The difference college makes
As a first-generation college student who is, at the age of 40, still paying off her college loans--but who's grateful to have had the chance to go to college at all--I was struck by a new report that warns that "widening gaps in higher education between rich and poor, whites and minorities, could soon lead to a downturn in opportunities for the poorest families."
The New York Times states that, in terms of college degrees earned, Latinos and African Americans are "falling behind" whites and Asian Americans, and that "[e]conomic mobility . . . has not changed significantly over the last three decades." The report is by the Brookings Institution, and there's bound to be controversy about the explanations for the differences; conservatives and liberals differ on the reasons for the gap.
But the hopeful news . . .
is that "[s]omeone born into a family in the lowest fifth of earners who graduates from college has a 19 percent chance of joining the highest fifth of earners in adulthood and a 62 percent chance of joining the middle class or better"(entirely my emphasis). But "many poor but bright children do not receive good advice about applying for college and scholarships, or do not receive help after starting college."
If you know disadvantaged kids who could be college-bound, take time to mentor them. It doesn't have to be formal or time-consuming; just talk about what college is like, what it takes, and how to navigate the process. Let them know they can come to you with questions; for a first-generation college kid coming out of poverty, college is an alien world, and it can be kind of weird and scary. Stuff that's a given for college graduates can be utterly foreign and intimidating to someone who's not from that world. Be a resource. You could be the person who changes their whole lives.
Or if you're an academic, consider teaching in the Clemente Course, which takes a for-credit college curriculum to low-income adults--free. Talk about life-changing. You can get an affiliated program going on your campus.
Here's the clincher. "More than half the children born to upper-income parents, those in the top fifth, who finish college remain in that top group." Not wildly surprising--but get this: "Nearly one in four remains in the top fifth even without completing college" (emphasis way mine). Hmm. Doesn't smell like a level playing field to me.
Faye said:
I have often thought of mentoring, and am never sure how to get into it. These statistics are so interesting and important. Both of my parents, one an immigrant and the other a first generation American, went to the city colleges in New York when they were free. I know that this helped them rise out of their poor backgrounds and nourished them in every way. My dad often talks about going down to Chinatown when he was in school and buying a large cup of soup for a dollar; that was his meal for the day. But he was able to go to school, and he eventually earned a Ph.D. By the time I went to college it was taken for granted that I would go. I sometimes have to stop and think about what my parents fought through and gave to us, the things that we take for granted.
February 23, 2008 5:27 PM