Andy Blevin is a supporter of the key barriers low-income students face due to his choice of work over post secondary education; higher education is out of the normal in Andy's community. What readers need to understand is that the book Class Matters, Chapter 6 by The New York Times, is about a character named Andy Blevin and his sister Leanna Blevin who come from a community of people that don’t see any importance in post secondary education due to their pride in hard work ethic. Andy Blevin and Leanna had the same opportunities but Andy is a college dropout and Leanna has a Ph.D. In the book Class Matters chapter 6 by The New York Times it states, "A majority of the non graduates are young men, and some come from towns where the factory work ethic, to get working as soon as possible, remains strong, even if the factories themselves are vanishing. Whatever the reasons, college just doesn't feel normal." (pg. 93)
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Due to work ethic in their community being very strong, post secondary education is not valued so getting a higher education than high school is looked at as being strange and out of the normal. In the book Class Matters chapter 6 by The New York Times it states, “His girlfriend was around, and so were his hometown buddies. And Andy acted more outgoing with them, more relaxed. It was just about the perfect summer. So the thought crossed his mind: maybe it did not have to end. Maybe he would take a break from college and keep working. He had been getting C's and D's, and college never felt like home, anyway." (pg. 88). This evidence illustrates the struggle that many low-income students face, Andy would rather make money like all his friends from his hometown rather than go to college because he doesn’t feel like he fits in at college. But when he is at work doing the same thing everyone else in his community is expected to do, he feels normal. He might not be making
Some people may have decent jobs, but the bills and other expenses people may have make it harder on people than those who are in the same class but don’t necessarily have to go through the same thing as others. The chapters that I read in this book broaden what I said to a better, more clear understanding. In chapter 6, "The College Dropout Boom" talked about the idea of how higher education, meaning college, and how it should be the ticket to success in America.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The essay “How Not to Get Into College” and the poem “Somnambulist” portray a similar message that people become unhappy and lose sight of their own values when the institutional world creates a stigma that forces them to over-work themselves. Alfie Kohn in “How Not to Get Into College” believes that students are already overworking themselves at such an early stage in their lives, and the result of this, is feeling unfulfilled. He believes that “what few realized was that the process wouldn’t end once they finally got into college. The straining toward future, this poisonous assumption that the value of everything is solely a function of its contribution to something that may come later – it would start all over again in September of their first year away from home” (Kohn 1). He proves
In the essay “Achievement of Desire”, author Richard Rodriguez, describes the story of our common experience such as growing up, leaving home, receiving an education, and joining the world. As a child, Rodriguez lived the life of an average teenager raised in the stereotypical student coming from a working class family. With the exception, Rodriguez was always top of his class, and he always spent time reading books or studying rather than spending time with his family or friends. This approach makes Rodriguez stand out as an exceptional student, but with time he becomes an outsider at home and in school. Rodriguez describes himself as a “scholarship boy” meaning that because of the scholarships and grants that he was receiving to attend school; there was much more of an expectation for him to acquire the best grades and the highest scores. Rodriguez suggests that the common college student struggles the way he did because when a student begins college, they forget “the life [they] enjoyed
people agree with the state that Liz borrows from Thomas Jefferson, "Everybody should have an education proportional to their life,"(Addison 256). Unfortunately, the average income between rich and poor in America is not accurate, everyone supposed to become somebody in life; college gives opportunity to everyone who wants to do so, to become whatever they want, and at any age with a low cost. as much as the income level between rich and poor in America stays unbalanced; college will always be there to gives opportunity to people who want to learn, but cannot afford to attend university. Liz Addison points out an example in the article. It describes “a college application essay workshop for low-income students” (Addison 256). This is suitable for low-income students, but it doesn’t mention an education at universities. People who go to community college have a lot trouble to find jobs which can allow them to pay their debt after graduate. However, in university you are more likely to find and job and be able to pay your
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Let's face it, going to college is socially prestigious. Most people go to college only for the title of being called a college student. " For some young people, it is a graceful way to get away from home and become independent without losing the financial support of their parents." (Bird 484) They do not want to be looked down upon so they do what would look best in the eyes of society. It is practically beat into our heads that in order to be a productive citizen of society, you should have some sort of college education. Being a college student is perhaps a more respectable role than being, for example, a janitor or a garbage man because of the negative connotations such jobs receive.
