Man’s Letter on Struggles of Being a Teacher Goes Viral

a reply to: WhiteWingedMonolith

Yes! That's one of the most insightful, thorough, thoughtful and beautifully stated comments I've ever read here -- or anywhere. (I don't know if you're familiar with Bob Seger, but as I read your comment, his song, "Feels Like a Number" came to mind and now it's stuck in my head!)

What I shamefully neglected to say, but you said so well and I am thankful for that, is that not only do we no longer value mommy and daddy, we no longer value the child. We give so much lip service to making everyone feel special, but we give them nothing to make them feel valued and valuable. They grow up valuing nothing. Or -- as my grandmother used to say -- they grow up knowing the price of everything, and the value of nothing, even themselves. And this lack of values (for want of a better word) perpetuates itself not just in the individual's life, but in society as a whole. We all pay for it.

We have to be able to make a life for ourselves and our families, not just make a living.

a reply to: WhiteWingedMonolith

Nice input WWM! I had a conversation with a colleague the other day quite similar. She asked me about crime in a specific geographical region, and why it was so damned high.

My (Ill give you the nut shell reply) reply was basically a total lack of education. Most of the thugs in this (particular) area are drug dealers, users, alcohol abusers and on welfare/the system.

Zero are/were high-school educated, much less college educated. So, my point in general, was; education is probably one of the most important and critical things that a community can have to prevent crime.

I know, educated folk do commit some (very little) crime, mehhhh ok white collar , or non violent, maybe a dui..

Bottom line is communities with higher education have a much lower crime rate.

Hmm, I should start a thread on this

Thanks for posting WWM!!!! input, much appreciated!

a reply to: ReadLeader

Higher income has to be factored into it too. Higher education usually leads to that but the higher the income of an area usually leads to lower crime rate. Well at least blue collar crime, what kinda white collar is a different story.

a reply to: Sremmos80

That's because people of similar backgrounds, incomes, values, etc tend to self-segregate.

I'd be curious to see at what point does crime drop off relative to income, education, etc. I don't believe that crime is a function of income even though the two are certainly correlated. Lower income people tend to commit more crime, but crime is not caused by low income. I think you just tend to see more moral failings like drug use, etc among lower incomes which is what is contributing to crime.

I grew up in a lower to middle class neighborhood and we didn't have a lot of crime. My parents were basically poor and they didn't grow up in areas with a lot of crime because people's morals and ethics are not related to how much money one earns. Despite having meager means, people still respected their communities, themselves, etc. Being poor didn't stop people from getting educations and improving their families condition. This is why you have people who go from not having two pennies to being businessmen and doctors and other successful professionals in the span of one or two generations.

Nowadays, we have three generations on welfare. Grandmother, mother, and daughter.