One of the biggest reasons why teaching urban youth is so challenging is because of the young women. When a young woman starts high school, I bet virtually every one of them has ambitions of graduating. However, as time goes on, if the young woman does not do well in school, she always knows somewhere deep inside that if she is unable to complete high school, then she can always get pregnant and become a young mother. "Get her GED." And once these young women have made the decision not to graduate, some of them can become a serious distraction in the classroom, often causing behavioral problems. Don't get me wrong. I am not placing any blame on or judging urban young women. This is a societal problem that exists everywhere, including out in the middle of the most back country location you can imagine. But I'm talking about the perils of urban education, based on my experiences and observations.