The Male Role in Juvenile Pregnancy

According to the teenage pregnancy site www.dosomething.org/, “8 in 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of their child”. An Average American views unplanned, unmarried pregnancy by teenagers a bad thing. Pregnancy will result in an extreme alteration of the lives of a female teen and possibly the father of her baby. But a question arises that modern culture is not granting full relevance with regard to teen pregnancy, should the father of the baby have a say in how the mother proceeds after her pregnancy?

Scientifically speaking, the baby is half the mother’s and half the father’s. The zygote is half the father’s sperm and half the mother’s egg. However, the mother must carry around the baby in her body for nine months if she decides to keep it; as opposed to the father who may or may not provide support for his partner during this time. Other arguments exist and almost all support the fact that the decision of the baby’s fate resides with the mother. While it is true the mother carries the baby and ultimately births it, does the father still deserve a say in the babies future?

Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding teenage fathers portrays them of poor quality. It portrays them as deserters, or forceful men who coerce women who want a child to get an abortion. This cultural stereotype must be broken by these teens who decide they are mature enough to make decisions about their sexuality but not mature enough to accept the outcomes. Feminism, a popular movement among the young women of modern America, believes that a woman has the only voice in the matter regarding the fate of her child. Other circumstances can even involve the baby being born and the mother refusing her sire to have no part in the life of their child.

Even with an understood stereotype in place, this seems like a double standard for today’s male juveniles. They are supposed to accept the woman’s decision whether it is to have an abortion or to raise the baby. Then, he is either supposed to financially contribute to the raising of the child or detach himself and let the baby be aborted. This conundrum began with a failure from teen dads abandoning the woman they became sexually involved with. Their failure has led to the necessity, if need be, for the woman to be completely detached from the feelings of her flaky masculine counterpart.

But men, contrary to cultural stigmas, can have feelings. What if they want the baby? What if they want to raise it? If so, shouldn’t they be allowed to have a say in the fate of the child? The teenage sire should be allowed to influence a woman’s decision and his opinion should matter. American culture must evolve to a place that allows sexually consenting teenagers to both have a say in the fate of their unborn child.

Teenage Dream

America is a land of stereotypes. One group in particular is the subject of much discrimination against them, teenagers. While teenagers are all different, the basis of what all teenagers seek in their lives is popularity, success, and love.

Popularity is a key aspect to high school life. In almost every television show, movie, or book, teenage characters seek to gain popularity. Teenagers think that having a successful high school career is becoming popular; their view of popularity revolves around the aspects of love and success.

Love comes in two forms in high school; one is the love of friendship. Many teenagers seek to have as many friends as possible; they think that the more people that like them, the more loved they will be. The other type of love is the romantic type. Since high school can be witness to a teenagers first experiences in romantic love, it can become overwhelming and take over their entire lives. While these forms of affection can be beneficial, they can often be taken to far and to the extreme. Young people can destroy any real forms of love; they often abandon true friends for more friends and a real relationship for a more involved one. The dream teenagers have for themselves is to have the most friends or to find their “true love”, emulating a Disney movie.

Success in school can also drive teenagers to extreme emotions and actions. Whether through academics, fine arts, or athletics, teenagers can become to involved in their work. The desire to be the best in any aspect of ones life is a common American trait; it is also one of the driving factors of American industry and economy. This trait, for better or worse, is fostered first in the education system of America.

Understanding the teenage mind allows one to better interact with them; furthermore, the teenage experience in America is something shared by all citizens and a unifying factor. All Americans are required to attend at least some high school, thus high school becomes a common thread that unites the people of the United States.

Victory and Rivalries

Sports play a pivotal role in the culture of America. As with any sport, the main goal for a team or individual is victory; this desire to win fosters an incredibly competitive spirit of rivalry within American society. These rivalries are born out of the desire to win and become the best. Rivalries and the road to victory, otherwise known as the playoffs, influence culture both negatively and positively.

Many problems arise with the intense rivalries in America. Among these are divisions among the populace that cause social strife, ranging from teenage rivalries to regional hatreds. Unfortunately even young children are exposed to this conflict. This practice is further heightened in high school athletics. Necessity for victory and intense rivalry is found in almost every high school sport, from cross country to volleyball. But the sport most guilty of increasing the emotions of players and fans to an uncontrollable level is football. With this passion, fans are prompted to riots, fighting, and sometimes murder. These intense feelings begin as early as children’s Pop Warner leagues and continue to the NFL level.

While these rivalries may be taken too far, they can have another effect besides segregation. While one team’s winning will not unify the nation, these intense feelings associated with victory can unify a small microcosm of those related to the team. A high school playoff game can unite an otherwise apathetic school body. Many activities vie for the attention of the school; from band to cheerleading to other interests, a school can become divided very quickly. However, the school is still unified by one identity and one name. School pride can spread across a campus like wildfire and unify a divided campus.

The positive and negative effects of pride, rivalries, and a drive to win are woven deeply into American society. American culture puts a great emphasis on victory above all else. If one is able to understand this part of the American psyche, they will better interact with the community they live in.

PSAT/NMSQT

Over one and a half million juniors take the Preliminary Scholarship Aptitude Test or the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test each year. This test is used to measure students across the nation in reading comprehension, mathematics, and English skills. In the new age of social media, juniors across the nation took to twitter, tumbler, and other social media sites to talk about the test. As a high school tradition and now a social media phenomenon, the PSAT/NMSQT has become an icon of teenage America.

Beginning as a scholarship program in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program adopted the PSAT as the national qualifying test in 1971. The test continued to evolve into its present form with math, reading, and English sections. There has been some scandal concerning the addition of a second verbal section after a flood of Asian immigrants, who excelled at math, began qualifying for scholarships. With high scores on the PSAT, a student can receive higher scholarship money for college. It has become an almost compulsory activity in high schools around the country and a staple of teenage development.

One of the things that PSAT/NMSQT stresses most about the test is its secrecy; however, since America entered the social media era, this secrecy has all but disappeared. Teenagers have taken to the internet to mock the test. This humorous and avant-garde form of humor breaks many of the testing rules society has set in place. The complete mockery of the PSAT/NMSQT is not a completely vulgar affair. Quite the contrary, this form of ridicule has surprisingly unified teenagers across America.

The educational value of the PSAT can be questioned. It can be called illogical to judge the merit of students based on one test. However, the ability of this test to unify Juniors across the nation is a surprisingly priceless quality. Even without the benefit of scholarships, this American icon needs to remain a staple of high school to unify the otherwise divided cliques of high school.