I am glad that things are getting better for people. I like seeing people hustle and try to obtain the things that God wants them to have. Hard work hasn't ever hurt anyone and we need to instill this in our young people. Get a plan for your life. Go to college or trade school. I realize as a teacher we have been taught to encourage our kids to go to college. That's true, but it's also true about the many other professions out there where they can make good money.
I am so excited about Memphis and the surrounding area and the companies that are coming here like Ford Motor Company in Stanton, Tennessee with Blue Oval City. We have to continue to build up our educational systems. Give the schools money for buildings. Make sure excellent charter schools are getting their fair share. There are also many foundations in Memphis that give money. I encourage them to give to some of these excellent charter schools. On their website, I have seen that some don't fund charter schools.
My husband always reminds me that college isn't for every child. That is the reality. We thank God for the ones who are able to graduate from high school and go to college. We also thank him for the ones who find their niche in other trades. I am encouraged by the fact that they put the technical emphasis back in the schools. When we were in high school, they had home economics, Future Homemakers of America, DECA, Future Farmers of America, and shop. We also have to understand the reality that a lot of our children come from low-income backgrounds.
My background is poor, low economics, or whatever buzzword we are using today. I was raised by my grandmother because she did what parents do. She helped her kids raise their kids. There was not a lot of industry in Grand Junction, Tennessee. To this day, there is still not a lot of industry there for whatever reason. Everyone didn't want to work in the cotton fields in the 60s, and I couldn't much blame them. They probably weren't paying much. My Mom like her siblings went to Memphis to get a job. My Dad and many of his siblings moved north to Detroit and Illinois. My dad retired from Ford.
We thank God for parents who were able to support their children while they went somewhere to make a life. Of course, my Mom always came to check on me, Jackie, and Carl. She had my brother Will with her. Then my brother Carl went to stay with her. After my grandmother died, she raised my sister Jackie, and I stayed with her during summer breaks or holiday breaks while attending college. Happy to say that all of my siblings have careers and have gotten educated. All of my siblings have started businesses. My grandmother and Mom didn't play about raising kids. My siblings are no different.
As a parent, you need to demand to your school board that these technical programs are available in high school. I have taught many young girls who were looking forward to going to high school to take cosmetology. I am not sure how many schools have this program, but you can make a good living as a hairstylist. Our young men can make a good living as plumbers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters, HVAC specialists, and many other trades. The Hispanic population has come to America and basically, they are taking territory in construction and landscaping. Why are many of our urban inner city youth being left out of the loop? Yawl better wake up.
This crime rate in Memphis will go down when we equip our young people with some ways to make legal money once they leave high school. Unfortunately, some of our parents will have to do a better job getting a handle on their child's behavior at an early age. They need to be disciplined and know who runs this. If not, they will try and run you when they get older. My parents weren't going and I wasn't trying to try anybody because you would end up on the ground.
I plan to do more installments of Cash Strapped America. If there is a particular topic that you are interested in with my blog or if you are one of my newsletter subscribers, hit me up at shamer@sandrahamer.com. I work by day, but I am trying to take my writing to the next level. It's my husband, family, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sisters, church members, co-workers, my social media followers, newsletter followers, Memphians, folks from home like Grand Junction and Hardeman County, former television news viewers, former bosses, and many others who have encouraged me. I just want to thank you. If I missed anyone, as the older people say, charge it to my head and not my heart.
