Replying to LO28532 --
Dear At --
I'm not sure the subject "Motivation to Learn when in Despair" is
descriptive of the problem; perhaps we could say "Motivation to Learn when
in the Chains of Poverty"?
I'll start my thoughts by stating the obvious: Poverty is a vicious beast
that doesn't die easily. It is a blinding, binding, intimidating,
consuming, and controlling beast.
It is blinding because those caught in its grip can only think about the
near future, and even then in very limited terms: Where is my next morsel
of food coming from? Where will I sleep tonight? How will I protect myself
from the elements? Add to these set of thoughts children, and the natural
parental instinct to care for them, and you've got a situation where
thoughts of the future are limited to a few minutes or hours.
Without being able to the possibilities further into the future, its
nearly impossible to devise a plan for changing ones environment.
Poverty is binding because one is focused on a very small set of concerns
such as eating and shelter. One does not have a lot of time (or resources)
to go to school or develop new skills.
The blinding/binding nature of poverty is what makes it so intimidating
and consuming. I'd like to be able to say I know what it is like to be
hungry, but I don't really. I've never been so hungry that my only thought
was "where can I find something to eat -- anything, even discarded food in
a trash can." But I can imagine (empathetically) how all-consuming such a
thought and such a need would be.
How do you break free from poverty? I'm not sure I have an answer, because
I've never had to do it. I was born to a middle-class family, and I've
always had a job and made enough money to feed, clothe, and shelter myself
and my children. So the best I can do is come up with a theory based on
what I think I would do if I were in that situation. . .
As I sit here thinking about it, I think the first thing I'd do is become
a very good thief. I'd steal whatever I could so I could buy food as often
as possible until I was no longer hungry. This may be morally wrong, but I
can't see any other way. It occurs to me (after having just eaten a very
nice lunch) that as long as I'm hungry (in a very real, desperate sense)
I'm not going to think very clearly. So I'd try to take care of that need
first.
Once my hunger was in check, I'd start thinking about other possibilities.
But I'm not sure what those would be. I'm gonig to have to stop and think
about it for a while.
Perhaps you could tell us if the members of the family are literate? That
would influence what I'd do next, because if I could read/write and do
arithmetic then I'd have more possibilities to think about. And I'd have
the ability to recognize those possibilities.
--Benjamin Compton Frisbeetarianism, n.: The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
--------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness --0-253531693-1021662977=:34899 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
<P>Dear At --</P> <P>I'm not sure the subject "Motivation to Learn when in Despair" is descriptive of the problem; perhaps we could say "Motivation to Learn when in the Chains of Poverty"?</P> <P>I'll start my thoughts by stating the obvious: Poverty is a vicious beast that doesn't die easily. It is a blinding, binding, intimidating, consuming, and controlling beast. </P> <P>It is blinding because those caught in its grip can only think about the near future, and even then in very limited terms: Where is my next morsel of food coming from? Where will I sleep tonight? How will I protect myself from the elements? Add to these set of thoughts children, and the natural parental instinct to care for them, and you've got a situation where thoughts of the future are limited to a few minutes or hours.</P> <P>Without being able to the possibilities further into the future, its nearly impossible to devise a plan for changing ones environment. </P> <P>Poverty is binding because one is focused on a very small set of concerns such as eating and shelter. One does not have a lot of time (or resources) to go to school or develop new skills. </P> <P>The blinding/binding nature of poverty is what makes it so intimidating and consuming. I'd like to be able to say I know what it is like to be hungry, but I don't really. I've never been so hungry that my only thought was "where can I find something to eat -- anything, even discarded food in a trash can." But I can imagine (empathetically) how all-consuming such a thought and such a need would be.</P> <P>How do you break free from poverty? I'm not sure I have an answer, because I've never had to do it. I was born to a middle-class family, and I've always had a job and made enough money to feed, clothe, and shelter myself and my children. So the best I can do is come up with a theory based on what I think I would do if I were in that situation. . .</P> <P>As I sit here thinking about it, I think the first thing I'd do is become a very good thief. I'd steal whatever I could so I could buy food as often as possible until I was no longer hungry. This may be morally wrong, but I can't see any other way. It occurs to me (after having just eaten a very nice lunch) that as long as I'm hungry (in a very real, desperate sense) I'm not going to think very clearly. So I'd try to take care of that need first. </P> <P>Once my hunger was in check, I'd start thinking about other possibilities. But I'm not sure what those would be. I'm gonig to have to stop and think about it for a while. </P> <P>Perhaps you could tell us if the members of the family are literate? That would influence what I'd do next, because if I could read/write and do arithmetic then I'd have more possibilities to think about. And I'd have the ability to recognize those possibilities.</P><BR><BR><P>-- <BR>Benjamin Compton <BR>Frisbeetarianism, n.:<BR> The belief that when you die, your soul goes up<BR> on the roof and gets stuck.</P><p><br><hr size=1><b>Do You Yahoo!?</b><br> <a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/welcome/*http://health.yahoo.com">Yahoo! Health</a> - your guide to health and wellness --0-253531693-1021662977=:34899--
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.