1 post tagged “lalee”

    "Lalee's Kin" was an interesting and informative documentary of a poverty stricken family in the Mississippi Delta.  Some people are saddened and others encouraged by the story.  Honestly, I was more or less angered when watching this.  Not because it showed me that the "vicious poverty cycle" is true, but that the people involved in it are doing little to nothing to overcome it. 
    When I heard that LaLee had twenty something siblings and then had 11 kids of her own, I was astounded.  Of those 11 kids, 8 are still alive and have a combined 38 children.  That's an average of almost five kids per parent.  It's hard to imagine how a family stricken with poverty can improve their lifestyle having a litter of children.  Most middle class families struggle to stay that way with less than 3 or 4 kids.  If you want a better life for your children then you have to give them a fighting chance.  It also seemed that most of these kids didn't have a father.  If you can't survive with a two parent income, what makes you think one parent can support five children?  Make sure the man will stick around before you have your kids.  The dads that were around appeared to either have a drug problem, jail time to serve, or both.  If you can't be a responsible father, don't become one in the first place.
    Hopefully this next bit won't offend anyone.  I am a faithful God-fearing Christian and thank God for everything he's blesses me with.  I just believe that some people put too much into God's hands.  Lalee said that to fix some of their problems, they just needed to go to church and pray and give their lives to God.  While I believe those are great things to do and will better your life, it's not enough.  You also have to be willing to give your time to your family and work hard to improve your life.  God doesn't just send you all the answers and will power you need to get everything done that needs to be.  As Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Not God will do things for me if I have faith.  People need to take responsibility for their actions and turn things around for themselves.
    Lastly, when the parent or guardian is uneducated, they really can't help their children prepare for their lives.  They always showed Lalee getting her "grands" and "great grands" to do a lot of household chores and not making sure they did their school work.  It is the parent/guardian's job to at least give some structure to the home life.  Teachers have their time and the parents have theirs.  This shows how hard it is on educators to correct problems caused early on in the child's life at home.
    I'm not saying that I won't try as hard as I can to impact my students in a positive way, I just know it'll be a challenge.  I know that my teachers and other educators had a great impact on me during my childhood.  Hopefully, together, educators and parents can work to improve all of our kids' lives sometime in the near future.  I wish all of Lalee's kin and the rest of West Talahatchie and the Delta the best of luck in the future.  May God be with you.