Why should poor students not go to college? When you read as much as I do, you likely find stories that connect with former ones you have read. This last week as I perused through the Christian Science Monitor on my Kindle, I found an op-ed that decried how few students were attending college.
What the author primarily wanted to point out was that too few poor students were attending college. There is a notion of economic mobility for everyone based on their hard work. However, students who are poor feel like they cannot even get into college without taking on burdensome debt.
What the author primarily wanted to point out was that too few poor students were attending college. There is a notion of economic mobility for everyone based on their hard work. However, students who are poor feel like they cannot even get into college without taking on burdensome debt.
What I also found intriguing was that students as early as 5th grade start lamenting about their post-secondary options if they are poor. Their academic performance stalls as a result of this helpless feeling. This tied directly to an article in Ed Week which cited research from Fordham Institute showing that students who start out as elementary high achievers fall by later grades. Poorer students tend to descend more between grades than any other group. Now add the fact that teacher tend to be paid less to teach minority and poor students. We have a situation that is clearly not going to work for our students or society.
I was also reading Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up from Slavery this week. He very much believed a hard work ethic would improve the living standards of African Americans. He did not see the future persecution of Jim Crow manifesting itself.
Earlier generations lived through the Depression and WWII and enacted the New Deal and the GI Bill. Social safety nets were created while many were able to attend college for the first time. Those who took advantage of a college education were quite successful and supported further government participation in post-secondary education. We now have government-backed loans and Pell grants to help students.
However, the price of college tuition has risen faster than inflation. States are starting to back out of funding them. Parents and working students wages are not keeping up with inflation, especially for those with less education. If things continue, it doesn't seem far-fetched to see populace less educated than it currently is.
On YouTube, an organization that purports wanting to prepare others for hyperinflation has been advertising an anti-college video. Essentially,they believe that student loan debt will bankrupt future generations. To me, there message is confusing and seems hyped. If we are going to experience hyperinflation, then college would be an excellent investment because your loans will be worth less money if the interest is lower than inflation. With government loans at 6%, I assume this would be a worthwhile risk. Still, I worry too many youth and young adults will see this video and assume college really IS a scam. It's been seen by over 2 million which is pretty high, though much lower than a Lady Gaga video.
What we need to start doing is making sure that poor students can go to college if they want to. They should be academically and mentally prepared for the task as well, which means throughout their schooling. They say parents of 3rd graders should be talking about college already (sorry, I cannot remember where I heard this - but it does make sense as this is the age many start to consider their future more). As a society, I worry that we are leaving many behind and think we should work to make sure as many of our students can be as successful as they possibly can.
Have you heard of AVID? (http://www.avid.org) It is an organization that works with school districts to offer more intentional skill-based education to prepare and expose students to college. While it is not necessarily for kids in poverty, it has been picked up by many urban districts as a way of making the bridge. You may also be intrigued to see it in action...MPS often hires AVID tutors.
ReplyDeleteI think, obviously, that college is worth it. But, college also needs to be transformed. We hold a college education up as a pinnacle, but it is also the site of very oppressive, assimiliationist education. Perhaps some folks choose not to attend or drop out because they see the game in action. While the signification of college is important in our society, I do worry that so much is sacrificed to make it happen...beyond just the financial costs. It is a call to action, one that hooks certainly has taken up.