Pregnancy School?

Did you know that pregnancy schools still exist? For those of you not in the know, pregnancy schools are a slightly more modernized, more PC version of the old time Homes for Unwed Mothers. Appalling, no? An article in The New York Times explores the failure of such schools, and why they are being phased out in NYC.

"The internal data provided to the Education Department by a private consultant showed what dismal results they have yielded. In the fall of 2006, the average daily attendance at the pregnancy schools was 47 percent, well below the city average. Fewer than 50 percent of the pregnancy school students successfully made a transition back to high school. And the average student only earned four to five credits each year, fewer than half of the 11 credits possible."

Ostracizing pregnant teenagers is a big, nasty recipe for disaster, and I am happy to see that the lawmakers are realizing this as well. Teenagers are social creatures, and teenage mothers need support as mothers and as teenagers, as children really, and as regular people. In order to take care of their families, they need skills that extend beyond the realm of child care. And, like all mothers, they need time to think and talk about things unrelated to diapers or poop or breasts.

Imagine if, when you were pregnant, you were sent to live in a home where only pregnant ladies lived, and you were forced to focus solely on your pregnancy and impending motherhood. Would that not make you miserable? It seems so bleak. I can completely understand why attendance at these schools is so poor.