They admit that it is harder to be a parent, but they still blame parents. When asked, they immediately leapt to improving the public schools. They say that the schools have the kids for 12 years and they should do a better job, not only in teaching academics but reinforcing the values of honesty, of responsibility, of keeping your word, of being fair in dealing with other people, of respecting others. They sense that the crisis is a moral one and that government programs don't really address morality. Some government programs, particularly welfare, have, in their mind, a track record of doing evil, not good.
People hear about terrible crimes committed by very young people.
It frightens them and appalls them and it leads them to this kind of thinking. Minority parents were much more concerned about a lack of good programs in the community for the young people. Even though large numbers of people said volunteering is a good thing, fewer than four in 10 do it on a regular basis. We found, actually, that a lot of adults voiced concern about whether they would be well- received, whether the people they were helping would be grateful for the help. Join the discussion in Table Talk .