xara wrote : I think that many of the problems with the youth of today stem from a lack of respect.Bob's grandmother was certainly taught to respect her parents, her school teachers and her employer.
Ah, the differences in a few generations. I think that children were more terrified than respectful in many cases. Teachers could hit you if you got it wrong, well into the mid-1950s. My handwriting improved with practice after Sister whacked my knuckles a few times with a ruler!
But children are resilient creatures and I think the children who did well, my parents among them, had a THIRST TO LEARN. They wanted to know.
As to jobs, you could be fired for looking at the boss wrong. Without a reference from an employer you had a hard time finding another job. There were no ombudsman offices to help.
To rise out of poverty you had to KNOW how things were done, how to say things correctly. You HAD to learn!
With radio very rudimentary there was not the immediate blast of information that we get now on TV.
So you read books, listened to your "betters' and learned!
Books were beyond the means of many and it was through libraries that many learned of the wider world. Libraries and newspapers. Support them both!
It was not until after WWII that there was a more international flavor to every day knowledge. Men came back from foreign places and brought back new words, new foods, new ways of thought. We learned a lot about geography and differing cultures during the war which included both Asian and European worlds.
This ramble isn't going anywhere unless I write a book and I'm sure you're all weary of my going on and on.
I stick with the THIRST TO LEARN rationale.
Aloha
wow
