Hey, we have annual awards saluting some of the great educators of our land. Why shouldn't we have one on the flip side? And the lady pictured with her class to the right wins hands down on my ballot.
There are frequently news stories in the daily paper that boggle my mind. This is one of them. The LA Daily News ran a column on North Hills teacher Danielle Quinto. It seems this woman, with a bunch of 9-year-olds entrusted to her on a daily basis, was challenged by the kids' notion that day laborers are all scary people.
Confused? I'll back up a bit. Here, in Southern California, day laborers, frequently known as illegal aliens, can be hired at the drop of a sombrero. If you need a slab of cement moved around your house, you simply drive down to the local Home Depot where you will find them hanging around the parking lot, ready to be hired at the drop of a dollar bill. You also find them scurrying around car washes, construction sites, and strip malls. Want your garage cleaned? Basement gutted? Car detailed? They would be one of your options. Cheaper than using a licensed contractor, of course. Illegal? You bet your green card.
So, the kids in Quinto's class mention that they are very leery of these folks. Ms. Teacher, obviously bored with such class field trip options as the LA Zoo and the Griffith Park Observatory, gets a 30 watt light bulb of an idea. Why not take 25 children down to the parking lot adjacent to the Home Depot in North Hollywood so they can meet these people? And learn that day laborers are not all that sinister.
Inexplicably, she gets the consent of all parents. Six mothers, who are now officially designated as idiots, even show up to chaperone the expedition, probably just for an excuse to meet their friends and compare prices for Pergo tiles. Armed with bologna sandwiches and apples, off they all troop for their great adventure.
The class interviews the day laborers, who are apparently "quite moved" by all the attention. One starts to cry. What transpires is nothing short of a Hallmark Channel movie. The kids go back to class and now understand that you should not judge a person so quickly. Under the goofy Quinto's direction, they then craft a news release that illustrates their new-found realization and it is sent out to media outlets all over Los Angeles. They even pledge to raise money to give to these guys so they can all upgrade the tools they use to paste up wallpaper.
Cumbayah, cumbayah.
So, here's these children learned in school that day.
It's totally cool to go and approach any stranger in a parking lot.
Day laborers are good people who need proper tools to do their jobs.
The media will buy into any story whatsoever if it has the slightest hint of squishiness.
Here's what these children did not learn in school that day.
Approaching strangers in a strip mall may not necessarily be the safest thing around.
Most day laborers are illegal aliens, who are trying to earn money so they can bring more of their relatives over the border in the trunk of an Impala.
Crime statistics show that many felonies are commited by illegal aliens.
Day laborers are taking jobs and services away from people who are actually American citizens.
Had Ms. Quinto come back to the class and discussed those facts along with what the kids had just seen, she would have spirited an incredibly balanced and measured lesson, albeit a bit too complicated for a gang of fourth graders. But, instead, she completely ignored the big picture of what is a major issue in this country. And, now, there are 25 more misguided children in our society---with some truly moronic parents apparently in tow.
And, if this chucklehead of a teacher needed more help for a broader dialogue on the topic, she should have been aware of this. Several nights ago, a good friend of mine, who is currently vacationing in New Mexico, learned that her LA home had been ransacked. She lost many impossible-to-replace items and now must go through the thorough inconvenience of piecing together important artifacts of her being. Her robbery was one in a series that has happened in her reasonably fashionable neighborhood. And, now, police are looking at a common thread.
It seems that all of these crimes started when some day laborers started working regularly in the area.
Teach that, Ms. Quinto.
Dinner last night: BLT at Cafe 50's.
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