Last year in Springfield MA I watched a parent use most every swear under the sun at a cop, who had ticked them double parking, in a no parking zone to begin with outside a elementary school. They than told the kid “no dinner tonight because of aF#$%ing pig.” They were driving a Audi.
About 2/3 of the kids in my younger children’s elementary school receive some sort of government assistance. That statistic hit home with me when I attended a PTO meeting where the giveaway of some high-ticket items like I-Pods, bikes, and such for the students was discussed. More than one teacher in attendance remarked that we would have to be careful or some of those items would be taken from the kids and sold by the parent(s) for drugs, smokes, alcohol.
Don’t get me started on the parents who wanted the PTO to do all sorts of fun things (for free) for the kids and their families but didn’t want to contribute either their time and/or material resources. They also wanted us to schedule our events around their lives (since we PTO officers obviously had no lives and could cater to their every whim).