A Class Divided The film A Class Divided was designed to show students why it is important not to judge people by how they look, but rather who they are inside. This is a very important lesson to learn: people spend too much time looking at people not for who they are but for what ETHNITICY they are. One variable that I liked about the film is that it showed the children how it felt to be on both sides of the spectrum. The HYPOTHESIS of the workshop was that if you out a child and let them experience what it is like to be in the group that is not wanted because of how they look and then make the other group the better people group that the child will have a better understanding of not to judge a person because of how they look but instead who they are as people. I liked the workshop because it made everyone that participated in it, even the adults that took it later on, realize that you can REHABILITAE ones way of thinking.
Murray states that people are going to college for the wrong reasons and a liberal education should be taught prior to attending college in elementary and middle school (Murray, 2008). Murray’s opinion that everyone attending or not attending college should already have that “liberal” education is a valid point. One is needed in order to choose a specific field of study and to excel at something. A liberal education should be the foundation and attending college should be geared toward one specific and loved profession. Depending on how people are raised from birth can decipher not only what type of work will entice them, but if they will develop a liberal education throughout their lives and school. Some people would say that going to college should be required to further your education and to gear and prepare people for a job. People misinterpret college for providing that liberal education piece that so many people are looking for. My father always said to me that he wanted me to be successful in life and love what I do for work. He also said that I would never “work” a day in my life if I loved what I did whether I were to go to college or
In the article “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree” by Marty Nemko, the author argues several different views on why higher education may be very overestimated. For starters, the author shares his opinion more than anything else due to him being a career counselor. The purpose of this essay is to explain to the readers that most people start off with the idea of living the American Dream. Which is practically going to college to have a better life and career. But over the time the idea of working very hard for a Bachelor’s degree has become very dimmed. Furthermore, for some people, when they think of the American Dream they think of hope for bettering themselves and also helping their families. Unlike the author, Nemko feels that even the thought of trying to pursue to get a bachelor’s degree is overrated. The audience of this passage would most likely be teenagers going into college and parents. Nemko states that “Colleges are quick to argue that a college education is more
The author Charles Murray says there are too many people going to college without really saying it. The essay is written in a way that his audience will understand by the time they finish reading that he has many valid points. He Persuades his readers with facts and counters arguments to false stereotypes involving college and success. By questioning whether college is for everyone makes "you" the reader want to rethink if your time spent in college was really worth it in the end.
The documentary “Dropout Nation” shows how difficult it is for students who live in poorer communities to receive a good education and graduate high school. Students and teachers are interviewed in this documentary to show that these students are intelligent but are not able to graduate due to their circumstances. These examples help explain the concepts learned in chapter 10 about social institutions and how it is affected by politics, education, and religion.
In Lee’s article, she uses her son as an example of why it is not necessary to go to college. In this article, it seems as if the author is not giving her son a fair chance. She does not trust that he is capable of succeeding throughout college. She says, “So I told my son (in a kind way) that his college career was over for now”. Lee uses rhetorical devices such as pathos and logos. She uses logos by stating statistics such as, “One study showed only 26 percent of those who began four-year colleges had earned a degree in six years.” She uses Pathos by using emotion words such as, “binge drinking, reckless driving and sleeping in on class days”. By using these words, she makes her audience think about the senseless things their children might do while attending
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
First of all, many high school graduates cannot handle college. Isabel V. Sawhill and Stephanie Owen describe college as a place, “one can obtain a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree”. The work load outside of the classroom could be compared to working a full time job. For example, if a student is enrolled in four college courses and is in class a minimum of four hours the student should spend at least four to six hours of studying. This may be extremely agitating and stressful to a student that is not good at studying. The new college student may realize that the schoolwork is too much for him to handle and instead drop out. In Pharinet’s blog post, Is College for Everyone? He states that “…it is estimated that in the U.S., approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate. There exist students who are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges of college. There exist students who do not have the desire for college or learning.” This statement is important because if 50% of students that begin college never gradua...