Guys Perspective - Week One

Today, I start my journey into the realm of female bonding......The Mommy Boards!

Every week, I will be digging in and giving my manly view(growl sound) to a random topic posted on one of the many mommy boards around town. I thought it would be unique to give a guys perspective on different topics floating the mommy board waters. This week, I pick an easy subject, I think? Some weeks may not be that easy and may open up a dialogue between you and I, you and a significant other, you and a friend. The point is, just get your mind working and gain perspective from a males viewpoint, as many mommy boards are just that, strictly mommies talking to mommies.

This weeks subject.

Student/teacher relationship.

A mommy recently posted, "Is it weird to have my 8th grade student, who had a baby in September, share her pregnancy symptoms and birth story with me?"

An easy answer would be, duh.....yeah! That is a cop-out though and does not really get into the mind of a male, a husband, a father.

So, lets dive into these murky male waters.

How old are you in 8th grade? 13 or 14 right? Man, I am going to have to reach far back into my mind on this one!

I remember having my first kiss around 5th or 6th grade. To me, that was huge and I felt awkward even at that point in my life. See, when you are that young it isn't love, it is a crush. You know about the feelings of mad, sad, angry and happy, but love, that is something that takes much more time to develop and in my opinion is something you should know before even getting into the act of SEX.

By 8th grade, I was thinking about hanging out with the guys and playing Nintendo, playing in the tree-house, and playing sports. Girls were far from my mind. I loved soccer and by that age, I had started to learn to play golf. Even, once into high school, I can't even think of one girl being pregnant. I know there were parties, people may have gotten to first and second base, but going all the way home......no way!

It has got to be a generation thing for sure, but does that really change the fact that sex is okay in middle school? What are children watching or hearing that is making them think it is okay to have sex that young? I am not that old, we had MTV and cable back then. Programming may be a little different. Back then, it was actually a "music channel" and not Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, or one of the many other programs being ingrained into the innocent minds of our children. Teen Mom makes it seem easy to have a baby.....it is the before and aftermath of the relationship they focus on and not the struggles of carrying a baby and the symptoms one has during those often difficult times. That will get us into family values, which will be mentioned further on.

So, back to the question at hand. Is it weird to have a teacher/student relationship about the birthing story of your babies......yes, but is it okay, no. It is not okay and may even get you into trouble nowadays, but you as a teacher, adult, mother and mentor have a duty and obligation to that child. Teachers get a bum rap, but they deal with many issues in this generation that our generations were not participating in. Teachers often have families of their own, but now, must be mothers to the children they are teaching. Family values have been pushed to the side and we really need to fight as parents, mentors, and teachers to get these values back into our lives. I could not fathom being a parent at 13 or 14, nor do I want my children being parents just as they are starting to know what life is all about. I want my children to figure themselves out before they have to figure out how to feed a baby, change a baby, and be the emotional support of a baby.

Daddy, out.