moderate in Illinois for the Republicans to have any clout."

Even the Repubs here are trying to marginalize the lunatic rightwing and i think this is how they've chosen to do it.


The Professor

[notadmblnd]

87. never mind, I misunderstood

didn't read the subject of your response. You could be right.

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Is He Reading Alan Keyes' Used Stump Speeches?

What a dumbass!
The Professor

[semillama]

47. What about the children who already come from single-parent homes?

What sort of example does it set for them to come down hard on single mothers?

"Sorry, kid, your family isn't as good as one with two parents. Tough luck."

[ProfessorGAC]

49. Alan Keyes Probably Thinks That, Too!

He is going to be the most ignominiously defeated Senate candidate in history. Good!
The Professor

[KitSileya]

89. Yes, and it's not as if single-parent families are something new.

Back in the day, when people were dropping like flies from diseases, bad hygiene, and repeated pregnancies, there were many, many widows and widowers trying to make ends meet while raising their children, as well as the same serial monogamy we see today. Only now the other parents don't die, so the children don't have to deal with their complete removal from their lives.

[onenote]

48. and no unpregnant married teachers

Wouldn't that be the next logical step? Also, forced abortions for the single pregnant teachers. And I suppose men shouldn't even be allowed to be teachers since you can't be sure whether they're running around knocking up single teachers...

onenote

[ProfessorGAC]

88. Well, That Puts My Wife Out of Work

She's postmenopausal so that unpregnant thing won't change. She might as well just quit now!
The Professor

[noamnety]

50. A note I got from a student yesterday

One of my high school kids walked into class yesterday and handed me a folded handwritten note that said:

I just learned over the weekend that I'm pregnant. I'd like to know what can I do to keep a head of myself a little bit until I get back on my feet after I give birth. You can pull me aside when you feel you have an answer.

Sincerely,
XXX


I waited about 10 minutes while I got other students busy on a project, and pulled her outside to "talk about her work" and said I knew she was probably a bit scared, but I wanted to congratulate her, and I gave her a big smile and a hug. And reassured her about her work getting done.

I don't know, maybe that makes me immoral. Maybe I should have yelled at her, or tried to make her feel ashamed of herself, or told her she should get an abortion or drop out of school. But since she already is pregnant and had obviously made a decision to have the child, I made a decision to celebrate its life with her. I think that was the right thing to do.

Why would anyone want me to treat her differently than that?

Why would anyone want to treat an adult differently than that?

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

55. re: "A note I got from a student yesterday"

you did the right thing.

[KitSileya]

57. What a good thing to do!

As a high school teacher myself, I would say you did exactly the right thing. Support them in their decision, whatever it is (it is after all their decision) and do everything possible so that they can finish their education.

Good job.

[justjones]

66. Thank you.

You should be commended for your actions.

Having children so young is not the ideal thing to do, but I believe some people make women believe their lives are over for doing so.

No doubt life will be much harder for this young lady, but she should be encouraged to finish her high school education and even to continue on to do what she wants to do with her life. It will be very difficult, but not impossible. Yelling at her, making her feel ashamed of herself, or telling her to get an abortion or drop out of school is just reinforcing the stereotypes about single mothers having no choices, which probably contributes to them not doing as well as their child-free counterparts.

Thank you for understanding that everyone walks different paths in life and one path is no less valuable than another:).

[kayell]

58. Inez Tenenbaum (D) is currently about 3 points ahead of this pig

We can all hope and here in SC work for her as hard as possible. DeMint would be a horrid replacement for Fritz Hollings.

[Minstrel Boy]

59. Why not just sew a scarlet letter "P" on their frocks?

That way they get to keep their jobs, and be an object of public scorn at the same time.

[One_Life_To_Give]

67. Since P redundant, Scarlet MF

Since the scarlet letter P will be redundant after a few months. Why not just sew a Scarlet MF onto the frock of the father.

[justjones]

70. Ummm...are pregnant women required to show marriage licenses...

before becoming pregnant or afterwards?

My point being, whose fucking business is it whether the woman is married or not? How is that the students' business, let alone anyone else's? When did teachers' private lives become part of the school curriculum? If it has, who exactly is going to be left to teach our children?

Because last I heard, according to the religious fundies who are likely to be pushing this crap, the last human being who lived a life of perfect morality was Jesus. Doesn't that mean if we sift through any teacher's life, there would be something that wouldn't be such a good example to their students?

Unless there is a contract that a female teacher signs stating that every aspect of her life must be a shining example of morality for her students, I don't see how her being pregnant out of wedlock is anyone's concern but her own. And even if she did sign such a contract, whose morality will be the one that is enforced?

If being pregnant in or out of wedlock is such a concern for folks, they need to send their children to Catholic school to be taught by nuns who have signed a contract of celibacy. Wait, but then they might be molested by an amoral priest, huh? Seems like no one holds the monopoly on morality...talk about a quagmire.

These people need to shut the fuck up!