I was just reading this article from health dot com entitled "10 careers with high rates of depression." As sites like this are wont to do, they're presented a brief photo essay with istock type photos of a person posing in some career-scene looking miserable, and there's a little 80-word blurb about why this career comes with high depression rates.

Often, the little blurb will claim that the people in this field feel depressed because they're not getting a lot of gratitude from the people they're working with; i.e. the home-care support (in a hospice nurse situation) or childcare professionals (teachers and nannies). I thought the conclusion that these people are depressed BECAUSE their clients can't appropriately say "Thank you," was absurd. You know why *I'd* be depressed as a teacher? Because I'd be making more money in PORN. Because I'd be making more money doing any number of horrible things that don't contribute to making the world a better place at all. But by caring for children; nurturing kids and giving them life-skills they'll actually be able to use in the world, the appreciation they get from our culture is nil.

It's not because the kids aren't saying "thanks, teach;" it's because our WORLD doesn't.