Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Problem Solving 101 with the elephant:

The first step to solving any societal problem is establishing the ability to safely speak of The Problem and to openly identify those who are causing or perpetuating it. But there's a problem...yes...another problem...

There's a condition in America that I refer to as "The Politician's Dilemma." Here's a simplified definition.

America's problems are caused or perpetuated by the aggregate behavior of registered voters. In order to address America's problems effectively, politicians have to tell the very people who voted them into office to stop doing what they like doing, have been doing for many years, and consider it their sacred right to continue doing.

There are a couple of things that readers should take note of.

First...Throughout this weblog I've repeatedly placed the blame for poor student performance and violent behavior on the role modeling of their parents. My comments have been posted and have not been heavily criticized which suggests a significant degree of agreement.

Second...Almost all of the comments in this weblog are "anonymous."

Politicians aren't the only individuals who risk severe punishment for speaking openly about a problem, the source of which is a matter of common knowledge. We're all at risk for doing so, and my earlier reference to members of a textbook alcoholic family never daring to broach the subject of alcoholism should conjure up strong memories for many readers. Even the great and powerful Oprah is terrified to talk about parental incompetence. I may have the wrong date but November 14, 1997 seems to keep coming up in memory. Oprah once hosted a show that featured a couple of female Ph.D's who videotaped bullying at several elementary schools. After showing some of the video to the audience, the great and powerful Oprah turned to the Ph.D and said, "Why do kids bully? Surely the parents aren't to blame." The Ph.D shook her head and with a wide eyed expression replied, "Oh noooooo. Oh noooooo." Oprah slammed the door on any discussion of the source of The Problem. The rest of the show consisted of strained efforts to blame unrelated scapegoats like low self esteem and mental illness.

The American Public School system's greatest problems are not a matter of funding, boring textbooks, or dirty window sills. Bad parents are The Problem: parents who wouldn't be caught dead reading a book, parents who want to be feared and want their children to be feared by other people's children, parents who think that alcohol is a food group...parents.

If you really want to solve The Problem, you're going to have to stop being quiet about it. I suggest behaving as a union and organizing an effort to convince the media to make bad parents some of the most photographed, written about, and talked about people in America.

You might want to contact members of the law enforcement community and convince them to help you. They spend every day dealing with the same problem children you do.

The elephant wishes you all...good luck. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I forgot to add in my previous comment that bad parents often reveal themselves by referring to fear as respect.

Who says elephants never forget.

Anonymous said...

Very good .the truth sometimes hurts

Anonymous said...

Regarding politics, let's rewind to the School Committee meeting when the Superintendent motioned to receive level 3 grievances and the mayor seconded this motion. This was a calculated move on Durkin's part and the perfect opportunity for Mitchell to shirk his responsibilities.

Anonymous said...

You know Jon Mitchell is trying to retire our elephants? Watch out!

Anonymous said...

Buy her out of her contract?

Anonymous said...

Circus elephants don't scare me.