Quote Originally Posted by python.princess
i read a thread in a different forum that was discussing high school students now compared to when we were in school. people were talking about how teens today are completely out of control, irresponsible, doing drugs, having babies, etc. for me, it's been five years since graduation.... and, yes, i look at teens today and ask myself "what the hell are they thinking???" but then, when i look back to my h.s. days, i don't think anything's really changed besides my perspective.

any thoughts?
Well, when I went to high school almost 20 years ago, I knew plenty of out of control, drug using, early parent teens. Today, heroin seems to be more prevalent, but in the 80's everyone did cocaine. And the bars were a lot more relaxed about letting kids in, and there weren't any laws about selling cigs to minors. I had more hassle in my 20's on both of those counts than I ever did in my teens.

The biggest change I've seen (and I have a teen in high school now) is in the education system itself. Most health text books now teach abstinence only, and the failure rates of prophylactics. Schools are extremely underfunded, classrooms are more crowded than ever, and teachers are so underpaid that they don't really care about the 'problem kids', they rely on zero tolerance to get rid of them.
"No child left behind" is a complete failure, and most parents don't even realize what's happening, or have time to educate their own kids.