It’s considered a rarity now days to walk down a major city street and not come across a single person who is fighting to survive poverty. The constant question is why don’t they go get help, or what did they do to become like this? The question that should be asked is how will America fix this? Over the past year, Americans who completed high school earned fifteen point five percent more per hour than that of dropouts (Bernstein, Is Education the Cure to Poverty). According to Jared Bernstein, in his article “Is Education the Cure to Poverty”, he argues that not only do the poor need to receive a higher education, but to also maximize their skill levels to fill in where work is needed (Is Education the Cure to Poverty). Counter to Bernstein’s argument Robert Reich expresses that instead of attempting to achieve a higher education, high school seniors need to find another way into the American middle class. Reich goes on to say “the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories” (Reich, Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone). Danielle Paquette, though, offers an alternative view on higher education. Paquette gives view that it doesn’t matter on the person, rather it’s the type of school and amount of time in school that will determine a person’s …show more content…
By giving back to the community through sporting events, it will allow for our community to grow around our sports team. Building our sports up to connect to the community will allow for many opportunities to give back to a community that is willing to help pay and support their sports teams. Whether its donating money from a game to helping kids become more involved with sports, it’s a duty of the sports teams to ensure that the support they are given is put back into the community that stands by
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.
Morosely, people hitting poverty level are truly given zero opportunities to advance their education. In America, it 's not common that the A+ education is given to you. It 's not entirely easy to land the greatest job ever with just a high school diploma. But, the cost of college has made the difference between having a job that pays well, and having a job that pays immensely for people living in poverty. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. The cost of living per month for a single, childless person in America is $2,372. Galbraith stresses importance of improving housing across the nation.(Galbraith 405) With unemployment rates remaining high, jobs are hard to find in the current economy. Even if people can find work, this does not automatically provide an escape from
Long ago, receiving education was once something only the rich could afford; it was a luxury. Nowadays it is open to everyone, but many students enter college only to discover that they are underprepared, and in turn they become disenchanted. David Leonhardt’s article, The College Dropout Boom, addresses the issues that are apparent in the education system and how it contributes to the gap between the upper and lower class while Access to Attainment by Abby Miller, Katherine Valle, Jennifer Engle, and Michelle Cooper calls to improve access to college education for today’s students. This is incredibly important because many students either drop out or never attended college and in today’s time, having a Bachelor’s degree has become a requirement
It is also known that those in poverty stay percentage wise more likely to be of African-American or Hispanic-American descent; even women are likely to be in poverty. So long story short, if one is not a white male, their chance of being in poverty at one point in their life increases by fifty percent. So what is the cause of poverty, seeing that no one grows up dreaming to one day be struggling to pay the bills. One of the building blocks for poverty is a poor education. This may not be a result of the education students receiving being substandard per se, but it is just not meant for them. It is customary across the United States for students to sit through a predetermined set of core classes put in place by federal educators. What they fail to see though, is that not each and every one is made to learn past a certain level. Instead of focusing on fitting every shape of person in to a square hole, a tailored curriculum would be immensely beneficial; such as, giving the option of vocational courses verses college prep courses once a certain point in a student’s education is reached. When low-achieving students are stuck in college prep courses that they continuously fail, the only solution as of now is to require them retake the courses until they pass them, leaving no room for job preparation. Mark Edwards, executive director of Opportunity Nation, a campaign
In “All Kids Should Take Poverty 101”, Donna Beegle makes the argument for requiring a Poverty Awareness class to children in grades K-12. The goal is to diminish the cycle of poverty by teaching children the causes and effects on poverty. By teaching children young about poverty and inequality she says those in the middle class will learn empathy and those living in poverty will be empowered to, “understand and change their current context (343).” While Beegle makes a valid point in regards to teaching children empathy, I believe she focuses on the wrong age group, and relies too heavily on the middle class to be the driving force behind the elimination of poverty.
Education has been historically considered as an equalizer of society in America, allowing the opportunity for even the disadvantaged to reach success. Race was once the strongest factor in determining future achievement, but today Stanford Sociologist, Sean F. Reardon, says income level has become more consequential (Tavernise). President Barack Obama was one of the lucky few able to overcome the obstacles he faced growing up being both African American and underprivileged, but most children are not as lucky (Rampton , Nawaguna). In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, the Lacks family lived in poverty and struggled to perform well in school, resulting in many of them dropping out even before high school (Skloot). The success gap between high and low income students in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years (McGlynn). The educational achievement of students is significantly affected by their home life, and those living in poverty are much more likely to fall behind academically than children coming from affluent families.
