Rising Cost of Education
There was a time when a person from a low income family could believe he or she could attain the American dream without going to college. My eldest brother began working at Chevy in 1969; he was 16 years old, and he retired from Chevy in 2005. When he retired he owned three homes, three cars (one was a race car he built) a Harley Davis Motor cycle, a huge mobile home and he boasted more than $100,00. 00 in the bank. He continued to live in Detroit until he died in 2011. The only problem my brother had was that he could barely read or write.
Thirty years ago, a young person could work at a McDonalds, over the period of two years they would become a Team Lead, and a year or two later they could be a Shift Manager. In a period of seven to ten years from the time this kid started, they could manage their own store. I did this and it only took me three years. I left food service because one day I wanted to Mickaole Walden, Ph. D. or M. D. I was going to be an engineer, but being assaulted and left with a brain injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ended my military carrer; it took me twenty years to accept that I no longer had an IQ of 137.
It was made clear to me very early I had to go to college. I first was told by my father that since he taught at N. I. T, The National Institute of Technology in Dallas, Texas that we would not have to pay for my college degree. Later, when I got a poor grade in Math Theorem, I decided to go into the Military to get funding for school. I have known many people who went into the military as a catalyst for education and funding for college. Today, having a way to finance ones education is as essential as higher education itself. The inequality in education is evident.
At the time Sociology in Modules was written only 11 percent of kids from low income families received a degree, this is compared with Children from families in the top five percent Income level which were at 53 percent. After children from poor families enter college weather they graduate or not, they are usually left with the burden of financial aid debt, (Schaefer 2011). Having a way to pay for higher education was not an issue that concerned me or my Pops with him being an Educator, and after I completed military service and having access to the GI Bill.
It was not until my daughter graduated high school that financial aid became an issue. I am currently paying off a loan for my daughter after she dropped out of Clark. She is now attending Georgia Perimeter College. I have nearly cleared one of my bank accounts to keep her in school until we can take out a loan or get a grant. Today, helping my young adult daughter attain grants and loans is painfully important. My daughter could not care less because her fiance is financially secure and I am funding her education. She doesn’t understand the importance of having her own source of income even if she does not need it right now.
Earlier this year she and I were looking through a travel guide, she wanted us to take a one week vacation in Jamaica, (she works less than full time as a waitress). She truly suffers from false consciousness. Education is more than “The knowledge or skill obtained” (American Heritage dictionary 2001). Education is an opportunity for vertical mobility. Education is a chance for greater socioeconomic status. In order to gain knowledge, skill and a level of greater earning potential, you have to be able to pay for higher Education.
