[speaker001:] So, what do you think about a year or two of public service?
[speaker002:] Well, I know it's hard for young people to think about giving up their years, you know, fr-, their carefree years
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but people that I have known that have done that, like from other countries, especially,
[speaker001:] Yeah. Yeah.
[speaker002:] from Germany and Finland, um, they are just, they have such a better, more mature, outlook on life and I think they're better people
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] because of it, they're much more responsible. I know, um, the church that I go to, um, the young men give two years of their life when they turn nineteen, you know,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] they're encouraged to do that, missionary work, and I be-, I really believe that the people that do that are better people that make our,
[speaker001:] You know, I,
[speaker002:] society better.
[speaker001:] I really agree with you. Um, I, uh, though I've never done that myself, I, I'm, was a basically an education major when I graduated from college and I accepted a job that at the time was just slightly above the poverty level to teach to, um, very rural children in a very low income district and I spent a year teaching there
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I think it was probably one of my largest eye-opening experiences because I come from nice middle class white suburban home
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I did it, um, for one reason I wanted, I was working on a masters degree so I wanted to stay close to where I was working on a masters degree, but also because I just thought that it would be interesting to live some place else so totally different than my own up bringing
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I, it changed, it probably changed my political views it changed my understanding of the world around me
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I think, um, in fact, i-, if I had to do it all again I, you know, after that, you know, you never think of it because, I guess because I paid for all of my college education myself, I never thought about doing that because I had all these college loans I'd started paying back.
[speaker002:] Huh.
[speaker001:] Um, beca-, so that was, that was one reason why I never considered it but now that I'm further along, and I'm still paying these college loans,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER]
[speaker001:] I, I think realistically, you know, you can have your college loans delayed now, because I had them delayed because I'm back in graduate school at thirty years old,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] um, I had them delayed because I'm back in graduate school and on that form it says if your joining the Peace Corps you can have them delayed
[speaker002:] Huh. [Clinking and rattling in background.]
[speaker001:] and I thought that was, you know, very interesting and I, I would have thought of that earlier I probably would have done, you know, just like, is that, is this, is that the Mormon church,
[speaker002:] Yes. [Background voices]
[speaker001:] that does that?
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Because one of my neighbors, uh, did that in Pittsburgh, from Pittsburgh.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And I thought, you know, that really, now that I'm thirty years old, I think that one or two years out of my life would have, probably like you said, to be able to travel some place else whether it be the United States or outside the country,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I think it would have been a very good, um, experience for me.
[speaker002:] Well, I think so, it puts you out on your own and
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and in a time after high school, um, there's kind of a selfishness, I mean, teenagers in our country are kind of, kind of a year that parents don't look forward to and,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and things like that and I think that it would help people to become,
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] less self-centered,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and to be more responsible when you're out on your own trying to, um,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] thinking less of your own needs but,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] of other people.
[speaker001:] And I think, you know, we have such a need now, you know, I taught, you know, I, I think I was paid, uh, about nine thousand dollars to teach for the year
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I worked in a very rural school district and I, I, one of the things I taught was a computer class
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and these kids, um, you know, every girl I taught, except for one, was pregnant.
[speaker002:] Oh, no.
[speaker001:] Many of the boys in the room had children and they were, they were high school juniors.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And I just, there, you know, they came from poverty, they were going to condition in poverty and it was, it was, the school district couldn't hire many people, it was very difficult for them to hire, and I think, you know, in the sense, that aspect of public service for education in some of the inner cities
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] for, um, just social workers in some of the inner cities and some of the rural areas where they just need advice on medical, um, things,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I think it's a really good idea. And even if it is overseas. See, I never, I, I tell you sometimes I worry about things over seas because we have such problems right here in our own country.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] It would really, um, and I don't [LAUGHTER] the people that I've known like from Germany and Finland that have done that
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] are, they do military service which, you know,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I don't exactly recommend [NOISE],
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] but still they have benefited from it.
[speaker001:] Right. Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, um, you know, although I wouldn't want it to make people to go off to the military voluntarily but
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] it's, it has helped them and they are just a lot more mature,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] than the average student and [sounds like she's washing dishes],
[speaker001:] Yeah. I think it would also help them if they then went on to college. I know that my first couple of years of college were, um, uh, probably too carefree at the,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] beginning and then at the end I had to be too serious. .
