I try to approach the art of growing up and maturing from a common sense aspect. Parents are engaged and in tuned with their children from birth to adulthood. If this is the simple formula for parenting, then why are so many kids not prepared when they enter adulthood? Simply remembering how my friends, my neighbors, and my family members struggled with the concept of earning decent money, I find myself curiously interested in unwinding the myth that the shackles of poverty can not be broken. There have been some startling statistics thrown around that ten percent of minority teenagers entering early adulthood will never go to college. This percentage has been tossed around as though it is a guarantee. Thus, what is more scary is the rate minorities continue to volunteer for incarceration. Many of them are under educated and have no vocational training. There appear to be an enormous anvil thrust upon children enduring poverty stricken upbringing. Furthermore, this inanimate object sees the blame cast on anyone regarding what causes the problem and what it takes to remedy it. Are children deprived of quality parenting, schooling, job training, and role modeling to compete in this ever evolving world?
Children born into poverty generally remain there throughout the better part of their lives, or so it seems. Considering that poverty has been involuntarily nominated the root cause of what prohibits a person from achieving his or her optimal best, we can see why the some communities are fixated on public handouts. Children are continuously being born to unwed and teenage mothers who in large part are not equipped to handle the rigors of such a responsibility. This unto itself is a disaster recipe for raising children and ensuring these children get the nourishment and guidance needed to be competitive in society. The alarming rate that children are inheriting their poor life gifts from mothers and distant fathers are saddening. In America we have the practically the same problems with the rich and poor and educated and uneducated. The same can be said for teen pregnancy, unwed pregnancy, crime, and incarceration. There is a consensus for many problems that identify the poor. I am amazed that underprivileged people continue to languish behind the door frame of poverty when the key has been designed and issued.
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I also wonder about what some people (middle and upper income people) call the "culture of poverty." That really makes me mad. That concept is nothing but blatant classism, as if, like you wrote, some sort of guarantee of generational poverty. If resources were distributed equitably, there would be no poverty of resources. But there are other forms of poverty. And I wonder if their distribution is also controlled.
Hi - it's me again. I read your post on eLearning and I will send you an invite to my blog - open and accept the invite - don't respond to the email. Don't worry - most everyone is new to this. I'll keep checking in with you.
barb
I just sent it to your school account. Most of the students have accepted my invite, but I see you have not. I know I told all of you that you didn't have to read my blog, but because you didn't respond makes me think you may have not responded to others? If you left your blog permission "public" - that's fine and it is also the reason I am able to comment on your blog with two different accounts (I'm also gradual student).
I have expierence working with parents who have been in poverty driven families all their lives and can not seem to brake the cycle. This topic will help me find another method to empower people in this situation.
There is also the feeling of poverty. We can consider charts and statistics, but they don't reflect feeling impoverished. I did not grow up with lots of material things. My husband had a large six figure income. I was never comfortable with all that money and never relaxed into the idea of being rich. Good thing because I now live on a low 2 figure salary. Funny thing is I don't feel poor or destitute until I think about my future. My life has no extras and a medical issue or storm could upset my financial applecart. It will probably always be that way for me. I can never afford to retire, and I worry that I will wind up on my daughter's doorstep I cannot afford long term care or disability insurance.
I wonder if we will see the impact of this with the boomers as a mental health issue? Many people fearing the worst and having no obvious resources despite being careful with their $$ will take matters into their own hands rather than feel the shame of being poor on the doorstep of their children or an agency. I think many people will consider suicide as an option with more dignity than poverty and nursing homes.
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