Reacting To "I'm Pregnant" [html]
"It happens too often," writes Will Okun in his latest post about teaching on Chicago's West Side (here). "A female student approaches my desk, says "Mr. Okun?," and and whispers the two words no adult wants to hear from a teenager: "I’m pregnant."
Okun goes on to describe his feelings about this commonplace occurrence and to cite some rough stats about teen pregancy: "Almost 60 percent of teens with a school-age pregnancy drop out of high school. Seventy-five percent of unmarried teen mothers begin to receive welfare within five years of their first child. Almost 80 percent of fathers to children with teen mothers will not marry the mothers and will pay less than $800 annually in child support."[/html]
Is there more or less teen pregnancy in your school/community? How well or poorly does CPS support pregnant teens? 
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Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 2:33 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
How well is CPS supporting pregnant teens?
It depends on where, and on how pregnant.
Last week I went back to the old "Arts of Living" CPS school at 1855 N. Sheffield (the old Mulligan Elementary School). I wish that some people would spend less time blaming the victim(s) and asking why that building, which was converted into a school for pregnant CPS girls, has been closed as a public school for the past five years (or more).
Arts of Living (and Simpson) were specially designed for those pregnant girls (and their soon to be children) especially during the latest days of the pregnancy. The question has to be asked a bit more specifically. During the early months (except for those with morning sickness) the pregnancy is no obstacle to mainstream participation in every aspect of the high school (including most sports).
The problems arise with problem pregnancies and during the last trimester. That's when the child should be in a school where there are decent medical facilities and other things that make the condiitions best for the child and the future baby. (If you don't think this is a challenge, guys, walk around all day with a 25 or 50 pound sack of something strapped to you and see how interesting it gets to go from the first to the third floor three or four times. It's do-able if you're in good shape, but not everyone is in good shape).
The destruction (or, in many cases, privatization) of the CPS programs for pregnant girls is the policy issue that people could have been talking about. Or maybe holding a press conference in front of 1855 N. Sheffield, asking why, if we care so much about these unborn children (as a society) Mulligan/Arts of Living has been closed since Arne Duncan became CEO and chief privatizer of Chicago's public education systems.
It depends on where, and on how pregnant.
Last week I went back to the old "Arts of Living" CPS school at 1855 N. Sheffield (the old Mulligan Elementary School). I wish that some people would spend less time blaming the victim(s) and asking why that building, which was converted into a school for pregnant CPS girls, has been closed as a public school for the past five years (or more).
Arts of Living (and Simpson) were specially designed for those pregnant girls (and their soon to be children) especially during the latest days of the pregnancy. The question has to be asked a bit more specifically. During the early months (except for those with morning sickness) the pregnancy is no obstacle to mainstream participation in every aspect of the high school (including most sports).
The problems arise with problem pregnancies and during the last trimester. That's when the child should be in a school where there are decent medical facilities and other things that make the condiitions best for the child and the future baby. (If you don't think this is a challenge, guys, walk around all day with a 25 or 50 pound sack of something strapped to you and see how interesting it gets to go from the first to the third floor three or four times. It's do-able if you're in good shape, but not everyone is in good shape).
The destruction (or, in many cases, privatization) of the CPS programs for pregnant girls is the policy issue that people could have been talking about. Or maybe holding a press conference in front of 1855 N. Sheffield, asking why, if we care so much about these unborn children (as a society) Mulligan/Arts of Living has been closed since Arne Duncan became CEO and chief privatizer of Chicago's public education systems.
Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 10:18 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
George, 95 percent of this post seems right on target to me. The only thing I wonder about is what you mean by "privatization" of programs for pregnant and parenting teens. CPS has pretty much destroyed them.
Unless you mean Youth Connection Charter, which is made up of programs that existed long before Vallas and charters came along. They were largey supported through a state grant administered by City Colleges, and they were doing CPS's scut work (retrieving dropouts and pushouts) without any money from CPS for 20 years or more before that charter was created.
