CURBING TEENAGE PREGANCY:
A NOVEL APPROACH
Sara Park Scattergood
reprinted from LIFE IN AMERICA,
USA Today; January 1990
Sara Park Scattergood
is the founder and past Executive Director of Education for Parenting (now
Educating Children for Parenting®). "Unlike traditional programs designed
to help curb teenage pregnancy, Education for Parenting is offered well before
students become sexually active."
Teenage pregnancy and child abuse are on the
rise in the
In terms of child abuse, more than 2,000,000
children are reported abused in the
The harmful effects of child abuse and teen
pregnancy impact all levels of our society, regardless of race or socioeconomic
status. For those young women who become teen parents,
the promise of a viable future appears beyond reach. The sad reality for the
teen mother is that she receives half the lifetime earnings of a woman who
waits until age 20 to have her first child. Most teen mothers drop out of
school and often become a financial drain on society. Without marketable job
skills, they are unable to create opportunities for themselves
to advance in our highly competitive and technological society.
Teen mothers also are more likely to be
child abusers because they lack the maturity to handle parenting and have no
training in basic human development. Because of this lack of preparation, these
youngsters tend to follow their parents' behaviors in child rearing, which often
are far from healthy. Essentially, too few children in our society are being
prepared in any way to care for the next generation competently. The
consequences could be devastating for their children.
In 1978, an interdisciplinary team of
concerned professionals in
Our team's first objective was to put
together a body of information that would be a basic theoretical foundation for
the building of an Education for Parenting curriculum,
envisioned for students in grades kindergarten through 12. It soon became apparent
that the ideas generated needed to be tested so that our group might learn
first-hand what could be taught to school children and at what ages. We had to
know if our curriculum could raise students' awareness of the complexity of
parenting, highlight the critical issues, teach skills in child rearing, and
focus on the important aspects of child development.
To test the ideas, Currie and I sought funds
that would allow us to experiment in a school setting at Germantown Friends.
Through these teaching experiences, our team began to identify methods and
materials most appropriate for use with students at different ages. In the
belief that schoolchildren learn most readily when theory is confirmed through
direct observation, a central part of the curriculum is a live laboratory
experience.
Babies and their parents come into the
classroom on a monthly basis so that students as young as six years old can
observe and track the physical, emotional, and cognitive growth and development
of the infants. Students have the unique opportunity to observe the interaction
between mother and/or father and child. They learn that each infant has its own
distinct temperament and capabilities that influence the manner and rate in
which he or she develops. Depending upon their age, they also read about
babies, keep a journal on the infant they are studying, and learn how to
estimate the costs of feeding, clothing, schooling, etc. Prior to the baby's
visit, the students practice analytical and planning skills and then discuss how
successful these proved, ultimately helping them to understand the
responsibility inherent in parenting. It is this interactive learning and live
observation at an age early enough to shape behavior that gives the project
uniqueness and strength.
The pilot program worked so well at
Germantown Friends that the curriculum was implemented in 1988 at other
independent academic institutions, including Abdington
Friends, Baldwin, Friends Central, Friends Select, Moorestown Friends, William
Penn Charter, Shipley, Springside, and Wilmington
Friends schools, as well as
convincing other schools of our program's benefits was not
easy. They were hesitant to initiate some of its innovative aspects -- even the
relatively simple teaching tool of having an infant and parent visit the
classroom. Influencing the thinking of school administrators to accept the
importance of such a program required long, continuing education, advocacy, and
support. Nevertheless, through the staff's diligence and the belief of those
touched by the program, it has grown, and was introduced into the Philadelphia
Public School System in 1985. More recently, school districts in
Education for Parenting has the purpose of
bringing parenting in to the school as a subject of study. In the past, mothers
taught their daughters how to parent, and the daughters, in their turn, became
the principal parent. Today, more than 50% of mothers with children under the
age of one year work outside the home, a figure that is increasing. The
parenting of today and of tomorrow must be done by both fathers and mothers,
and must be taught to boys and girls in school.
