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IMO parents have to take more responsibility for their kids' education. And I don't mean complain to the teachers and the school boards more. They need to exert more discipline at home. Children need structure. Parents need to make sure that the schoolwork is taken seriously by their kids and the homework done properly. My parents wanted to hear about what we were learning that day in school. And parents also need to make sure that their children are showing respect to their teachers, even the boring ones.
And about bullying, the parents need to make sure that their kids aren't making fun of or being unkind to any students that are deemed weaker, slower or ugly. There is no reason at all for bullying to go on if the kids are being taught compassion by their parents (and their church).
It seems that I will still be in New England for a few more years, so to deal with it as a single guy I spend my weekend nights in Boston. While in Boston all I seem to hear about is colleges when I go out though. Everyone seems to be a college student (regardless of their age), if they are not a student they work in education, work in IT, is a scientist, or they are between the ages of 18-25 and treat the older people in a judgemental way of some kind. I have yet to meet anyone that said "I never attended college" so far while hanging out in Boston.
I also feel people are bit "closed-off" when interacting with others. But that might be because i'm a male. Although I did not have this problem in other cities...perhaps NYC is the same though...I do not know. This is not everyone, but it seems to be the majority. If you want to make new friends easily, then you have to join the meetup groups, or be under age 26. I did make a friend without using meetup, but he is leaving the city soon for a job.
I cant say I ever felt a welcoming feeling that I do in certain other places, while going out in public and not knowing anyone. Some people can be cold, or outright insulting, but some can be nice. If you are with others they tend to be nicer. But these are all experiences during the night on the weekends. Maybe for women it is different.
Aside from that, the roads in Boston are a bit hard to navigate, they also have pot holes because of the weather, finding parking is difficult most of the time. Many of the establishments do not have parking lots. The style of houses are very old and probably have lead paint under the current paint. Would also not be surprised if asbestos was in there as well. The rent is also very high for the quality of housing. But people pay the high rent to be closer to the city.
As for the city of Boston itself, I think it is a city with lots of activities to offer if you are able to utilize them... it is the capital city of New England. You wanted to hear the negatives, that has been my negative experiences so far.
Transplants are ,-> are what? Boston attracts some of the smartest people in the world for school and work.
feels very "white", -> Agreed in some ways. Downtown is very white and this is what most people see but there are sizable Hispanic, black, and Asian populations if you look. Every university campus has representatives from everywhere around the world as well
kind of repressed culturally, -> Very cultural and historic city, not sure what you mean. It just may be a different culture than you are used to
large "bro" culture, -> Not quite sure what this means to be honest
small... if it seems like you've done everything, -> It's a mid-sized city so it depends on where you are coming from. Not a huge city but still has a lot going on activity wise to keep one busy. It's also very close to the Cape, Philly, NYC, Maine, etc. Great location on the east coast if you ask me.
very expensive housing, -> Hell yeah, not much housing development in the city to protect the historic charm.
work and social scenes are very clannish, -> I agree so one has to find a clan (aka group of friends) on their own.
jobs seem to be for MIT, Harvard or BU grads; -> They dominate for sure but many people are wildly successful without an ivy league degree. End of the day, it will depend on how smart you are and how bad you want something.
if you're from out of the area, you'll feel like an outsider forever; -> Takes time to settle in but its possible and people do it everyday.
everybody idolizes former Mayor Thomas Menino. -> Not true, many do but not everyone
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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I understand the "feels very white" observation, I just don't understand it as a negative. I've lived in other big cities that felt less "white" than Boston, but didn't see it as a benefit. It wasn't a negative either. It just was.
I found in another posting this alleged negative aspects of Boston and want to discuss them with all of you. What do you all think about them?
Transplants are ,
feels very "white",
kind of repressed culturally,
large "bro" culture,
small... if it seems like you've done everything,
very expensive housing,
work and social scenes are very clannish,
jobs seem to be for MIT, Harvard or BU grads;
if you're from out of the area, you'll feel like an outsider forever;
everybody idolizes former Mayor Thomas Menino.
"feels very 'white'" - not where I've been! It seems mostly ghetto and/or barrio and very segregated. Only the seriously unaffordable snob parts of town "feel very white."
"kind of repressed culturally" - well, sometimes I do find myself thinking that it might have been easier to relocate back here in 1692. Especially if you were a single childless woman with cats!!
"work and social scenes very clannish" - you mean clique-ish. And, of course. That seems to be what Boston is all about. If you're not "in" with one of the cliques you're better off somewhere else in the state at least an hour away by T or by car.
"jobs seem to be for MIT, Harvard or BU grads." That's on point, but maybe the reverse is also true: maybe in Greater New Haven, Yalies get all the jobs?
