When someone like Newt Gingrich who could possibly be the Republican nominee and possibly the next President of the U.S. makes such outlandish comments my heart sinks. He told an Iowa audience that children in poor neighborhoods have "no habits of working" nor getting paid for their endeavors "unless it is illegal." He also said, "Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works." He feels that child labor laws are really stupid...and are too rigid...and that they entrap poor children into poverty.
I have worked numerous years in majority/minority schools (mostly Hispanic) with up to 90% of the students on free and reduced lunch. I learned some things about this population--which apparently Gingrich doesn't know:
- Many parents were working 2-3 jobs
- Hispanics--as a whole--have an incredible work ethic that would behoove all of us to emulate
- Hispanics--as a whole--have an entrepreneurial spirit
Until we focus on the strengths of those we want to serve instead of focusing on perceived deficits it will be hard for us to be effective. It is even more challenging if the nation's leaders don't get it. We must continue to educate them.
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