Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampYankee
This is more of a rhetorical question rather than one directed at you. Is it even possible for those young people to succeed? How would we even begin to change the mindset?
I'll use an example of a married couple I know very well, they have two kids and their household income puts them firmly in the middle class. Given their lack of education, not too bad when combined with healthcare and retirement benefits. Both are very personable and capable. They both grew up in the city, one in a large family with a mother and father and the other in a small family with a single mom, both received assistance from the state. None of that is particularly germane other than given their upbringing they've got what most would consider pretty decent heads on their shoulders.
That said, their children are discouraged by the father from succeeding "too much" in school because he doesn't want them to be seen as "geeks" or "poindexters" (his words, not mine). And the kids being responsible and looking out for themselves in school run the risk of being labeled "snitches" or "narks".
Each of the couple are very concerned with their reputation in the workplace. Taking on new responsibility or performing tasks outside of their job description is considered "brown-nosing" so they see little incentive to take on more responsibility even if they are compensated more.
If that's the mindset with a comparatively stable and self-sufficient household, what chance do kids from completely dysfunctional ones with generational histories of collecting assistance have?
There is a stigma attached to academic achievement which carries over to employment as well. How does one change that?
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That is a significant problem, and I certainly see it quite often.
My uncle for some reason a few years ago decided to buy a 5 family in Ansonia, which was a mistake; but anyway its interesting to see how those people on the lowest level of society live.
For starters most of the units are about $600 a month, and the majority of the people who rent them work in minimum wage jobs or not far above it. Most have drug/mental issues, or are just lazy. One rather play Xbox all day than work.
These people have zero chance of any upward mobility, they will live and die broke. They also view it as something undesirable which I don't understand, education is not valued by them.
I see the divide partly as a cultural problem. Its also not exclusive to this country, just about every other developed country has this issue.
Over the last 20-30 years life has gotten pretty easy to live if you just want to get buy, my uncles renters for example are not starving. They are all fat and happy, and usually drunk/high. So their isn't much of an incentive to better themselves, nor is their any social pressure.
Throw in the fact that its a heck of a lot easier to make money these days, for those that area educated and motivated and you have the perfect circumstances for a big divide.
Unlike in the past the economic divide seems actually someone mobil and easy to get in and out of. A lot of the people in it are self made to a point but you have to remember the playing field is a bit different for certain people.
Its a lot easier to do well if your parents are successful and encourage similar behavior in their kids, also if the parents have the financial resources to help the kids along a bit that certainly helps. When you have kids being raised say in my uncles low class rentals those kids don't get that, so unless they are exceptional and figure it out themselves they are stuck.
Lastly when I went to college it was a real eye opener to me when I saw how bad some public schools are. I went to very good public schools so I was well prepared, but kids that graduated from Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, etc were essentially at an 8th grade level and it drove the professors nuts trying to catch them up. I would say the average student who graduates from HS in those cities, but is not going to college is probably at a 6th grade level, maybe 8th if they had a c average. That's a huge roadblock to upwards mobility.