Students in poverty tend to obtain low grades, have little academic achievement, and often misbehave. Many often drop out before graduating high school. Students ages sixteen through twenty-four are up to seven times more likely to drop out. A study published in Nature Neuroscience discovered “a link between physical brain development and poverty level. In a study of eleven hundred children, adolescence and adults from around the US, researchers found significant differences in the brains of children from the lowest income bracket in comparison to those in the highest. Families who lived on less than twenty-five thousand dollars a year had as much as 6% less surface area in their brain in areas like language and decision making than families who made more than one hundred and fifty dollars a year.” This may support why many students in poverty tend to do worse in school over middle class students. Employers usually lean toward more educated workers, leaving the poor at a serious disadvantage when it comes to work Children growing in poverty regularly have families of their own poverty. Some workplaces, manufacturing jobs have replaced their human labor with machinery and technology, which leaves many potential jobs out of the hands of people hungry for work. Having a weak education leaves them unskilled, resulting poor and low paying occupations. This creates a long lasting loop of poverty, a loop which is hard to escape. They
George Washington Carver once stated that: “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” An education is the first step to a job, a salary, recognition, and a successful life. The greatest pride of a nation is not their military, nor their economy. It is the ability to say that their people are educated. Now, a higher education is so closely connected to the American Dream that it is nearly impossible to reach one without reaching the other. However, now access to that dream is fading to many. Over the last 35 years, a trend in rising tuition prices has brought college education out of the reach of many low and middle class families. Between the higher tuition costs and lower average salaries, families are often forced to choose between losing access to a higher education or being burdened with debt for the rest of their lives. In order to restore access to the basics right of American citizens, it is necessary to make education more accessible by making it
I was born into poverty even before I was even born. My way of life was set even before my existence. Growing up I was strongly encouraged to dedicate my energy into my school work. Knowing that someday all that hard work and dedication will one day pay off. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school when I realized the true importance of going on to college really was. The only reason I excelled in my studies was because I was always enforced too, so when it came down to my decision to continue school I didn’t know what to do. I decided that even with a degree in today’s economy it won’t have much of an impact. But I couldn’t have been more wrong than ever. I eventually came to my own senses and decided for myself that all my years of being in school, planning for my future, long hours of hard work and perseverance shouldn’t go to waste. I shouldn’t waste my own intelligence and give up on what’s important. For me, a lower class civilian, the American dream is very much alive and achievable. And it guarantees a better life for me in the future. I decided to go to college because although I knew I should continue my education, I never realized how important it was for my future and well-being to have that knowledge and use it to better use. Although I may not come from wealth and will have to work twice as hard as the rest, I believe that as long as I remain
Today, living the American Dream is not just a matter of working hard. A higher education is becoming a necessity to have if one wishes to rise above his or her station. Egan mentions that years prior, a degree was not necessary to having a comfortable life, but nowadays without a degree, it is nearly impossible to earn a wage that can support all the ideals of the American Dream (106). Because of this, a person born into a family with money has a much better chance of continuing to live a comfortable life, while a person who is born into poverty or the lower class might not have the means to receive an education and is therefore left out of the American
College preparation is not the only area in which schools are failing students. According to Achieve, Inc. (2005), 39% of high school graduates in the workforce say that they have deficiencies. When asked about being prepared for future jobs, forty-six percent say that they are deficient in the skills needed. These shortcomings in the education system will escalate when in the next 10 years, 80% of job openings will require education or training past the high school level (Achieve, 2010). One third of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree. Lower educational attainment is a national problem. Competing countries now boast more workers with associates degree...
While college is a lofty goal for many, escalating tuition costs threaten the enrollment of lower income students. Obtaining a college degree is a major accomplishment, but can be quite hard to achieve. Jennifer Washburn, a fellow at the New America Foundation, confirms, “In 1979 students from the richest 25 percent of American homes were four times as likely to attend college as those from the poorest 25 percent; by 1994 they were ten times as likely” (140). If college costs become too expensive, students will just circumvent college altogether. High school graduates will opt to pursue employment opportunities instead of obtaining a higher education. Consequently, the United States becomes less technologically competitive when higher education is minimized. Therefore, the rise in college tuition is hurting the country just as much as the individual. Moreover, students who fail to acquire a college degree may find themselves with less promising futures because of the growing demand to hire college graduates. For example, the most enthusiastic applicant, who may otherwise meet all the other employment qualifications,
Currently, relatively few urban poor students go past the ninth grade. The graduation rates in large comprehensive inner-city schools are abysmally low. In fourteen such New York City Schools, for example, only 10 percent to 20 percent of ninth graders in 1996 graduated four years later. Despite the fact that low-income individuals desperately need a college degree to find decent employment, only 7 percent obtain a bachelors degree by age twenty-six. So, in relation to ...
“Malnourished children are 20% less literate than those with a healthier diet, says UK charity Save the Children” (The Information Daily). When parents become victims of poverty it can have some very unpleasing long and short term effects to their children. Parents in poverty have a lot on their plate and buying the best quality food or affording enough food can be a tumultuous task. Quality nutrition is essential for the development of the brain. At a young age, poor nutrition or not enough nutrition can seriously hinder “the brain 's development, a child’s ability to learn and has a devastating impact on a child’s future”(The Information Daily). “Malnutrition in the early developmental stages of the brain, by restricting the children’s cognitive growth, can lower a child 's IQ has much has 20 points”(The Information Daily). Long term effects of malnutrition leave permanent damage to the brain, however, malnutrition has short term effects as well. Malnourishment can greatly compromise a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. “Low counts of zinc, iron and vitamin A are commonly associated with weakened immune function” (Orphan Nutrition). A deadly infection can have a huge impact on a poverty stricken family leading to less affordability. Malnutrition negatively affects a student throughout their educational
When an individual is born into poverty the chances of one day being “successful” are pinned against them. With lower high school graduation rates, followed by even lower college graduation