This movie is about its young girl who gets pregnant after having sex for the first time with a friend (who dies in a car accident). She is up for valedictorian of her class, a national merit scholar and teaches night classes to the elderly. As well, she is a devoted daughter to her family.
I guess there were a couple of things the movie shed light on that I didn't agree with. The movie was made in 2002, but it played August 22nd of this year on Lifetime and it seemed so unreal the things they did to this young girl.
1) the kicked her out of school initially
2) she was banned from teaching night classes temporarily
3) She was threatened by the principle and he withdrew his recommendations for her to college
4) She was being pushed by her family to go off on a vacation (have an abortion) and come back like nothing happened.
5) there were no support groups or places for her to go and she was the daughter of a single father who wasn't always a good help.
Now for granted this took place in a small town and maybe it was created as a deterrent for teenagers. I don't know if Lifetime is a hot movie channel for teens! So all the things that happened or the lack of support seemed non-progressive to me. However, I know for a fact things like that still happen. I guess my question would be in removing a pregnant girl from school so that she doesn't influence the other girls and taking her chances at an education be worth it. When it is proven the more education you get the better your chances and your child's chances become. As well how do you remove the girl and not the boy? In this movie the boy died, but why is there a double standard - if they have to be kicked out let them both go!
There was also something really cool in this movie that I thought was very interesting. the young girl made and adult friend that kind of helped her throughout the movie and that lady was in a bitter divorce, suffering from depression. She would be drunk and bad mouthing the father and the kids were stuck in the middle. In the end when she pulled herself together she decided that the father needed to be a part of their kids lives and that when it was his week with the kids he could move in the house where the kids lived permanently. this way their lives would have minimal disruption. And while he was there, she would go somewhere else. We talk about divorce and custody battles in our major all the time and this seemed like an option that shows some promise when considering the children.
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Naomi,
I don't think removing a pregnant girl from school would be any kind of deterrant for others. No matter what we do, our teens are going to continue to have sex, and unfort. get pregnant. It is the job of the family unit to make sure this doesn't happen. Maybe mandatory sex education classes that involve both the parent and the child? Believe it or not, there are parents out there who are just dumbfounded on what to say to their teens, or even how to approach the subject. Some parents shun away from it completely, leaving their teens to figure things out on their own.
Now in reference to the movie, Remvoving the pregant teen out of school is the worst thing they could possibly do. Think about it, even though she made a mistake, continuing her education could ensure she provide a good life for her and her child. By removing her only foundation, we just doom her to a life of welfare and hardship. This is something, we as a society needs to avoid. Also, jsut because she is out of sight, doesnt mean what happened was forgotten. Over the years, the resources for teen mothers has grown, since our country has realized this is a growing epidemic.
I feel strongly against teen pregnancy for many reasons. Mainly teens, no matter what they say, or what they seem, are just not ready to be parents, and sometimes it just fuels a vicious cycle of families stuck in the mud.
There has to be something we can do to slow this down.
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