Happy-Sad

I'm all excited because, certainly by next week, my library will be ALL FINISHED and left in the hands of my hopefully-capable site. I'm not totally optimistic about this, but we will see. Every day crowds of kids try to get into the building and when I do let them in (I'm painting shelves and kids have a tendency to walk on them or write their names in newly-painted things) they crowd around books and engross themselves. A favorite student told me, "Ma'am if we read all these books, our head will be crowded and we won't have time to open our mouths!"

One student discovered a pop-up book and it is definitely the biggest hit so far. They've never seen anything like that before. Nevermind that they are thirteen-plus and should be well beyond the age of pop-up reading.

I was also told yesterday that one of these newly-thirteen year-olds is two months pregnant. I wish she had stuck to pop-up books.

Supposedly this pregnancy was a big secret, her peer rushed to tell me. The boyfriend, another thirteen-year old under five-foot student at our school, was as yet unaware of the situation. Parents didn't know, teachers didn't know and now that I knew I wasn't supposed to tell.

I thought about it, and I told her homeroom teacher. That was the responsible, adult move right? The poor kid needed to be on prenatal vitamins, needed to go to the doctor, the whole nine yards... at least I think.

Homeroom teacher's response: "Well, if that's true then that's their problem."

No sex education. No condoms allowed. No birth control prior to marriage. Abortion is very taboo, and very illegal. And then no help for the kids who get themselves into trouble and screw up their lives at the age of thirteen.

Sorry to offend, but Catholicism is the worst.