If you think that is an example of CPS "privatizing" I'd argue it's CPS finally picking up some small portion of its share of the burden for all the young people it poorly served, including pregnant young women.
Unless you mean Youth Connection Charter, which is made up of programs that existed long before Vallas and charters came along. They were largey supported through a state grant administered by City Colleges, and they were doing CPS's scut work (retrieving dropouts and pushouts) without any money from CPS for 20 years or more before that charter was created.
If you think that is an example of CPS "privatizing" I'd argue it's CPS finally picking up some small portion of its share of the burden for all the young people it poorly served, including pregnant young women.
Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 7:22 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
YMCA. Catholic Charities. Those kinds of things. Public should be public.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Interesting. I agree that public should be public--that public schools should be funded thoroughly enough that facilities are available to service special populations like pregnant teenagers. That would take more than the three previously existing programs, let alone the one still standing (Simpson, featured in this week's Trib.)
However, I guess I'm pragmatic or pessimistic enough to think that's never going to happen and that private not-for-profits will be around picking up the slack. Sometimes they can reach into places and communities fully public, government-sponsored entities have trouble reaching, so I'm not opposed to public-private hybrids, like using state money to support alternative schools.
George, I assume you'd prefer a brighter line, but I'd like to hear you talk about whether there's any case in which the state might be better off supporting nonprofits who teach kids than opening a new school. I do think about dropouts especially in this regard.
However, I guess I'm pragmatic or pessimistic enough to think that's never going to happen and that private not-for-profits will be around picking up the slack. Sometimes they can reach into places and communities fully public, government-sponsored entities have trouble reaching, so I'm not opposed to public-private hybrids, like using state money to support alternative schools.
George, I assume you'd prefer a brighter line, but I'd like to hear you talk about whether there's any case in which the state might be better off supporting nonprofits who teach kids than opening a new school. I do think about dropouts especially in this regard.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 12:09 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Why do the young women want to be mothers? I mean, it's obviously a desire on their part because there's a legal alternative to carrying a baby to term, and not many of them give the baby up for adoption. Also, contraceptives are cheap so it would seem they want to be mothers.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 1:02 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Well... I'd be willing to bet that sex ed at CPS is too little too late. And if the girls don't think ahead, (i.e., bring condoms) you can be sure the boys don't either. And contraception can also fail.
Many of them may not know of the options available to them or be afraid of costs involved.
Though I first resented your implication that every teen mother wants to be a teen mother, I must also admit that I saw a documentary once where a young, teen, welfare mom admitted to wanting to have a baby so that she'd "having something of her own." I don't think I paraphrased that quote. The lack of education of what it means to be a parent and how much sacrifice it is and support of the child it takes is something that these girls do not realize.
Many of them may not know of the options available to them or be afraid of costs involved.
Though I first resented your implication that every teen mother wants to be a teen mother, I must also admit that I saw a documentary once where a young, teen, welfare mom admitted to wanting to have a baby so that she'd "having something of her own." I don't think I paraphrased that quote. The lack of education of what it means to be a parent and how much sacrifice it is and support of the child it takes is something that these girls do not realize.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 5:50 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
A VERY interesting item I read once (maybe it was on this blog) is how CPS h.s. girls bitterly complain about OLDER MEN who are the ones trying to get sex from them. The girls said it's not their peers --- the boys, but the older MEN. I think these men are a huge part of the problem. Of course, these are not men who want to be fathers to these girls' children, so said the girls. So sad.
Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 8:24 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
You really must live in the neighborhoods where these problems exist. I live in Garfield Park and have also lived in Humbolt Park. These girls get sexed up by boys, just regular boys from the hood. Most of these boys and girls are being raised by grandmothers that have no control over their grandchildren's lives.
Their own children had early multiple pregnancies and the cycle goes on and on. They live off the government and live is good. This is all normal to these kids. It is all around these kids. You aren't normal unless you get knocked up.
