tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post112878642336034393..comments2023-12-28T18:17:11.191-05:00Comments on Gruntled Center: Where the Action is in Family PolicyGruntledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1129161375713125342005-10-12T19:56:00.000-04:002005-10-12T19:56:00.000-04:00I agree with adriana. My only worry is that peopl...I agree with adriana. My only worry is that people who wait until they are "ready" will wait too long. This is especially true for children of divorce, which the Millennial generation is well-supplied with, who are very anxious about screwing up their own marriages.Gruntledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1129156307574311502005-10-12T18:31:00.000-04:002005-10-12T18:31:00.000-04:00[Note to the reader of comments: the following tho...[Note to the reader of comments: the following thoughts will appear disjointed.]<BR/><BR/>I would like to add to your thoughts on education and its role in family structure.<BR/><BR/>For one, I have noticed that schools, particularly at-risk ones, have a tendency to replace what a student knows as its family. The teachers become the parents, the other students siblings. This can be a positive thing for many students, especially those who lack solid family structure after 3 p.m. Some of the students where I teach seek refuge in the building and do not want to leave - to them, the school provides a safe environment where they can grow and be nurtured. However, the obvious problem is posed when one considers that not all teachers are necessarily the best role models for students - not to mention the additional pressure this places on teachers. We end up shouldering the responsibility of parents at times - teaching responsibility, respect, how to increase self-esteem, etc. - but this makes each teacher an actual parent to about 90 students in any given year.<BR/><BR/>However, in an unrelated way, I do see the family structure improving. There have been several sociologists who have credited "our" (meaning the 25-year-old range) generation as being the one that will restore family values, but in a way that promotes egalitarian relationships and sacrifice for one's children. However, we're also one of the first generations with options for family structure. I do see that some people trash the idea of "traditional" family so as to rationalize one's choice to have a more alternative family structure. But we're the first generation where it has actually been accepted to be married without children, to have children without being married, and to be in homosexual relationships with or without childen. This is a sort of liberty that hasn't always been present before. While this could end up hurting the idea of traditional family in the long run, as people begin taking this to the extreme, I can also see it as helping. People are having childen later so as to make sure that they are settled and ready to give 100% to said children. And people are viewing children as a choice, not an obligation. This right here - having childen when one is ready, and wanting them also - will help with family values more than anything else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com