Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
Wed Jul 5, 2017, 03:32 PM Jul 2017

Not at all, but I've tried to be a good citizen.

My kids went to (inner city) public schools, and I was always aware that while my own kids were in good shape academically, so many other kids in their school had no support system and needed all the help they could get. So, throughout the years I served as a volunteer classroom assistant in the early grades, an individual tutor in the middle and high-school grades (mostly for immigrant students with shaky English-language skills), and in the HS college and career center. Once, when district budget cuts were threatening to eradicate the "gifted and talented" program at my kid's elementary school, I was asked to call all the board members to protest (since my kids enjoyed that program several times per week). I refused: ESL programs were being equally threatened, and I told them that those had to be fought for first. They were shocked; I knew I was right.

I guess I would not have let my kids choose "sitting home on the sofa smoking weed" as an option after high school (I'm kind of a hard-ass that way). Many kids don't have parents to help them avoid that choice (which kind of turns the idea of gap year into gap life). That's where we all have to step in: schools, community, government. We're not going to solve the dead end otherwise.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Not at all, but I've trie...