"if you're from out of the area, you'll feel like an outsider forever." That's true everywhere. But maybe it only seems like forever because of New England winters. There are places I've been where it may not take as long before the "locals" treat you like "one of them" but I'd beware of those places because the local "townies" tended to be high school dropouts with drug habits and out of wedlock children up the ying-yang. Places where, if you're a woman, you're presumed to have out of wedlock babies and no education, just from BEING THERE. Or at least that's what people told me when I'd confront them with it. You know, a kind of "why the hell are you surprised that I came here to teach Math, that I DO have an education and DON'T have out of wedlock children or a criminal record!?" interrogation on my part.
I have yet to meet anyone that said "I never attended college" so far while hanging out in Boston.
That's my biggest "beef" when going anywhere else - I've been, and tried to teach, in places where the kids even asked their TEACHER "did you go to college at all" -- I kid you not.
(or at least I'd like to THINK they'd ask EVERY female teacher that. For now I'm going with that theory....)
IMO parents have to take more responsibility for their kids' education. And I don't mean complain to the teachers and the school boards more. They need to exert more discipline at home. Children need structure. Parents need to make sure that the schoolwork is taken seriously by their kids and the homework done properly. My parents wanted to hear about what we were learning that day in school. And parents also need to make sure that their children are showing respect to their teachers, even the boring ones.
And about bullying, the parents need to make sure that their kids aren't making fun of or being unkind to any students that are deemed weaker, slower or ugly. There is no reason at all for bullying to go on if the kids are being taught compassion by their parents (and their church).
Bravo.
But parents not only won't, if the teacher even says anything about it we're the ones fired. Or the kids will go to great lengths to break into a locked cabinet behind the teacher's desk and steal out of her purse and then the "powers that be" will blame the teacher for having her purse in the building locked up in that cabinet in the first place. I kid you not. I'm not even talking about the teachers who got fired for not attempting to break up a fight between students in another room at the high school...or, of course, the one who did try to intervene and as such, "touched" the students....and all of this is while no one is learning anything. Kids are reaching age 18 and above, leaving high school without the ability to add, subtract, multiply or divide, and all because of all kinds of bull**** keeping teachers from being able to do their jobs if they're even able to keep those jobs more than about a month or two in the first place.
IMO parents have to take more responsibility for their kids' education. And I don't mean complain to the teachers and the school boards more. They need to exert more discipline at home. Children need structure. Parents need to make sure that the schoolwork is taken seriously by their kids and the homework done properly. My parents wanted to hear about what we were learning that day in school. And parents also need to make sure that their children are showing respect to their teachers, even the boring ones.
And about bullying, the parents need to make sure that their kids aren't making fun of or being unkind to any students that are deemed weaker, slower or ugly. There is no reason at all for bullying to go on if the kids are being taught compassion by their parents (and their church).
As an aspiring educator coming from a family of educators, I can agree with this. My parents always wanted to hear about my day at school. If I had praises, they encouraged it. If I complained, they offered ways that I and I alone could make it better. Now everyone jumps at the opportunity to gripe with the schools causing teachers to walk on eggshells and not be as effective as they can and/or want to be. Teachers are often unable to discipline their students for fear of upsetting sensitive parents and getting bad marks on their administrative record; yet an unruly student is always the teacher's fault.
Speaking of bullying, as I consider employment options in Boston schools, I've noticed the huge anti-bullying campaign listed on almost all the schools' websites. Is this a new initiative and was it created because of an influx of bullying for whatever reason?
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dapeaz
Is this a new initiative and was it created because of an influx of bullying for whatever reason?
I don't have first hand knowledge, but I doubt it is due to an influx. Bullying has always been an issue, we just have taken more notice of it as a society over the past few years.
I was bullied. As were probably most kids. But today with social media there is no respite from it. I can't imagine the added toll that takes not having any escape for a few hours a day.
The style of houses are very old and probably have lead paint under the current paint. Would also not be surprised if asbestos was in there as well. The rent is also very high for the quality of housing. But people pay the high rent to be closer to the city.
I live in Richmond, Va which is old and historical to say the least. So it goes without saying that most the houses in the city, 90% of which were build around the turn of the 20th century, have or had lead paint. If you rent. your landlord is required to provide literature on the hazards of lead based paint. Unless you have children or pets that could potentially eat the paint, the risk is minimal if the property is well maintained.
However, and I can't speak for Boston although I hope landlords are responsible there, lead paint has often been stripped and repainted to avoid any risk. Although risk of lead based paint does exist, you never sign anything exempting the landlord for harm caused by lead, so it's in their best interest to address the problem. Again, not sure if it's the same in Boston, but I'm assuming the standards there are higher than regressive Richmond.
As far as outrageous rent prices, there is a thread in this forum explaining the real estate costs which is both interesting and informative.
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