Diploma first, then parenthood

I suspect I'm not the only one with mixed feelings over a story about former and would-be dropouts who overcame great odds to graduate from a local charter school.

The graduate featured is a 17-year-old mother who fought her way through tremendous obstacles to complete her schooling -- motherhood at age 14, working at a job until 10 p.m., and then dealing with a high-needs infant with serious disabilities. First she wore out, then she dropped out. Then she entered the charter school and worked fiercely to graduate before her daughter entered preschool.

She earned respect for making the best of a very difficult situation, and she certainly has mine. But this young woman is still in for a long, hard climb, and so is her daughter.

According to the Pulse study of the status of local females, families with children headed by a single mother are far and away the poorest in our eight-county region. Only 12 percent of married Hamilton County families with children live in poverty while 66 percent of those headed by a single mother do.

Teenage parenthood destroys any easy path to education, and lack of education cripples one's earning power for life. Poverty, in turn, makes families more likely to have unstable housing, insufficient healthcare, and limited options in childcare, education and employment.

It may be inspiring to hear stories about young women and men who juggle parenting duties and still manage to graduate, but how much easier their lives would be -- and brighter their children's futures would be -- if they put off parenthood until they had at least one diploma in hand.

They need to think longer term, consider consequences and get their self-esteem from something other than physical relationships and premature parenting -- and we need to help them. Taking an interest in young women like this 17-year-old before she becomes a mom with a heartbreak story is a test of our own willingness to do more than watch and judge.