For poor children, trying hard is not enough

[alp227]

Editor's note: Trina R. Shanks is an associate professor of social work at the University of Michigan and a Rhodes Scholar. She was appointed to serve as a member of Michigan's Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity from 2010 to 2012. This essay was written in association with The Op-ed Project.

A decent job and a decent life should be a possibility for anyone who makes an effort. As a nation, this was more likely in our past than in the present. A college education should be affordable to anyone who is willing to do the work, but that is no longer our reality. As the likelihood of a college degree and economic security becomes less attainable for a significant portion of the population, the future of the United States will be in jeopardy.

Late last month, Congress passed a bill that will keep student-loan interest rates from doubling, just days before the deadline. It's an important step in keeping college affordable, but student-loan interest rates are only one piece in a complex puzzle that shapes how income level and educational opportunity are linked -- and the effects begin years before a student might apply for loans.

Even children with proven academic ability fall behind if they grow up in families that are poor. By the age of 3, one study showed, poor children already have half the vocabulary of higher-income children. Another study showed that children in high-risk social and economic environments can start in the top 25% academically at the age of 4 but fall to the bottom by the time they are in high school.

In a similar example, only 29% of the highest-achieving eighth-graders complete college if they come from low-income families.

In contrast, 30% of the lowest-achieving eighth-graders and 74% of the highest-achieving eighth-graders complete college if they come from high-income families. Until we get to a point where ability and effort predictably lead to greater educational attainment and improved outcomes, many kids will stop trying because the obstacles become too daunting.

full: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/12/opinion/shanks-education/index.html

[Brigid]

1. I am reminded of the kids in "Waiting for Superman."

I saw it recently in Sociology class, and I will never forget the looks on their faces as they wait for the numbers to be drawn which will determine whether they get a space in a good school or not. Most were cruelly disappointed. How do you persuade a kid to give a damn after an experience like that?

[midnight]

2. For families that have been out of work in Wisconsin thanks to Scott Walker, I'm seeing this first

hand. Some of these parents don't want to talk about it... They just need food for their children... There is little to no dental care. It's scary.... Because these communication skills will become even more of a burden because of the digital divide...


As far as student loans go... Why in the world are some of our college students even having to pay them back while still full time students... Congress has to change this...

[Igel]

3. The hook doesn't lead to the main body of the article.

She probably wrote the article and the editor said, "No, you have to make it relevant."

I'll ignore the beginning--the attention getter that is at best marginally related to the rest.
============

"Some might think that a child's educational future is the responsibility of that child's parents alone." Nobody says that. At least nobody I've ever heard. The child's parents' influence swamp the influence from schools and teachers. A stellar teacher can make up for crappy parents in many cases, but in most such cases they just get either a lot of engagement or a bump in test scores (which are supposed to be predictive of a range of knowledge but become just a predictor of the knowledge that's tested).

More importantly, she's first doing social work research and only second education research.

She can't tease apart parental education, family income, family structure, race, and a few other things. And she needs to, because in the end she points to a lot of income/education correlations and doesn't even hunt for a causal connection.

In her race/income work, she does the same thing. She finds that the black/white wealth income gap for women heads of households with a college degree widened greatly, and finds no explanation.

She should look for causality instead of causes.

[qwlauren35]

4. Sounds like the problem is way before 12th grade.

Maybe by age 3.

I am very concerned about data I saw recently suggesting that Head-Start is not making enough of a difference in the lives of our young underprivileged kids. This is where student loan forgiveness needs to happen. In the people who work for these programs.