Schools validate what our society considers
preparation for important work. In them, you learn skills that some day will
let you be a lawyer, doctor, teacher, etc. If parenting is to be viewed by
children in our society as important work, then that work must be validated as
vital by being made a subject of study and reflection, and developing
understanding and skill from kindergarten up. If taught about parenting in
school, young children will discover that it is something that can and must be
learned.
American families are undergoing fundamental
transformation. Mobility in search of jobs means the dismantling of the
extended family support structure. Both parents working outside the home means
increased need for support of families with young children. The growth in the
number of single-parent households means children at risk in our society in
ways we have not experienced since the days youngsters also worked outside the
home for pay. This transformation of family life requires a new relationship
between schools and families.
The new role of schools is to teach skills and
values which will help children become competent parents in these situations.
Schools now must prepare students not simply for employment outside the home
for pay, but for the work -- at least as valuable to the society -- that is the
skill and value of parenting.
In some areas where family structure is not
dependable and other organizations -- such as social service agencies and
religious institutions -- find themselves short of funds and overwhelmed,
schools must become day-long family resource centers. It is acknowledged
everywhere that schools must upgrade the teaching of academic skills. Often,
this can be done best in an environment where young children are learning in
school what it means to be cared for and to care for others. Observing the developmental
stages of infants and the parenting skills which correspond with that
development teach children that all life requires -- and benefits from --
education.
Why do teenage girls become mothers? It is not
that they lack information about contraception. Why do so many minorities drop
out of high school? It is not the lack of inherent intelligence. Can it be that
they did not learn in their early education that parenting is a skill and a
competence, not too different from reading, writing, and arithmetic? All
require self-confidence, validation by adults, and a process of developing
competencies. The Education for Parenting program does
just what it says -- educating schoolchildren in the skills, demands, rewards,
and pride of parenting. It is a process involving a structured curriculum,
developing analytic and reflective capacities that apply other academic sills
to the fascination young children have with babies and family life. This
crosses misplaced barriers in our society and brings family life into schools
and education into parenting.
Our ultimate goal is to let students
experience first-hand some of the pleasures, hardships, and responsibilities
associated with caring for a baby. We want them to learn that parenting
involves protecting and nurturing the developing person. The
programs tresses the importance of positive parental interaction with the baby,
which provides the first ongoing, in-depth human relationship. The
students are taught how important it is that parents provide an environment
where the baby can explore and experiment in order to become competent and
secure. Our hope is that, once students realize how much time, energy,
knowledge, expense, and skill are required for healthy parenting, they will
think twice before getting involved in situations they will regret later.
In addition, many of the fantasies of being
a parent are dispelled, and students see the negative consequences of becoming
parents before they are emotionally, developmentally, and financially ready.
They learn that, in unplanned pregnancies, everyone involved is hurt, including
the teenage parents, the baby, and, many times, the grandparents who often take
over much of the child raising. The program also
strives to increase students' sensitivity to other family members.
Importance of early intervention
Unlike traditional programs
designed to help curb teenage pregnancy, Education for Parenting is offered
well before students become sexually active. According to the most recent
available data, of 4,200,000 girls 15-19 years old who were sexually active,
3,600,000 were not married and 1,000,000 became pregnant. Therefore, the main
focus is in the elementary and junior high school years. Although we expect to
have an effect on decreasing the teen pregnancy rate, we do not teach birth
control or sex education. Rather, we provide children with an understanding of
why they would not want to be a teen parent and how their lives would be
affected adversely if the became parents prematurely.
Since the nation's teen pregnancy problem
affects all of us, economically as well as socially, teaching the
responsibilities involved in parenting to youngsters at an early age is
critical. This is particularly important for children who come from
disadvantaged backgrounds and may never have known the security and warmth of a
caring household environment.
With the appropriate classroom teaching,
problems such as child abuse, school dropouts, drug and alcohol use, and
single-parent families can be decreased significantly. In addition, school
human development programs need to be taught at a much earlier age. At present,
they usually are begun on the secondary level, by which time many students
already have dropped out, become unwed parents, or developed debilitating
emotional problems. The solution very well may lie in early intervention --
before any serious damage takes place.
