The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility While reading the text "The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility" it helps the reader to identify many issues on why students want to attend college. Andrew Simmons stated that “Higher education should be promoted to all students as an opportunity to experience an intellectual awakening, not just increase their earning power which I am in favor of. College promotion should be used to motivate students in a critical thinking way instead of a financial advantage. The author’s purpose was to identify the separation between how college can be an educational opportunity instead of a financial opportunity to grow from poverty. The main idea …show more content…
Depending on the environment a student is being raised in have a lot to do with how this question could be answered. Students in a higher curriculum education center are taught that college is an opportunity to experience an intellectual awakening, while students in a middle/low curriculum educational center are taught basically that college is a meal ticket which poses problems. Going to college is a very major step in life because it helps a person to identify a lot of things you never learned as a child. I agree that college should be sold to each student as a privilege to connect to a study that you have a passion to pursue one day. If college is taught to just make more money it could jeopardize a lot of time, put others at risk, and hinder you from really succeeding in life. For example, everyone knows being a nurse pays a lot of money and a student goes to school and becomes a nurse but just does the job for the money. This could be the introduction to a catastrophe because being a nurse takes qualities such as hard-work, dedication, time, patience, and most importantly compassion. When doing a career of such you are being trusted with people’s lives so to not be fully focused and generally driven by the job you are harming yourself and …show more content…
The tone of the author in the text was critical, intimate, and sincere. I also feel this statement is true because the difference in social class environment sometimes hold big impacts on the way we think, feel, and act. It all takes place because of the separation between social class in America which is a very controversial topic. Education is based off the social class the child’s parent fall within. The bigger the household income is the better education your child could receive because of the stereotypes Americans live by. For instance, if you do research on the academic curriculum and tools children are equipped with at a school designed for high class citizens you notice children in middle/lower class schools do not have the same techniques and tools for education. This subject is very relatable because it was recently on the news that students at a school district in Texas were being provided with devices such as advanced computers, Ipads, and college prep classes for elementary. Growing up we were never given the opportunity to be incorporated in anything that showed us how to have the mind frame of becoming the next millionaire, however it was just information to help us get to the next grade level. If all schools gave the students the opportunities to help them prepare for life after high school
Andrew Simmons published his article for The Atlantic, “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility” on January 16, 2014, which raises his concerns that higher education is only being promoted as an opportunity to increase their economic status, when it should be an opportunity to experience an education (Simmons). Through the use of students such as Isabella, Simmons disagrees with the way students now look at higher education and blames the educators through the students’ lives for this view. Instead, Simmons views education as an intellectual opportunity rather than a way to elevate ones economic class which is all people see when they see “higher education.” He believes that education, ambition and work ethic is how you have a satisfying life, not with how much you make. He makes the point that when economics becomes the main goal of education it’s all children begin to think about and they might not pursue something that they are truly passionate about or what they want to learn about, which then does not create an intellectually awakening experience (Simmons).
College is the next stepping stone to better or advance ones social standing in life, whether it is moving from a blue collar lifestyle to white collar, or to continue to further their career path. However, it comes with an “unavoidable result.” Alfred Lubrano discusses this “unavoidable result” in his text “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts.” Lubrano discusses the topic of how furthering ones education opens more possibilities but at the same time distances those held most dearly. He explains that the more knowledge gained, the bigger the gap caused between friends and family due to differences in levels of knowledge. That distance is greatly increase if one comes from a poorer region where blue collar workers are the social
In the article “Who Gets to Graduate” by Paul Tough examines a problem about low income students are less likely to graduate from college than students from middle class or wealthier families. In the United States, school systems are not created equally. Middle and upper class students have access to safe and modern schools equipped with everything they possibly need to stay in that high rank because they came from a family who has the money to support their studies. Students from low-income families don’t have a lot of the support, stability, and money from home that higher-income students can take for granted.
I think Montsios’ point that, “Class standing has a significant impact on the chance for educational achievement” (Monsios 193). I think this statement is very true, because it is very apparent that there is a huge education gap in the United States due to income. People of higher incomes can have the luxury of sending their kids to better schools, private or public, and have the ability to give them a college education without having to worry about the financial costs, while people of lower classes cannot have this luxury. This is absolutely ridiculous, because this country was founded on the idea of equality, and having an equal and free country to pursue opportunity. Just like the educational side of this, people also struggle with in the sense of survival and
In “The Dangers of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility”, Andrew Simmons, a high school teacher who teaches in a poor area of Los Angeles, argues that higher education’s educational opportunities should be the main promotion for students to attend college. The author’s purpose is to inform and persuade his readers to accept his view on what he sees as a problem of the education system. According to Simmons, teachers focus on the economic advantages that higher education could bring instead of the actual education these institutions offer. Because of this promotion, students in poorer areas focus on their potential wealth instead of their future education while students in wealthier areas focus on their future careers
One implication of college is that it’s the only route you can take to be successful. Charles Murray’s article “Are Too Many People Going to College” disagrees and believes that college really just prepares you for life. With still good focus towards a career but, there are many circumstances where individuals can get equal experiences going straight into the workforce. Murray uses the quote from John Stuart Mill who in 1867 told his students at St.Andrews that “Universities are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode of gaining their livelihood” to help promote his argument. He claims that college is mainly preparing you for life, and I feel that there is still a heavy stress on the topic and learning the material. On the other hand I agree that kids that go straight to work out of high school be equally successful if done right, and do so without paying thousands of dollars a year on college. Do not fall into the illusion that college is the only option, look at everything there is to offer.
