English Composition II – 116
28 April 2014
Detour to College: The Roadblocks of the Lower Class and How to Get Around Them
It is safe to say that most people want to live the ‘American Dream’ by learning, working, and starting a desirable future to be ultimately happy. Many individuals in countries all over the world today, especially in the United States, know very well that a college degree is needed in order to have a successful career. College has become the norm for most middle and upper-class students in society today, and it is no longer seen as an “exotic destination” (Leonhardt). Think back to when you were a high school junior, is this around the time your parents started talking to you about college? If you can remember, you may recall that it was fun and exciting to talk about your future, yet also intimidating and stressful. All of society should have equal opportunities, especially when it comes to furthering their education after high school. However, this is not always the case, most particularly with individuals that are part of the lower-class system. Time in and time out great people have been passed up for jobs because of their lack in education experience. There are many factors that contribute to why most individuals from poor and working-class families do not attend college; though some believe college to not even be necessary, society will need to fight to close the achievement gap to make college an equal opportunity for all.
College allows people to have great opportunities in their lives that are proven to be successful. It is common knowledge that a college degree today is worth the same as a high school diploma was a few decades ago. Why do individuals need to go to college and earn a degree? To put it simply, college gives many people the contingency of a stable life so they do not end up having to live in fear for themselves and/or their families in the future. David Leonhardt, Editor for The New York Times, found in his article, “The College Dropout Boom,” that a bachelor’s degree “tends to determine a person's place in today's globalized, computerized economy.” He further explains that these people also receive a significant amount of raises every couple of years, while those from the poor and working-class’ pay tends to stay at fixed rate. This is just one of the many supporting elements as to why an individual needs to go to college. Even though some people end up not even pursuing a job in their specific area of study while in college, just having a college degree alone gives them the chances and opportunities to start a profession. To know that there are people in society that do not have a fighting chance to attend college is unfortunate because it is more of a need rather than a want in today’s society. Higher education is becoming more and more valuable in a person’s life today more than ever, and everyone should be given the equal chance to be happy in their lives, and that starts with a college degree.
Although some would not like to believe it, there remains a class system that divides society in America. The poor and working-class, dubbed as part of the lower-class system, are those individuals that are least likely to further their education by not attending college. When talking about these individuals, those part of this class system can be defined as being underpaid, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and on the verge of poverty. When speaking in terms of diversity, people have a good understanding that the United States is referred to as “the melting pot.” Frank DiMaria, a contributing writer for The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, explains in his article how Janet Galligani Casey views diversity in higher education. Casey, visiting Associate Professor at Skidmore College, informs readers that diversity is not just about the physical elements such as skin color, but among categories of class (DiMaria 61). Almost all academic institutions preach about how diverse they are, but in order to include students of the lower class, they may need to change their definition of diversity. Casey goes on to explain that class is different and is not “celebrated” like gender, race, sexual orientation, and ethnicity are; however, if you celebrate class, it can “upset the ideals of the institution” (qtd. in DiMaria 62). When looking at social class in higher education, many researchers agree that the lower class is not represented well, if at all. Most individuals part of the poor and working-class do not have the privilege to go to college as a result of the divide in the class system and the lack of diversity colleges claim to attain.
Despite the claims that everyone needs a college degree, some may argue that higher education is not a valuable source for society today. Jeffrey J. Selingo, Editor at Large of the Chronicle of Higher Education, disagrees with the notion that college allows individuals with the tools to succeed in life. In his book, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means For Students, Selingo argues that the higher education system in America is broken and universities have become more of business-like companies with low graduation rates that are not teaching students the skills they need for the real world (X). The author also quotes a federal commission, which studied higher education, that stated, “…American higher education has become what, in the business world, would be called a mature enterprise: increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive” (X). In essence, they believe that college is becoming more about serving itself rather than its students.