They carry the babies around like rag dolls and keep them in strollers while they hang out on the streets till all hours. I have seen these babies grow up, they are now between the ages of 5 and 10.... they are rough. They have no clue as to what they are capable of . The mothers dont have the skills, maturity or education to raise these babies to be good citizens. I get depressed some days when I really look around the hood and see what is going on. I wonder when the lack of responsibiliy will stop and people will start being held accountable. You can teach sex ed at school but that is not the answer. The answer lies in the home
Their own children had early multiple pregnancies and the cycle goes on and on. They live off the government and live is good. This is all normal to these kids. It is all around these kids. You aren't normal unless you get knocked up.
They carry the babies around like rag dolls and keep them in strollers while they hang out on the streets till all hours. I have seen these babies grow up, they are now between the ages of 5 and 10.... they are rough. They have no clue as to what they are capable of . The mothers dont have the skills, maturity or education to raise these babies to be good citizens. I get depressed some days when I really look around the hood and see what is going on. I wonder when the lack of responsibiliy will stop and people will start being held accountable. You can teach sex ed at school but that is not the answer. The answer lies in the home
Thu Nov 22, 2007 at 2:21 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
"Youth Connections" under both its traditional and present incarnations has never been my problem in this discussion. And now that Youth Connection is a part of the public school system (except for the union part, because it's/they is/are a "charter"), some of that is in place. Trouble is, with these girls the superstructure of services has to be inside the school, and the alternative schools would be the first to admit they can't house a clinic or provide the nutritionary materials that are really needed. Children who don't know any better than to provide their babies with a pre-natal diet of Dorritos and Coca Cola need a range of services that have only been provided, where they have at all, in the public school system, and inside the public schools. The rest is more hype and hope than reality, especially for the most "at risk."
One way to check out public solutions to these situations would be to go through the suburbs. Although the narrative about pregnant teens always conjures up the children we see some Spring in Chicago (mostly not white; mostly not middle class; mostly not on the honor roll or on the varsity teams, as a partial demographic).
But that's not the kind of "research" we get when the designs are forced into the current ideologies.
Yes, the services need to be expanded radically in the public sector.
Services for children of the poorest can best be provided in public schools.
In a city that has a program ("Renaissance 2010") and leaders (Daley, Duncan, etc.) pushing the massive privatization of the public sector as quickly as possible before they get caught in their larcenies, neither these girls nor their babies are likely to get much help when, where and how those helps (plural) are needed most.
Just another little Katrina to provide another big opportunity for "entrepreneurship". At the expense of the decency of society, democracy, and thousands of the poorest children in the Chicago area.
And Christmas is coming.
One way to check out public solutions to these situations would be to go through the suburbs. Although the narrative about pregnant teens always conjures up the children we see some Spring in Chicago (mostly not white; mostly not middle class; mostly not on the honor roll or on the varsity teams, as a partial demographic).
But that's not the kind of "research" we get when the designs are forced into the current ideologies.
Yes, the services need to be expanded radically in the public sector.
Services for children of the poorest can best be provided in public schools.
In a city that has a program ("Renaissance 2010") and leaders (Daley, Duncan, etc.) pushing the massive privatization of the public sector as quickly as possible before they get caught in their larcenies, neither these girls nor their babies are likely to get much help when, where and how those helps (plural) are needed most.
Just another little Katrina to provide another big opportunity for "entrepreneurship". At the expense of the decency of society, democracy, and thousands of the poorest children in the Chicago area.
And Christmas is coming.
Thu Nov 22, 2007 at 8:50 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
13-1=12
In the early 90’s I had a freshman division, which had 13 girls and 13 boys.
When it came time to graduate 4 years later 11 of the girls had babies then
I found out one of the girls who did not become pregnant in high school had
A kid in 8th grade so 12 of my ladies were doing the nasty. The good thing was that
Of the 12 I did manage to graduate 6.
It was a delicate job splitting my desire to know why, and staying out of the
girls personal lives, but I tried and found out several things.
