ronsr:
It depends what she taught you. If she taught you the torah’s morals, that is a valuable teaching. If she taught you secular morals, that was a waste of time.
I addressed my comment specifically at the notion of fairness, and I will continue in that vein. I have never heard of fairness to others as a torah hashkafa. I know about tzedaka, and I know about chessed.
The difference is as follows.
I believe that if I have more than I need, I have an obligation to G-d to give yiddishe poor people what they lack and no more. If everyone has what they need and I still have the most, perhaps I would be doing chessed by giving people gifts.
In contrast, the notion of fairness is that if I have more, I am being unfair to those who have less. It gives them a right as claimants against me. “Why should you have more?” they demand. This is not a torah hashkafa.
Our hashkafa is I have more because G-d wills it, and wants to give me the opportunity to do tzedaka and chessed.
I assume someone will point out that beis din can force someone to give tzedaka. The answer is that they are forcing me to fulfill my obligation to G-d, the same as they can force me to wear teffilin and kill me for breaking shabbos. It has nothing to do with the rights of the poor. Even if they are mochel, I imagine beis din would still force.