Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / May 28, 1992, edition 1 / Page 28
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it uui viuiui cii mccu r uiallCidl Support To Improve Condition BY DR. RICHARD L. LESHKR WASHINGTON, D.C.—One out of ev ery four children in the United States under the age of six ie living in poverty, according to the National Commission on Children. Of course, many children of poor homes received the base necessities of life—food, shelter, discipline and love. Bat the grim reality of today is that children of the poor suffer disproportion ately from malnutrition, poor health, psy^hdogical stress, physical abuse, learning disabilities, and lack of ethical anymore] guidance. They are mere apt to 4*8*8* in drug abuse and criminal activity than children from economically advantaged homes, and three times as likely to drop out of school. is situation poses ominous implica i for our country’s future in both so lid economic terms. The social as pect is obvious. Ill-educated people prone to (antisocial behavior do not generally main good citizens, or contribute to civic stability. But the economic implications are most ominous of all. We live in an age of sophisticated technology. It used to be that anyone with minimal education, and a tad of mechanical aptitude, could look forward to a useful place in our indus trial economy. No more. In the future, employees on the shop floor must be com puter friendly and able to deal with rig orous intellectual challenges. We look to public schools to prepare our young people for the workforce. How ever, there are limits to what they can do with kids from unstable home envi ronments who come to school malnour ished, unhealthy and apathetic. The National Commission had no trouble identifying the source of this pa thology—family breakdown. The story of childhood poverty is almost exclusively a story of broken homes. Part of the solution must be financial. President Bush has supported steady funding increases for proven programs, such as Head Start, that help poor chil dren. More recently he proposed a se ries of tax changes to benefit poor fami lies. These recommendations deserve speedy action by ‘Congress. Beyond that, we all must take a more active hand in our communities to help struggling families overcame their pov erty and improve their condition. Them am hundreds of religious and civic orga nisations actively engaged in this criti cal work. They need our financial sup port, and also our volunteer time. An ExherienceForA Lifetime Utionship between you and your college goes on forever. You learn, grow, reach, enjo* lad, decide, stretch . you search, discover Your college teaches, nourishes, challenges, encourages, allows, believes... it searches, discovers. You change. It changes. Ybu make a pbcc in its history. It makes a difference in your life At least thaft the way it is at Meredith, the bugest private college for women in the southeastern United States. It’s the way it should he—an experience for a lifetime -MBA, M.Ed, M.Mus.
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 28, 1992, edition 1
28
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