One girl, who dropped out, had 3 kids during her high school years she wanted
The welfare lifestyle. A different girl was determined to get pregnant because of all
The attention her cousin, also one of my 12, received when she had her kid .I do not
Know what happened with my 8th grader because I never knew she had a kid. All
The rest got pregnant accidentally; half the first time they ever did it. None used any
Kind of birth control, and most of the fathers were in their late teens of early 20’s
None of my ladies married the fathers, while they were in high school anyhow.
Of my 13 boys graduating 10 was a personal record. All three of the dropouts
Left in their freshman year. One was a 420 pound 17 year old kid who called me
And told me he was doing well driving an over the road truck. The second did not
Like school but had a judge give him his choice, school or jail. He took a poke at me
Once but when he was caught hiding a pistol in the basement his 17 year old ass was
Gone. The third was only 16 but gave up school for his car and the thriving dope trade
On 79th st.
In the early 90’s I had a freshman division, which had 13 girls and 13 boys.
When it came time to graduate 4 years later 11 of the girls had babies then
I found out one of the girls who did not become pregnant in high school had
A kid in 8th grade so 12 of my ladies were doing the nasty. The good thing was that
Of the 12 I did manage to graduate 6.
It was a delicate job splitting my desire to know why, and staying out of the
girls personal lives, but I tried and found out several things.
One girl, who dropped out, had 3 kids during her high school years she wanted
The welfare lifestyle. A different girl was determined to get pregnant because of all
The attention her cousin, also one of my 12, received when she had her kid .I do not
Know what happened with my 8th grader because I never knew she had a kid. All
The rest got pregnant accidentally; half the first time they ever did it. None used any
Kind of birth control, and most of the fathers were in their late teens of early 20’s
None of my ladies married the fathers, while they were in high school anyhow.
Of my 13 boys graduating 10 was a personal record. All three of the dropouts
Left in their freshman year. One was a 420 pound 17 year old kid who called me
And told me he was doing well driving an over the road truck. The second did not
Like school but had a judge give him his choice, school or jail. He took a poke at me
Once but when he was caught hiding a pistol in the basement his 17 year old ass was
Gone. The third was only 16 but gave up school for his car and the thriving dope trade
On 79th st.
Fri Nov 23, 2007 at 5:29 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Wow, 1.04. What a story. I can't even imagine what it's like to teach kids living in such a world. It boggles. How do you keep going? What did the kids take away from school? What do you hope for through your teaching?
Sat Nov 24, 2007 at 7:59 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Dear amazed
It sure is a different world .To answer your questions I keep going because I am a professional and went to the best school of education Chicago ever had Chicago Teachers
College. To us the needs of the kids come first. School is the only somewhat normal experience a lot of kids ever know. Far too many kids live in a world full of violence,
random sex, drugs, and an almost total absence of parental involvement. All inner city teachers have a stubborn streak and a sort of pride along with a realistic acceptance of
things as they are not as we would like them to be.
To kids school is both a learning experience and a social experience. School also is warm in the winter and provides two meals a day .A lot of kids I taught saw school as a way out of the ghetto. Once a team from some foundation spent almost a year in the school. One of there conclusions was that a Ghetto High School was one of the most complex places around.
My hopes for my teaching have changed over the years:39 and counting. At first I
Was under the illusion that all the kids needed was me. Then it was a period of self-doubt
Why can’t I reach the kids? Finally came the realization that I am not god and can only do the best I can with what I got.
It sure is a different world .To answer your questions I keep going because I am a professional and went to the best school of education Chicago ever had Chicago Teachers
College. To us the needs of the kids come first. School is the only somewhat normal experience a lot of kids ever know. Far too many kids live in a world full of violence,
random sex, drugs, and an almost total absence of parental involvement. All inner city teachers have a stubborn streak and a sort of pride along with a realistic acceptance of
things as they are not as we would like them to be.
