Teenage Pregnancy
In the world we live in today it has become understood that an epidemic of teen pregnancy is ruining the lives of young women and their children and perpetuating poverty in America. Nearly one million teen girls get pregnant each year. Nearly four out of 10 young women get pregnant at least once before they turn 20. Seeing these incredible numbers and the opinion of most Americans, it is no doubt that teenage pregnancy has become such a controversial topic. However, while controversial, this topic is also one that is extremely relevant to high school students for they are the ones most prone to teenage pregnancy. In a survey I created, I asked 31 students if they felt as though teenage pregnancy was too controversial of a subject to be addressed in high schools. According to the results, 60% of those students felt as though high school newspapers should be allowed to address this topic, while 37% did not. As is clear from the results, teenage pregnancy is obviously not seen as too risqué by most students, and should therefore not be of a pedagogical concern to school administrations.
Regarding this issue I have collected interviews from students (journalism, and non-journalism), parents, and teachers on what their opinion is on the topic, and whether they see it to be a legitimate pedagogical concern. Click on any of the 4 to access these interviews.