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I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

bbc.co.uk

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Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#121

Post by jccalhoun »

hmwhy wrote: post #81

Maybe I'm joining the large amount of comments at the bottom for once, but this article is not just about someone who ended up being a teacher due to serendipity — he committed crimes to get there. I'm all for supporting people with disability, and there is no doubt that it requires courage to admit to being a fraud after so many years — but being dyslexic shouldn't be an excuse for anyone to commit crimes and get aw…

Honestly, it sounds unbelievable. I absolutely can believe that people go through life without learning to read. I'm a college teacher and I've met them.

The lengths he went to in college, however, seem so incredible that I am skeptical. Stories like Richard Montainez's claims of inventing flaming hot cheetos and Frank Abagnale's claims of impersonating have been found out to be false so I need actual proof before I believe these kinds of stories are true.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#122

Post by beckman466 »

telesilla wrote: post #115
beckman466 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while I own a home in my original country to retire to You’re proving their point...? From OP: > I guess maybe rich people who could afford to buy but choose not to, like to rent. > at least our money is going every week to people who already own more than one house

Where would I, or some other temporary migrant, live if not in someone's house who rented it to me? My owning a home is irrelevant.

> Where would I, or some other temporary migrant, live if not in someone's house who rented it to me? My owning a home is irrelevant.

Why does the housing need to be supplied by private landlords? There are places that have a lot of social housing, like Sweden. Let the government build and own property, it works well. It also means people from different backgrounds and occupations can all live together, instead of e.g. redlining, which devastates minority communities.

As it stands now only the rich are able to move into cities, with low-wage workers having to commute from far outside the city, which is a pretty disgusting shift if you think about it. Imagine having a crappy cleaning job, cleaning offices at night, and you have to travel hours for your job because you live so far out [1]. It's a reality for more and more people, as the assault on labor intensifies.

[1] https://taliajane.medium.com/a-week-in-new-york-city-on-13-5...

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#123

Post by baron816 »

hliyan wrote: post #84
hmwhy wrote: post #81

Maybe I'm joining the large amount of comments at the bottom for once, but this article is not just about someone who ended up being a teacher due to serendipity — he committed crimes to get there. I'm all for supporting people with disability, and there is no doubt that it requires courage to admit to being a fraud after so many years — but being dyslexic shouldn't be an excuse for anyone to commit crimes and get aw…

I agree in principle. But I think there has to be a difference in punishment between unrepentant perpetrators who get caught, and perpetrators who come forward on their own volition. If I remember the original Reader's Digest article, this person was already held to account many years ago -- he lost all his credentials, qualifications and not to mention respect and credibility. Even the original story was published m…

Yeah, this is kind of a Frank Abagnale type story. He did some incredible yet dishonest and criminal things, but redeemed himself later in life. I’m sure this guy bullied a lot of people to get them to help him cheat. He spent 40 years pretty much as an asshole—he had stolen a life that he hadn’t earned, and had deprived his students of a qualified educator.

Maybe the moral of the story is that people can change and become positive contributors to society. Think of all the people who have been locked up for decades for crimes they committed as teenagers. They were just thrown away by society without a chance for redemption. This is part of what Black Lives Matter means to me—there’s a primitive impulse in people’s brains to say they’re criminals and they won’t amount to anything and just cause harm. This guy got a chance that was denied to millions of black youths.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#126

Post by stadium »

yesenadam wrote: post #96
hutzlibu wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yes the system makes it legal, but ‘landlords’ shouldn’t kid themselves that they are providing value to others." A landlord who takes care of building and maintainig the house etc. is not providing value? You think that happens automatically? I mean sure, it would be nice to live in a world where everyone is wealthy and capable enough to own and maintain their home. But there are actually people who like to rent to…

> But there are actually people who like to rent I've never met any. Have you? I guess maybe rich people who could afford to buy but choose not to, like to rent. I live in Sydney, don't know anyone who owns their house or even dreams of it one day. Saying there are people who like renting, sounds to me like saying there are people who like pain, or a terminal illness, or a death sentence. But hey, at least our money…

I have a residential realtor friend who rents their family house. Yes, he earns his living selling houses, and rents his own house to live in, and they have lived there a few years. good schools, friends, like the neighborhood, etc.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#127

Post by ricardobeat »

CryptoPunk wrote: post #120
beckman466 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> San Francisco does not have the highest average incomes in the world. Are you joking? I seriously can't tell. Focusing just on worker's wages, when there are billionaire property owners (specifically owners of IP) living around the corner from you, is just ignorant and disingenuous if this really is your argument. Steve Jobs famously paid himself $1 a year, remember? I mean, that's probably why he wore those hippy…

>>Focusing just on worker's wages, when there are billionaire property owners (specifically owners of IP) living around the corner from you, is just ignorant and disingenuous if this really is your argument. Average incomes within the city are the overwhelming determinant of the demand side of housing supply and demand. A dozen billionaires are not going to materially affect the availability of housing, even if they…

"Economists at large" being a hand picked few and US-centered. Rent control can take many forms: rental caps, incentives/benefits, zoning and housing policies, etc. The view that it's solely a supply-demand equation is way too simplistic. Rent prices are currently falling as much as 10% in Amsterdam despite an extremely strained housing market with a 50k+ deficit on units available vs demand.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#128

Post by Akronymus »

HowTheStoryEnds wrote: post #87
winrid wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Owning a property has risk. By renting you are paying to defer risk.

Only true in those instances where rent is significantly cheaper than mortgage + maintenance costs.

Shouldnt it be the other way around?

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#129

Post by ajsnigrutin »

jasonhansel wrote: post #125

Here's a question: what can be done to make tech more accessible for illiterate people? That seems to be a side of accessibility that usually gets overlooked.

Put symbols and images on stuff... like we already do on most devices. Play, stop, pause, fastforward and reverse are pracitcally never written out in text.

In reality, teaching them to read first, would be best.

Re: I was a teacher for 17 years, but couldn't read or write

#130

Post by wsatb »

yesenadam wrote: post #105
wsatb wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I prefer to rent, and am not rich. I live in a large metro area in the US where rent is not insanely high, though. As someone who is single, it comes with a lot more freedom and less to worry about. Probably not the best long-term, but it's less stress in my life in my opinion, so the trade off is currently worth it.

Ok, well, if not rich, it sounds like you have the choice of buying or renting. Lucky you! I don't know anyone who has that choice. The person I responded to initially only meant, I guess, that some people who have the choice, prefer renting. Hm..but they were also talking as if people without the choice, like renting: > it would be nice to live in a world where everyone is wealthy and capable enough to own and maint…

I don't think we really disagree, I think we just live in very different places. My point was that renting has benefits in some places, whereas you implied it does not.
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