Today’s New York Times features a front-page story about a South Texas trio that is academically able, but who face a litany of challenges as they seek to get a college education.
It’s a story that is repeated way too often in the United States, where a college education can open the door to the middle class, but also where students can easily fall through the cracks if they are not prepared for the rigors of college life. The students profiled in the NYT story were challenged by poverty, complicated financial aid issues, and an academic culture for which they weren’t prepared.
Too often, this is the case for those who are the first in their families to go to college.
The story makes the case for why cradle-to-career support is more important than ever. We know that underserved kids who get good grades are not always prepared for the non-academic intangibles that equal success. They need us to provide a safety net and a pathway to succeed.
“Everyone wants to think of education as an equalizer — the place where upward mobility gets started,” said Greg J. Duncan, an economist at the University of California, Irvine. “But on virtually every measure we have, the gaps between high- and low-income kids are widening. It’s very disheartening.”
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
For far to long we have worshiped the holy Grail of Access as the great equalizer when in fact it is only a part of the puzzle . For disavantaged Youth to Succeed they need a network of caring adults and peers that can help them Navigate both the Academic Rigors as well as the Social Emotional ones. The intangible here is Resilience . It is the game changer that is a far better indicator of success than many of our Standardized test.