This whole story makes me very sad. I do feel as if society has glamourized the plight of the unwed, teenage mother--made it seem much easier than it obviously is. I am very lucky in that I have never had to deal with that sort of situation, but that's just what it is--luck. As bad as this sounds, I have a hard time believing that a 12 year old is engaging in consensual intercourse without being coerced (emotionally or physically), but that's another story.
I think one problem with this is that the young girls have seen others (possibly even their mothers) go through this with the "promise" of government assistance. When you know that your basic staples (and I do mean BASIC) are being subsidized, maybe having a baby doesn't SOUND like such a bad thing. I'm not saying "welfare and food stamps are bad", 'cause I think they're a very good thing. I just know that some girls know they can get their food stamps "expedited", or know the ins and outs of AFDC.
Conskeeted, I think it's very good that your students feel as if they can talk to you about this sort of thing. You are truly an inspiration. I know that I would have been labeled all sorts of sluts and whores, and it's good that these girls can go to someone in an authority position and not be judged. What are the situations of these girls? Are they dating older boys/men? Are they in homes where this sort of behavior is seen? Are they daughters of young mothers? Are their financial situations less than desirable? What's your area like--you mentioned a rural area, but are you near a health clinic where you could possibly get someone to talk about the consequences of safer sex? Where are the mothers?
This is very sad, but I don't know how to stop it. We can't put every young girl on Depo-Provera or something like that--the only thing to do is teach personal responsibility.
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