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The problem IMO is not whether schools distribute condoms or what is or isn't taught in schools. The problem is what is or isn't taught or upheld in terms of rules, morals, values, expectations, etc at home. My suspicion is that there is an overwhelming lack of parental involvement coupled with parental ignorance. There are also a lot of other more complicated factors, such as single parent homes, which have a huge impact on a child's development and subsequent behavior. Most of these problems at their core stem from a lack of education.
The lack of parental involvement, in part, leads to unplanned pregnancies, then, there is the religious aspect of the situation, namely Catholicism, and the need to 'live and multiply' in this state that conflates the aforementioned variables into the sad reality that we are a state that can't help itself when it comes to the ability to reverse the cycle. The mentality of having many children, and having them early went out with the bathwater, largely, when our nation transformed from an agricultural to a commercial economy. However, from what I observe in many areas of New Mexico, is that because the state as a whole still has many tentacles of economy latched into farming, or extraction, blue collar enterprises, along with this comes a requisite lack of understanding or appreciation for higher education. There are parallels to be drawn when it comes to teenage pregnancy, parental involvement, sheer time available for families to spend time together as a cohesive unit, and that religious intangible lurking in the background. The exceptions seem to be in the small pockets of economy that are proximate to large cities, Albuquerque, obviously, in the NE heights, and here in Las Cruces, there are small pockets of middle or upper middle class families where you see these trends bucked. In almost every instance, these families are engaged in careers that are higher skilled, white collar. That's the reality. For the most part, we are a state that still has much of its economy tied into farming, oil, and mining.
As an aside, and I have to bring the religion into it, the Catholic church does its congregation a disservice (and I say this as someone who was raised Catholic) by promoting large families. This is an outmoded style of life that is no longer compatible with living in this country in the year 2010.
I am sure there are going to be many arrows slung at me by authoring this post, but that's my honest observation.
Mike, I agree with your assessment. It's not the teachings of the Catholic church per se, but it is the combination of factors, with the church beliefs (e.g. not allowing birth control) certainly being a contributor. I agree with you too that the whole concept of breeding as much as possible to populate a church (Catholic, LDS, etc) is antiquated.
Just have one question for Mike.
What is wrong with being a blue collar worker? (My husband says his collar is actually tan, btw)
I didn't hear anything in Mike's post that said there was anything wrong with being a blue collar worker. The message I got was that there are a number of factors contributing to the teen pregnancy problem in this state, and that in his observation there is a large percentage of the population involved in blue collar work - which may be interwoven with all the other complex contributors to the problem.
Just have one question for Mike.
What is wrong with being a blue collar worker? (My husband says his collar is actually tan, btw)
There is nothing more or less virtuous about your husband's position than there is anybody else's. Marmom is correct in that I am not disparging people who work with their hands, in fact, I envy them. If there was an aspect of my character that I could change it would be that I could use my hands more constructively to solve problems. I would trade in some of my other talents in a minute in exchange for the ability to change out a sprinkler head, a sink drain, or re-tile a bathroom floor.
I am trying to convey, without being judgmental, that when it comes to industry/career, there can be parallels drawn with regard to education, family planning, and the like. I don't see that as being critical, as much as it is factual. For instance, the son or daughter of a financial planner living in the suburbs of New York City is going to be more inclined, I think, in general, though not always, to pursue a college education, and delay starting a family than will the son or daughter of a farmer who lives in Hatch. There are ALWAYS exceptions, though.
Who else has faced a personal mini-crisis when hearing the following kind of statement from a coworker, friend, or acquaintance (or perhaps a relative):
"Guess what, [insert name of unmarried teenage daughter who you last saw when she was about 9] is going to have a baby! We are so happy for her, isn't that wonderful????"
I usually pretend to be "happy" for her and shudder inwardly, since I don't want to appear judgmental. What use is it to say "No, I don't think it's wonderful"?? The deed is done. And so we are a culture that emotionally rewards people who make bad decisions.
For instance, the son or daughter of a financial planner living in the suburbs of New York City is going to be more inclined, I think, in general, though not always, to pursue a college education, and delay starting a family than will the son or daughter of a farmer who lives in Hatch. There are ALWAYS exceptions, though.
Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? This statement reminded me of that movie.
Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? This statement reminded me of that movie.
It's actually one of the very few movies I've seen in the last 5 years, but I wasn't thinking about it when I wrote it.
That being said.... "Your kids are starving.. Carl's Jr believes no child should go hungry... You are an unfit mother... Your children will be placed in the custody of Carl's Jr. At Carl's Jr "F*&k you, I'm eating!".
The simultaneously funny and sad thing about that movie was that even though it was intended to show the degradation of humanity 500 years into the future, the underlying notion was that the movie really was commentating on the current intellectual human standing.
At the last office job I had in ABQ ( thank goodness I now work sensibly from home ) a woman asked me one week if I wanted to adopt her pregnant sister's baby ( sister was 15 ). The next week, afgter the sister decided she wanted to keep her spawn, she asked if we had any old baby clothes to donate ( we had no kids at this point ). The next week she asked if I could just write a check to the sister instead of giving her a gift. I was a little puzzled but the co-worker explained that she was throwing a baby shower for the sister. The next week ( and the last time I talked to this woman ) she asked if she could have the shower at my house because we lived in a nice house and their trailer had roaches and the toilet was kind of funky.
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