The myth of the Welfare Queen is often just a myth. For every mother who chooses "hair extensions" over feeding her children there are many more who are cutting their own portions to make sure their children get 'enough'. I see enormous sacrifices by some of the parents delivering children to the school next to my home. Some walk their kids, rain or shine. Others accompany them, to and fro, on SEPTA, than complete their own rides to work. As a society we are still voting bombs as a higher priority than child welfare. Maybe basic "Food, Clothing and Shelter" should be 'entitlements'. Schools make a good delivery system for food, and could also be used to deliver the mandatory vaccines and other health check-ups that confound so many parents living on the edge. It would be sooooo much easier to bring a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner to a school, than to direct 600 families to a health center. Maybe Schools could run year round or maybe some practical and socially beneficial use for the buildings could be found for the summer months. Healthy working parents are often overwhelmed by the demands of scheduling family requirements. If we acknowledge that a huge number of humans are not healthy, and that many suffer from debilitating mental illnesses and that many of the ill are parents, than stresses within the current system become more evident. As adults I believe our obligation is to comfort, feed and educate the hungry children before we challenge the failing parents to do better. Teachers are the salaried front line of defense for our kids. There are good teachers, and there are some that are worse than the stereotype of the 'welfare queen'. Often teachers deliver tissues, require hands to be washed, isolate the kids with head lice, report those who appear to have been abused and quiet a riot before chalk touches black board. Like parents, teachers need support systems. Society is complicated. Most of us contribute. DINKS might pay more in taxes, for services being directed outside their own needs. Parents might invest a greater portion of their time and money to their own kids. Those kids might be our future tax base. Stay home parents might be eyes on the street, a quiet deterrent to afternoon crime and possibly a group that gardens or makes our parks look more people friendly. It would be nice if "them" were not just 'problems' but also 'opportunities'. It would be nice if "we" paused, often, to contemplate all the good we receive, and to say thank you. I am grateful that Wilma, provokes thought. I usually, but do not always agree with her. I do admire her clear, frank, brave writing. More than most, she enables me to better understand something that is rolling around in my brain, collecting the lint of foundered ideas and stuttered words. This is an election year. We have less than 5 months to declare our choices. I hope all eligible Adults: register; make time to think about their visions of a better society; examine candidate skills and plans; VOTE, for the people that will bring us closer to the society we want. All the best! Liz Campion
---------- Forwarded Message ---------- ... When you have parents lamenting the end of a school year because they expect schools to give their children free breakfast ad lunch, well... Why buy food and cook when <a parent> could use that money for hair extensions that take eight hours or more to put in. That is what <teachers are> up against. ____________________________________________________________ Click to for great deals on pitching machines and baseballs. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3mj5aJDRYcD2mtbtAm45YqeMV2RUjeQUBH1TBhf5wSSHsTKJ/