[speaker002:] Well, that's right. A lot of people they flunk out or they get,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] they just get so excited to be away from home,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] they just spend all there time partying and
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's true.
[speaker002:] they do a lot of things to themselves that, that we really don't want our young people to be doing and,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, that's right.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] I, yeah, I think, I think this was, this was a very interesting topic
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] uh, because it's something that, you know, we don't talk about in this country probably enough.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Uh, you know,
[speaker002:] Be-, because we're so, we love our freedom
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and our freedom of choice
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's true.
[speaker002:] and, um, having people [rattling like ice]. But, you know, our, like in our church, it, it is, your free to do that or not
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] you're encouraged to do it because, um, you know, it, it helps you, and, of course, we think it's helping other people.
[speaker001:] Oh, I think it is.
[speaker002:] And so,
[speaker001:] I really think, I think, um, people, you should, I, you know, the kids today I teach, I spend a lot of my time teaching college students
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, um, I find great disgust in them, in their, in their, um, [LAUGHTER] their self-centeredness
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and their inability to understand, um, multicultural or multiracial situation
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I really, you know, they don't understand, uh, how other people live, um, they don't understand,
[speaker002:] And they're preoccupied with,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] drinking.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I think that's, uh, just having a good time.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. And [clicking],
[speaker001:] I, uh, a friend of mine is a psychologist and he always refers to it as short-term pleasure oriented.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I guess he's a technical aspect he likes to apply to it,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know, today's young people are short-term pleasure oriented,
[speaker002:] That's true. [Rattling paper noise.]
[speaker001:] and everything has to be an immediate reward and it has to be fun.
[speaker002:] That's really true.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Yeah.
[speaker002:] Yeah. Well, I, I don't know how that would ever happen here but at least, um,
[speaker001:] Well, they say, I think I, um, have read recently that, uh, the Bush Administration has increased the funding for the Peace Corps.
[speaker002:] Oh, really.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Because I guess because of the changes in Eastern Europe, uh, they've increased funding for the Peace Corps. Some of the, I guess it's some of the peace dividend in the sense, you known,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] when they're decreasing some of the military spending,
[speaker002:] Huh.
[speaker001:] some of that money has gone into the Peace Corps and some of the are the overseas programs. Uh,
[speaker002:] Well, I have seen a big change, I think, in high school kids that my relatives [rattling paper],
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and friends, that, um, I know when I was in high school I had an idea of what I really wanted to do with
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] what my, what I was going to study and at least I had some interest in, a lot of the youth that I come in contact with are, they say oh, I want to be a doctor, I want to be a lawyer. Why? Because they make a lot of money.
[speaker001:] Yeah. Yeah, that's true.
[speaker002:] And they don't have a goal, they don't have a goal, they don't have an interest in their own field of study.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] They're just looking what's going to pay the biggest cash.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's very true. You know, how many, is it they say we have so many lawyers in this country, and I guess, I, I live near Washington, being in, in Baltimore, it's something like one in four people,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] in the Washington,
[speaker002:] Area.
[speaker001:] area, are lawyers,
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] And, and I just sort of think that's ridiculous.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Yeah, with
[speaker002:] There's just too many people.
[speaker001:] with the great needs that we need today in science and biology and, uh, you know, the, the problems we have with AIDS and cancer
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, and tha-, how come everybody is a lawyer, you know, you know [LAUGHTER],
[speaker002:] That's right. Not enough people want to do that to,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] for, uh, because of a service that they could provide.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] You know, if you want to be a lawyer because you know that you can provide a service that people need
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] because you have to have lawyers in this country, um, but if you're just doing it because you think that's the best way to,
[speaker001:] Yeah, you saw,
[speaker002:] be rich.
[speaker001:] statistics that lawyers and doctors make the most money in the long run.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's true.
[speaker002:] That's kind of sad. Well, anyway.
[speaker001:] That's interesting. Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Well, I guess I better go.
[speaker001:] Okay. Hey, thanks so much for the conversation.
[speaker002:] Well, good luck to you. I enjoyed it.
[speaker001:] Well, thank you very much. Bye-bye.
[speaker002:] Thanks. Bye-bye.