The strongest argument that Selingo proposes, though, has to do with technology and the direction higher education is taking for the future. The author informs readers of massive open online courses and hybrid classes, which will conform to the individual needs of a student (90). On the plus side, they will also be free, and a lot more people will most likely be using them rather than going to college. Because college has become one of the greatest purchases a person makes in their life, people are starting to question the worth of higher education more and more. Selingo makes readers think twice about boarding up the bus to college. In his book, he confidently states, “…it is the students of tomorrow who will drive colleges to reimagine the future of higher education” (Selingo 173). Because of the massive amount of technology, Internet, and wireless data, students who are now in elementary and middle school are going to change the way colleges teach (Selingo 173). Even those who come from poor and working-class families will benefit from what the future has in store for higher education, according to Selingo (174). Ultimately, though, college is needed at this time in today’s day and age because none of these conditions have been taken into action.
Regardless of the assertions made by Selingo and the others in his book, the poor and working-class are still being neglected when it comes to higher education because of the many barriers they face. A notable roadblock that stands in the way of them not attending college is their sense of belonging. Everyone in some way, shape, or form, needs to feel welcomed and accepted into a new place. Joan M. Ostrove, Professor of Psychology as Macalester College, and Susan M. Long, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lake Forest College, describe how an individual’s background may affect their perception of where they do and do not belong. In the article, Ostrove and Long mention that, “Childhood experiences can facilitate or hinder a sense of belonging…” (363). Because students who come from poor and working-class families feel left out around those not like them, this tough childhood memory is carried along with them in their mind as they get older. The authors make it very clear that it is proven that a person’s sense of belonging is very important for their psychological and physical well-being (Ostrove and Long 363). Within the context of education, poor and working-class people are faced with discrimination because social class molds so many academic institutions, which is almost made of all middle to upper-class individuals. Just like an African-American may feel left out in a predominantly white atmosphere, so too does someone in the lower social class bracket because they are not surrounded by anybody like them. This puts immense pressure on a lower class individual because they have to try to fit in in a place where they know they do not. Ostrove and Long help identify some factors that play into sense of belonging by finding that although the relationship to academics to lower and upper-class students is the same, the “social geography” (as in clothing, friendships, etc.) remains drastically different (365). This in particular can cause stereotyping and even go as far as altering someone’s decision to attend or stay at a particular school.
Furthermore, the sense of belonging a student feels at a school may not only be just because of the other students in attendance, but the school administrators themselves are to blame. Because of the growing competitiveness of college acceptance, school admissions offices are being very picky when deciding on who to accept and who to decline. Daniel Fisher, Staff Member of Forbes magazine, talks about lower class students and says college admissions offices are “screening them out.” Richard Sander, Professor at UCLA School of Law, also agrees with Fisher by stating, “The pervasive problem in admissions offices is class-ism, not racism — they’re biased against low-income students” (qtd. in Fisher). As mentioned before, schools are known for their diversity among students in race and culture, but it does not apply to class. Richard Vedder, University of Ohio Economist, explains that, “Most universities spend much less time worrying about socioeconomic diversity than racial and ethnic diversity” (Fisher). In other words, colleges are raising the bar by including different races and ethnicities but are blatantly ignoring letting in lower-class students, which just creates more of a problem (Fisher). By knowing this information, one from a lower class family would most likely not even apply to college because they know their background will not help them in getting admitted to a school. In order for an academic institution to claim they accept people from all backgrounds, they must include socioeconomic status as well.
In addition to a sense of belonging and discriminatory college admissions offices, young people part of the poor and working-class will not attend college because of the pressure put on them to join the workforce after high school. Although most families would give support for their loved ones to continue their education, DiMaria claims, “some working-class families find the idea of higher education distasteful” (63). He found that in some cases, the head of a working-class family would require their child to start working as soon as they are finished with their senior year of high school. The main reason for these kinds of circumstances is to provide financial stability for the family because a college education would pull money away from the household income (DiMaria 63). Even though a child may want to further their education, it is their parents that are the ones holding them back and not allowing them to do so. Some give reasons such as believing a college education holds no value, thinking they just did not belong because of their background, and having no support while in college (DiMaria 64). David Leonhardt, Publisher at The New York Times, illustrates the story of Andy Blevins, a working-class man from Virginia who dropped out of college to allow himself to continue his job as a warehouse worker. Blevins, along with so many other Americans, has decided to leave school in order to keep his job that allows him the money he needs to survive, even if it is just minimum wage. Almost all of these kinds of people say they will go back, that they are just “taking a break”, but they never do, and they say it is the biggest regret they have in their lives (Leonhardt). Yet this is why they still remain in the lower class system; they are holding the same minimum wage jobs they left or did not go to college for. This only proves that even though they are working, it is preventing them from going to, staying, and returning to college.
