This past weekend, one of those few and fabulous ones that we get in April, I worked outside to clean up my space, my yard, and my neighborhood. Mid-afternoon I was approached by an able and articulate band member from the local High School, asking me to contribute to their trip to Atlanta where he would catch a Braves game, etc. My response: A great trip like that would certainly be worth working for. But work wasn't what he had in mind, so he moved on.

     Is this someone's idea of a fund-raiser? Do the students, and their school, consider this a legitimate day's work because they carry a clipboard? This was organized begging. They were not washing cars, mowing yards, selling cookies, candy, or raffle tickets. Will they feel inappropriately proud of the money they've 'earned' when they reach their goal, i.e., asked enough people for a handout? I would pay a teenager to weed the garden, wash the car or paint the porch; I wouldn't be helping him, or anyone else, if I just reinforced his misplaced attitude of entitlement. We are all neighbors in this city. No matter how much I need a vacation, wouldn't it be absurd if I asked my neighbors to pay for it?

    Our schools should not teach students to beg; begging is for truly helpless and hopeless charities. And don't teach entitlement to a generation that desperately needs to learn resourcefulness and self-reliance. Entitlement won't build a city, much less an entire generation.