Did any one else know people who got married straight out of high school so they could start having sex? I know at least two couples who actually admitted this was their reason for rushing into marriage.

Sure, one of my aunts and the mom of one of my friends. Neither marriage lasted. Both were strong proponents of (responsible) premarital sex for their own daughters.

I don't know anyone who has admitted to it, but I know it was probably the case many times. Pretty dumb reason to get married if you ask me. Marrying only so you can avoid "sinning", not because you are truly ready to make a life-long commitment, is probably a bigger "sin".

Then again, having sex before you are ready to make a total commitment to eachother seems unwise also. Even with birth control or "protection" there can still be unintended consequences of sex. If I were a woman I would be very hesitant to jump into the sack with a guy who might be interested in sticking with me for the long term. For a man the risks are much less, we can have a much more cavalier attitude.

This was the way it was in poor and working class schools I attended in decades past. Those males who worked on their education were considered to be evading their responsibility, by the girls. (Worse by the boys) At age 16, it was expected by most of the girls that a guy would quit, get a job at the nearby plant (plentiful then) get a car and be ready for procreation ASAP. Many times I heard teachers bemoan the fact that someone would quit with only weeks to go to complete a grade.

I was a middle class kid stuck in an alternate universe. My Mother couldn't understand the problems I faced, getting an education.

Sounds like what I remember in the early 1960s, except my high school was big enough that the college bound kids, mostly but not all middle class, were segregated in their own track. In those days, the Navy recruiters used to have pamphlets urging guys to finish high school instead of dropping out for the short term money of a pump jockey or factory job.