PROGRAMS:

SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING and the Theory Behind GAMER

The following is a discussion on the theory behind the GAMER (Giving Americans Motivational Education for the Real world) Program. You can never solve a problem until you know what actually is the problem. Unfortunately too many people do not know the difference between “association” and “cause and effect”. For example, in medicine, whenever a person’s kidneys begin to fail (usually because of high blood pressure or diabetes) physicians tell the person to totally avoid aspirin and aspirin like drugs. The reason is that aspirin can accelerate loss of kidney function in people with bad kidneys. When physicians study the medicines that people take who go on dialysis for the first time, they find that virtually none of them take aspirin and virtually all of them take Tylenol for pain. If a non-physician looks at the information, they may falsely conclude that Tylenol causes kidney failure since virtually all people who go on dialysis are taking Tylenol for pain. This is a classic example of association as opposed to cause and effect. The real cause of the kidney failure is high blood pressure and diabetes exacerbated by aspirin, not the use of Tylenol.

Many believe that the cause of poverty is being born into a poor family, since the children of poor families tend to poorly. If this is true, then redistribution of wealth by giving money to poor families should improve outcomes and reduce the problem. Welfare is one form of redistribution of wealth. However, the number of people receiving Welfare continues to grow, and the children of Welfare tend to follow in the “foot steps” of their parents. In San Antonio, we are in our 5th generation of welfare and entire elementary schools have over 90% of the children from single mothers on welfare.

I believe the cause of most poverty is the failure of our society and families to motivate our children to become successful in life. There are so many very poor immigrant families who have come to America with virtually nothing but high hopes, dreams, and an appreciation for the value of education and hard work. When you wait 10-20 years, their children are unbelievably successful. This is particularly true of Asian immigrants.

When you talk to young children, you will find out that they are not particularly materialistic. They do not care if they live in a big home or if they are driven around in an expensive car. What children want is fun. In American society, fortunately, the fun jobs in general pay more money. To get the fun jobs, however, you must have education and good behavior. This is the simple intellectual foundation of the GAMER program.

The following tenants form the basic theory and logic behind GAMER:

1) There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the children of lower socio- economic families.

2) All children need motivation to succeed in life. To succeed in life, children must be well educated.

3) Academic education is not enough by itself. A strong work ethic is equally important to education.
No matter how well educated a person is, unless you are willing to put in the hours, the person will not be successful.

4) Academics and work ethic are not adequate unless you have good values and honesty. An intelligent, hard working crook does no good for our society.

5) The most valuable thing that a person possesses is their brain.