The one about what Jordao wants to be when he grows up

Growing up in America there is a certain requirement for young boys to have certain aspirations for when they are older. These aspirations usually include wanting to grow up to be a baseball player, a dentist, a firefighter, a G.I. Joe, or a NASCAR driver. That last one was probably just me.

Growing up I never knew what little girls wanted to be. I always assumed they wanted to be married to baseball players, G.I. Joes, or NASCAR drivers.

Or married to a dentist.

We try to get our kids to aspire to high goals around here. When they say things like, “One day I want to be the governor” we don’t laugh at them at tell them to be realistic. They get encouraged to study hard and excel in school and know about what is happening in the world today. Lately, because school just started back up and with all the kids we sent to vocational school I’ve been asking the kids what they want to be when they grow up.

One day last week all the kids came up to me after school laughing at what Jordao did. Jordao is in second grade and when his teacher asked him what he wants to be when he got older he replied by saying he wants to be an appacho. That’s slang around these parts for guys that hand out in the industrial part of town and carry 100lb sacks of cement on their heads to the trucks of people that purchased the cement sacks. Its one of the crudest forms of work around here and all the guys that do it are illiterate, uneducated, and often crazy (from all that weight squishing their brains). They are lucky to get paid about a dollar a day for work.

It was actually pretty funny because he’s only in second grade and probably just got nervous in front of the class and couldn’t think of any other occupation, but it underscores a more serious point. A lot of the kids come in off living on the streets or roaming about in the jungle. Until we start explaining to them that (most) jobs don’t depend on your uncle being they mayor they have no idea that there are jobs here meant for people with a high school education and a knowledge of what the alphabet it. After explaining to Jordao that if he studies hard enough and passes school he could be anything - a banker, an electrician, or a teacher - he changed his mind. He decided he wanted to be an airplane.