Overheard at shop counters

As somebody who can neither picture not recall juicy information, I live in a ‘Goss’ free world. I can not link the names to faces of school mates, co-workers or townies after a year or two. I have no idea what the terminology is for such localised memory loss, it impacts little on life except for the desire for a photo fit to accompany all such knowledge. Despite this I find myself hanging closer to the counter in the local shops picking up juicy nuggets that will lose relevance before ever I get to pass them on.

Today’s drama unfolded between the employee’s of a charity shop and a customer, centring on the scandalous treatment of her child, being forced to sit next to a child with head lice. I caught enough to understand that the teacher was warned in no uncertain terms that if her child was ‘forced’ to sit next to this unfortunate kid then she would take her child out of school. The customer agreed whole heartedly, I left quickly.

Perhaps this is indicative of the state of the Irish Psyche, I hope not most evidence points elsewhere. The policy seems by and large to blame the victim, punish them, remind them of flaws instead of getting proactive or confronting the real problem.

The real problems here are not one child’s neglect, but a widespread attitude that problems must be dealt with through the path of least resistance. Instead of demanding equality of outcome in schools we demand something for our own child, I’m sorry if the other kid gets bypassed, that’s the sink or swim mentality. Its educational Darwinism .

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the oft cited pyramid upon which we would
like to build happy and fulfilled lives is sometimes overlooked in terms of children. Its as if they exist in stasis until they emerge from education into society where we can ascribe value and meaning to their lives as ‘productive’ people. But we all have these needs, the basic need ignored by successive governments in Ireland which has a child poverty level of 1 in every 6. While this may be localised in some schools translating as two children in a class of 35, in other schools it can be most of the class.

I spoke to a SNA once who said she was called into the principal’s office and told to stop buying buttered rolls for certain children at lunch time, both of them knew that these children came to school without breakfast and with no lunch. One acted, on a minimum wage, the other ignored it. The reason given by the principal was that it wasn’t fair on the other children.

I counselled her to continue and if it came to another ‘word in the office’ I would ask for the order in writing and signed. No human would put their name to an order like that. The problem is that the concept of Fairness has become polluted, fairness does not mean that we all get the same thing, it means that we get what we need. To each according to their needs.

The child needs help, if we look at it through Maslow’s methodology then we need to start with the very basics , it needs its hair washed, a clean set of clothes, food in its belly. How would you even think about learning if those things were not in place?If we as a developed and progressive society cant provide that then we really don’t have a future.

That woman was punishing the child when she should have been punishing the system, the child cant help it, ostracising her is only sweeping it under the rug.