The barriers above are very much present, and they all lead to one of the largest roadblocks these individuals face: the financial aspect of college. It is arguably the greatest factor that steers poor and working-class individuals out of the way of higher education. With tuition at colleges all over the country rising every year, it is making it impossible for people to afford a four-year education. Kathleen Lynch and Claire O’Riordan, whose article is published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education, explain that the financial barrier plays the largest role of inequality for poor and working-class students; this is because they do not have access to higher education and very few of them participate in it (453). Lynch and O’Riordan state, “In low-income households, day-to-day survival, ‘making ends meet’, had to take precedence over optional goods, including higher education” (453). It is sad to think that those included in the poor and working-class have many other priorities, with college not being one of them. Things such as shelter, food, and other day-to-day concerns are number one on their list and college is just a ‘luxury’ that cannot be bought (Lynch and O’Riordan 453). Middle and upper-class students are able to rely on their parents for college, while poor and working-class student do not have any ‘financial motivation’ for higher education (Lynch and O’Riordan 453). College is rationally the largest investment that a student and/or their family makes throughout their lifetime, but with no money for school, these poor and working-class students are being stripped away from the college experience.
With all these roadblocks in the way of making going to college a reality for poor and working-class students, one may ask if there will ever be a way to fix the issue. There needs to be some proposed solutions in order to create equality for these students in higher education. Some things such as government funding, increasing financial aid, need-based scholarships, new admissions policies, and adding more work-study programs can help in some way to offset their financial state. According to Greg Toppo, USA Today Education and Demographics Writer, one solution in particular that has started to pay off is called “early college awareness programs.” These programs started in Vermont and have spread across New England; they have proven to be a great success so far (Toppo). The goal of the program is to make elementary students from low-income families aware of the fact that they need to succeed in their education and continue on with it after high school (Toppo). Rick Dalton, President of the Foundation for Excellent Schools, claims, “Students who don't have role models, who don't have members of their families who've gone to college -- we have to create pathways for them” (qtd. in Toppo). If these students can learn about the benefits of continuing their education through the programs, they have something to look forward to in life and they get to chase a dream. Coming from poor and working-class families, these children do not get nearly as many opportunities in life as their wealthier peers do. The results from the program have proven to be a huge triumph: graduation rates have risen and test scores have gone up (Toppo). Through exhibiting the benefits of higher education to poor and working-class students as young as kindergarten, they can overcome the odds of these individuals not getting a college education at all.
All individuals should have the chance to live out the ‘American Dream,’ no matter which social class they belong to. Most people would agree that their college years were the best years of their life, and every child deserves to have this experience. As a country that claims they have equal opportunities for all, the research shows that this is indeed not the case in the United States, especially when it comes to higher education. Poor and working-class families, part of the lower social class, face many obstacles throughout their lives that severely decrease their chance of continuing their education in college. Some assert that a college education will not be necessary in the near future; however, today’s economy suggests otherwise. In order to obtain a job or career with an adequate amount of money that supports yourself and your family, you will need to bear a college degree. This is a problem for poor and working-class families in today’s society and there needs to be a positive solution that allows us to mend the achievement gap and move forward together.
Works Cited
DiMaria, Frank. "Working-Class Students: Lost In A College's Middle-Class Culture."
Education Digest 72.1 (2006): 60-65. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Fisher, Daniel. "Poor Students Are The Real Victims Of College Discrimination." Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 02 May 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Leonhardt, David. "The College Dropout Boom." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 23 May 2005. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Lynch, Kathleen and Claire O’Riordan. “Inequality in Higher Education: A Study of Class
Barriers.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 19.4 (1998): 445. ProQuest
Research Library. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Ostrove, Joan M and Susan M Long. “Social Class and Belonging: Implications for
College Adjustment.” Review of Higher Education 30.4 (2007): 363-389.
ProQuest. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Selingo, Jeffrey J. College (Un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It
Means for Students. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. Print.
Toppo, Greg. "Selling Kids on College as Early as Possible Group Prepares Low-income
Students for Higher - USATODAY.com." USA Today, 26 June 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
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