The Day That Mary Poppins Quit Because of Her Low Wages

13 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

1. virginiasgp says:

   September 7, 2015 at 12:06 pm

   Diane, were the handouts from Uncle Sam just too much to refuse? Why display grit when you can show insolence?

   LikeLike

   Reply
   • Dienne says:

     September 8, 2015 at 6:42 am

     Bigoted ignorance like this is why you’re moderated and limited to four posts per day. You don’t have the “grit” to last a day in a poor person’s shoes. But I sure would like you to try so you can find out just how far that “handout” goes.

     LikeLike

     Reply
2. booklady says:

   September 7, 2015 at 12:21 pm

   Dr Ravitch,
   Many thanks for the array of informative & stimulating posts you’ve taken the time to provide for us during this holiday weekend. Your “living room” has had plenty of visitors & commenters.

   LikeLike

   Reply
3. Dottie says:

   September 7, 2015 at 12:49 pm

   Dr. Ravitch, Yes, thanks as always for your informative posts. I am not always sure where to bring up things I am concerned about, so I hope it is okay to bring it up here. I am very concerned about the situation of the Syrian refugees. I think it is only a matter of time, and we will be getting many of them here in the U.S. I do not want to debate whether we should or should not take them. My concern is what happens to them when they come and how it affects their educators. I do have some background in this.
   I am currently the Director of Children’s Ministries at my church (volunteer position). When the Lost Boys of Sudan came back around 2000, they sought out the Anglican/Episcopal churches where they were resettled. I began receiving some of their children/relatives in the schools where I worked in the mid-2000s. As far as I know, there was no professional development or training of any kind about how to best help these children. Many of them had come from refugee camps in Africa or their parents had and they were born here.
   I had one boy in my class, who was very disruptive (4th grade). It seemed no matter what I did, he would not settle down. He was very angry. I had very little knowledge of what his family had been through in the Sudan. I am now friends with his whole family. His Mother hugs me every time I pick the children up for church. I have learned through her that they lived in a village in the Nubia area of the Sudan. This is in the north where mostly Muslims live. When the war came, the Nubians suffered greatly. Her son that I had in 4th grade is now 17. He got in with the wrong kids, started doing drugs and ended up in a reform facility through the prison system. He is out now, but I don’t see him doing much. I’m afraid he will get back in with the wrong group. I have spoken to his mom quite often. In her village in the Sudan, the village truly did help raise the children. If the children stepped out of line, everyone let them know it wasn’t acceptable. When the Sudanese families were resettled here, they were spread all over the Phoenix area. Therefore, no village to help raise the children. Church is very important to them, because it is the main time they can all get together. Their children might be the only Sudanese children in their school.
   Because most teachers are not educated about all of the trauma, cultural differences, etc. these different groups come from, I don’t think they know how to help them best. I also think teachers are expected to work miracles with these children that have so much to adjust to in a new culture. Many of them end up in trouble–jail. My friend, who runs the Sudanese Education Foundation here in Phoenix, told me she once spoke to one of the higher ups who brought the refugees here, and that person said, “We expect a certain number of them to fail.” Is that acceptable? I don’t think so. So, after my long discussion, here is my concern. Are we going to allow this same thing to happen to Syrian families who come? Thanks for letting me vent.

   LikeLike

   Reply
   • Yvonne Siu-Rinyan says:

     September 7, 2015 at 1:30 pm

     Wow, Dottie. Thanks.

     LikeLike

     Reply
   • Threatened Out West says:

     September 7, 2015 at 8:40 pm

     The U.S. has only allowed 1,500 Syrian refugees into the country. Meanwhile, Germany is expecting 800,000 refugees. You’d think the U.S. would learn from history and not turn away the St. Louis again, but politicians seem to have failed all of their history classes.

     LikeLike

     Reply
   • Dienne says:

     September 8, 2015 at 6:44 am

     The refugees we’re likely to get from Syria pale in comparison to the refugees from Honduras and other Central American countries who have been pouring across our southern border for years now, many of them unaccompanied minors.

     LikeLike

     Reply
     • Dottie says:

       September 8, 2015 at 9:31 am

       If you watch shows like “Meet the Press”, etc. , it seems likely that more Syrians will be coming. That wasn’t my point. No matter where they come from, teachers do not receive the support they need to help these individuals, nor do the refugees get the proper support they need to be successful in our culture. I have actually heard people say, “Well, they are in our country, so they better get used to it.” How is that possible when they have just witnessed the atrocities they have, lost loved ones, haven’t had enough food, been exposed to chemicals, etc. Then they come to a whole different society and are expected to “fit in”. I know more help costs more money, but again we are investing in our future. Isn’t it better to help them now, then to pay for them to be in prison later?” Or be part of our growing homeless population. My church just kept a family of nine from becoming homeless. This isn’t a rich church, but we get it. I don’t have the answers, but I have witnessed the problems first hand.

       LikeLike

4. Laura H.Chapman says:

   September 7, 2015 at 1:15 pm

   Video is great and the $3.00 increase in the minimum wage is exactly right as one path to moving people out of poverty. See the stories and stats in $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America. Edin&Shaefer, 2015.

   LikeLike

   Reply
   • 2old2teach says:

     September 8, 2015 at 12:25 am

     “Nickled and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich is still a powerful book even though it came out in 2001. That book had an incredible impact on me.

     LikeLike

     Reply
     • Part of the Problem says:

       September 14, 2015 at 2:11 pm

       Me too, 2O2T. I never gave much thought to leaving a tip for the maids in a hotel, for example, but after reading Ehrenreich’s book, I resolved never to skip that tip again. And one of her books after that, about the hidden economies of women’s work — I don’t think of nannies or nurses from the Philippines the same way, either. Pretty sure she might have a few things to say about women in education as well.

       LikeLike

5. Yvonne Siu-Rinyan says:

   September 7, 2015 at 1:31 pm

   Thanks, Diane! Have a great day.

   LikeLike

   Reply
6. Dan Crawford says:

   September 7, 2015 at 5:56 pm

   I enjoyed the sketch, but $10.10 doe not solve the problem at all.

   http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/

   LikeLike

   Reply