School for Little Wanderers
From Sarah Elzas
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Producers: Sarah Elzas
Along with the regular high school subjects of English, history and math, the 15 or so girls at The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers also attend Parenting classes. They are often one or two years behind other students their age, and they are getting through school while learning how to be good mothers to their own children. Carol Bourgoin and Jana Burgoyne teach, counsel and support these teen moms as they struggle with raising kids and growing up themselves.
I produced this as a complement to a profile of a teen mom, 'Cathy, 16, Mom' produced at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, but the piece can stand on its own.
2 Comments
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Review of School for Little WanderersThis is a fascinating four and a half minutes of radio. It's a rare glimpse into the schooling of teenage mothers. Most of the story is told through the teachers, and at first I found this mildly disappointing. I wanted to hear more from the spirited teens who kick off the item in a raucous way. But the respect and understanding the teachers show their pupils says more about the strengths of these young parents than they themselves might have been able to articulate in such a short time.
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Broadcast History
KLCC, 1/3/2005
Here and Now, 1/12/2005
Narrated version aired 5/6/2005 on VOA
Transcript
SUGGESTED INTRO:
Each year, about 450,000 American teenagers become mothers. Teen moms don't have it easy. They have to raise children while they are still kids themselves. As they try to balance diapers and homework, it's not surprising that fewer than half of teen parents graduate from high school with their peers. But there are special programs designed to help teen moms beat those odds? in schools that accommodate their needs as students, and as mothers. Producer Sarah Elzas spent time at one of these schools, The Maine Children's Home For Little Wanderers, in Waterville, Maine.
OUTRO: This piece was produced by independent producer Sarah Elzas.
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Student: James' puke smells way worse than their kids' puke, man!
Carol: Some girls, it's a competition of how you look, what you have. Here it'...
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Additional Information
- Produced: Oct 01, 2004
- Added to PRX: Nov 13, 2004
- This piece is in English
Tripp Sommer
Posted on January 03, 2005 at 12:37 PM | Permalink
Review of School for Little Wanderers
This piece immediately takes us into the lives and experiences of teen moms. But, mostly we hear directly from the teachers, not the mothers.
Good explanations of what personal and family circumstances leads these girls becoming teen moms - and how this class helps them with life and parenting.