America’s education system is one of the most respectable, reputable and sought after commodities in our society, but it is also the most overcrowded, discriminatory, and controversial system ever established. Most people yearn for a higher education because it 's what 's expected in this society in order to get ahead. It means a better job, more money, power, prestige and a sense of entitlement. But this system has let down the children that are supposed to benefit from it. Education discriminates against minorities, and poorer class students are not expected nor encouraged to attain a higher education. The education system is set up to ensure that every child get a basic
Rendon (1994) points out “students from underrepresented backgrounds often experience isolation, a lack of self-efficacy, and a lack of a sense of belonging in college contexts”(p. 48). Furthermore, one needs to take it one step back and realize that most students of color are much more likely to attend schools where most of their peers are poor or low-income. Therefore, socio economic status (SES) determines the education a person receives throughout K-12. Walpole (2004) also describes how “low SES parents are more likely to define success as a secure full-time job after graduating from high school. College attendance is not an expectation and often means enrolling in a community college or technical school when it does occur” (p. 47). When a student reaches the
With the growing importance of higher education, more people than ever are attending college. According to a middle-class parent, “[Higher education] seen as a means of developing a career and getting secure employment.” (30, Higher Education, social class and social mobility) Moreover, “parents believe that their children need a university education to get on in life… over the past decades (parents) fearful that without a degree their children will be in danger of downward social mobility. (32, Higher
The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility by Andrew Simmons starts off with Simmons sitting down with his 12th grade student, to help her write an essay about wanting to get into college. They bring up the idea that motivation for kids who come from lower income families is typically to go to college as the “opportunities that four years of higher education could unlock” could allow them to “gain financial independence” along with having the ability to “give back” to the people who had helped them. The student declared this as shortsighted and simplistic. A bit after this idea is acknowledged in the article, it goes to what she actually wrote about – which is that she seeks to “focus first on nurturing her intellectual
If a student does not have the money to attend college, it is like having your vehicle being taken away from you. Education is the road, and without having the thousands of dollars one needs to attend the University of their choice, no one would be able to drive down the path to success. It all comes down to the fact that college is too expensive for a majority of adolescents, being more of a luxury than a commodity, which holds us away from our potential dream, and future.
Social class is a large faction of people who have similar positions in an economic system. In an exemplary world, all students would have an equal shot at success, excellent schools, and educators that dedicate themselves and their time to achieving this goal. However, social class can significantly affect a student's success, highlighting the correlation between low socioeconomic statuses and academic problems. In all social groups, class plays a significant role in the attainment of children in education. Unfortunately, this has always been the case and the effects are just more evident today. Families from high social classes are more likely to obtain a greater level of education than those in low social classes. Members of upper social classes tend to be better educated and have higher incomes; therefore, they are better able to supply educational advantages to their children as well. Being in a financially disadvantaged can also affect a child’s performance during school. It is important, therefore, to examine the way in which education is distributed through social class. Between societal pressures, expectations and parental negligence, children can be negatively impacted in their pursuit for future success through their education as exemplified through “College Pressures” and “The Sanctuary of School”.
Another problem with American society is how hard it is for poor individuals to find success because “the rich are richer and the poor are poorer,” (Goode 88). The top 1% in America hold most of the money, leaving very little for those who are considered poor. This then becomes a never-ending cycle because middle and upper class kids attend very good schools and receive educations that will allow them to find success in life, and those kids who are in working and lower classes, go to over-crowded schools with very little resources. This makes it very difficult for these kids to take their educations further and go to college. I personally struggled with the transition from high school to college due to the education I received. I went to a Denver Public School which has a reputation of being “trashy” or “ghetto”. Luckily, as a whole Colorado has a good education system, but I know I wasn’t challenged enough in high
Studies have shown that students from a lower socioeconomic household have a harder time developing their academic skills in school versus students from a higher socioeconomic household.This is due to the fact that students from a higher socioeconomic have better access to resources in terms of technology , education , better environment , individuals and overall better quality of life.
Department of Education, “documents that schools serving low-income students are being shortchanged because school districts across the country are inequitably distributing their state and local funds”. (Education, 2011). Students that come from low income families are not given the equal chance to get the education that students from high income families get. If students are not given the tools they need to be educated, then they will have a poor chance of succeeding in the world.