wadaup

As a young teacher on the rez near Gallup, I think you mostly hit the nail on the head here. However, there are a lot of other things such as misallocation of educational funds, high teacher turnover rate, distance to major cities, etc. that keep good, well-intentioned people from staying and teaching on the rez for longer than 2 or 3 years. While using past troubles as an excuse is certainly evident in my experience, there are also a lot of things going on beyond the control of native people that there are simply no simple solutions to.

I recall a time recently when I was hounding a kid about his attendance, when another kid threw the white privilege card in my face, saying I didn't know what they were dealing with and that I probably had parents who cared/an easier life, etc.. While I acknowledge that the kid was right, I told him that that is why I hound them so much-so that they aren't limited by the circumstances that they were brought up in. It was a heartbreaking conversation, especially when I'm never sure how much actually sinks in.

"The Surgeon General has determined that smoking is bad for your health"

Like that guy is just some weird uncle that you try to nod politely to until he shuts up.