The Poor Among Us.

     The problem of the poor in our our society is a complex problem which will take years to solve. Yes the economy is a problem and isn't helping. Yes we have priorities messed up and are spending more on incarceration than education. But there is a bigger issue in play here which if worked on could slowly improve the situation over time.
     When I was younger I was placed in a special ed class which consisted of me and several ESL students. None of the students were dumb, but all the ESL students hadn't been challenged to think about problems from different perspectives. In this class you received points for the work you did. After a while there was a party where you could redeem the points for treats or toys. All the toys were priced so high you couldn't get any at the first party. Seeing something I wanted I saved my points and picked it up at the next party. All the other students spent all their points on popcorn. To the point where each one had their arms full of popcorn and were spilling it everywhere. One student asked "Why aren't you getting any popcorn?" I replied "I'm saving my points for next time. There is something I want and could get next time if I don't spend any now." They all looked dumbfounded and re-examined their popcorn with a critical eye seeing their mistake.
     A few parties later the program was out of toys, I was kicked out for not being mentally retarded, and the ESL students learned a valuable lesson. Lessons like this one need to be incorporated into the education system to teach children cost-effectiveness analysis. This would help to slow people down on the quick easy gains and focus on long term goals.
     Also my grade-school was a failure in the education system. If you say to a young autistic "Do this worksheet, but if it's too hard, you can go play with the toys." It's your fault the kid is playing with the toys. I wasn't the retarded one in that situation it was the entire staff of the school.