1st Grade Politics

So, I didn't make this blog to rant about political things. However, this blog post will have a bit of political mumbo-jumbo in it. I apologize. I am quite socially conservative, however, I'm a little bit economically liberal. I'm Pro-Life and I want free market, but I do like a few (emphasis on the few) of the things that President Obama said tonight during the State of the Union Address.
As many of you know, I work as a mentor for a little over an hour a day in a 1st grade classroom in a pretty poor neighborhood. I help with sharpening pencils, filing, and organization, but I spend most of my time reading with the kids or helping them through their classwork. These kids are the greatest, and to all of my friends, I'm sorry that I talk about them every day :) Recently, our classroom had a cockroach infestation (EW) because one of the kids would bring them from his house. Like the cockroaches would just settle into his backpack and clothes, and he would accidentally bring them to school. Poor guy. We'll call this little boy "N", just for privacy purposes :)
Today was our Valentine's Day party because there's no school on the 14th. I asked N what kind of valentine he was going to bring for the class (I brought puppies and baseball). He said "I dunno, whatever my mom can find at Walmart, 'cause she works there." He's so precious. It's not this sweet boy's fault that his father left, or that his mom works at Walmart. Why am I mentioning this? Because his family is a family who would benefit from Obama's proposed raise of minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00. He deserves so much better. And with a single mom and two siblings, they're barely scraping by. Like what the heck, the kid has cockroaches in his house, in his backpack, in his clothes. Today I laughed while saying "Silly, your hair is sticking up all over the place!" and N replied with "Yeah, that's 'cause I didn't get to rinse off this morning." I can smell the kids. I know when they haven't showered for a few days. I've seen their files. Most of the parents either work at Walmart or John Morrell's. I hope Obama goes through with his plan to raise minimum wage to $9. It would SO benefit these kids.
Also, on a side note, N bought me a chocolate sucker for Valentine's Day that said "Teachers make the cut!" I bought that sucker for the teacher in my classroom. It was $2. $2 is a lot of money for a kid with two siblings whose mom earns minimum wage at Walmart. I love that little boy. He is so precious.
Everyday I walk into that classroom and see those 17 kids. Most of their families are on Food Stamps. Six of them are part of the Backpack Program. Seven of them are ELL students. But every time I see them, my day changes for the better. I can be having the worst day ever, but I know as soon as I walk in, J will say "TERE!", M will compliment my shoes, and A will tell me about a math problem she solved. These kids deserve so much more than they have.
I hope Obama can give their working parents $9 an hour.