Originally Posted by KADmom
I live in an area in which astonishing wealth is right up close with middle class and horrifying poverty. Poverty in which you see parents who have their priorities all wrong; children who are homeless or are surrounded by violence every day, not having a book in the house is the least of their stresses.


Exactly. And for children in those kinds of circumstances, I'm just stunned when administrators/policy-makers don't see this as an economic problem-- but view it as "bad parenting" alone... and chastise parents for not "being more invested in their children's educations."

The argument always seems to be-- well, then those parents should move/find better housing/look for a better job/...

You know-- make better choices.

shocked I just think-- "WOW. Somebody doesn't get it."

Is it really such a wrong set of priorities to be concerned about purchasing antibiotics or keeping the electricity turned on rather than reading at bedtime every night? And if you don't happen to have an education sufficient to earn more than minimum wage, how exactly DO you go about building a nest egg for first/last/deposits on a nicer place to live? How do you take time off from work to go on job interviews if you can't afford to even stay home when you are sick?

Being truly poor is, I have decided, almost beyond comprehension for anyone who has never had to make gut-wrenching choices about WHICH basic needs to fulfill.

To even talk about education to that group of people is kind of hysterical. Not because they are stupid or don't care-- but because it's like trying to describe the ocean to a prairie dog.

Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.