To kids school is both a learning experience and a social experience. School also is warm in the winter and provides two meals a day .A lot of kids I taught saw school as a way out of the ghetto. Once a team from some foundation spent almost a year in the school. One of there conclusions was that a Ghetto High School was one of the most complex places around.
My hopes for my teaching have changed over the years:39 and counting. At first I
Was under the illusion that all the kids needed was me. Then it was a period of self-doubt
Why can’t I reach the kids? Finally came the realization that I am not god and can only do the best I can with what I got.
Sat Nov 24, 2007 at 8:32 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
It's all a question of priorities. One of the main priorities since the Daley Dictatorship began its project of ethnic cleansing of Black Chicago ten years ago has been to allow the chaos to fester until the victims can be blamed, and then the program put into place that further screws the victims.
Over the past five years, to give just one relevant current example, Chicago's congressional leaders have gotten earmarks (i.e., dollars) for projects that Daley wanted in the public schools. We're talking millions of dollars. Not for pre-natal and other public school projects for the future children of teen Moms, but for military high schools. On October 15, I covered the dedication of the Marine Military Academy and heard my Congressman (Rahm Emmanuel) brag about how he slipped a half million dollars in for Daley's military programs. Dick Durbin has done the same things.
Now that earmarks are public, it's time at least someone asked these guys how their priorities are established. In Chicago, they are Daley's priorities. But why? Aren't projects in the public high schools (and in some middle schools) for pregnant girls worth as many dollars?
Not in Chicago.
And while we're at it, of course, someone could ask how successful all those mandatory "abstinence" programs have really been where and when it counted.
This whole thing should be upsetting, but let's hope at least a few people here try to step back, now that they will have a little time (this weekend; the winter holidays) to think outside the classroom and the schools' walls. What's being done to the children and that teachers is bigger than any one set of observations. What we do here is important, but more so it put into a general context rather than limited to some solipsistic meanderings.
Over the past five years, to give just one relevant current example, Chicago's congressional leaders have gotten earmarks (i.e., dollars) for projects that Daley wanted in the public schools. We're talking millions of dollars. Not for pre-natal and other public school projects for the future children of teen Moms, but for military high schools. On October 15, I covered the dedication of the Marine Military Academy and heard my Congressman (Rahm Emmanuel) brag about how he slipped a half million dollars in for Daley's military programs. Dick Durbin has done the same things.
Now that earmarks are public, it's time at least someone asked these guys how their priorities are established. In Chicago, they are Daley's priorities. But why? Aren't projects in the public high schools (and in some middle schools) for pregnant girls worth as many dollars?
Not in Chicago.
And while we're at it, of course, someone could ask how successful all those mandatory "abstinence" programs have really been where and when it counted.
This whole thing should be upsetting, but let's hope at least a few people here try to step back, now that they will have a little time (this weekend; the winter holidays) to think outside the classroom and the schools' walls. What's being done to the children and that teachers is bigger than any one set of observations. What we do here is important, but more so it put into a general context rather than limited to some solipsistic meanderings.
Mon Nov 26, 2007 at 7:17 PM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
Re: sex education in CPS
t
A couple of years ago, students from Curie High School waged a successful campaign to get the Board of Education to change its policy from abstinence ed to comprehensive sex education (i.e. explaining birth control). Anybody know whether that policy change has had any impact on high school health classes?
t
A couple of years ago, students from Curie High School waged a successful campaign to get the Board of Education to change its policy from abstinence ed to comprehensive sex education (i.e. explaining birth control). Anybody know whether that policy change has had any impact on high school health classes?
Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 9:05 AM
Reacting To "I'm Pregnant"
We are looking for a good option for a student who will be entering 9th grade in the Fall with a two month old baby. She lives on the West side. Where should she go to school? Should she try a big high school or Charter school. How is the quality of education at Simpson? I know that some suburban schools offer daycare in the high school, Any CPS schools with that option? If she can't bring her baby to school with her, where does she leave the baby?
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