Our Kids Analysis

The overall theme of the book, Our Kids, by Robert Putnam was how the access to upward mobility has changed for low income and many students in this generation. Putnam does this by using several examples starting with his childhood. I think he has a very valid point, although many have made it out of poverty into successful careers, there are many that have not and have no idea how to make a change. The world was very different back in the 1950 when Putnam grew up and we have since lost that overall sense of community that was so important very present in those days. Although there were major problems present for that generation, the student of the newer generations are dealing with a different world. Long gone are the times when the rich …show more content…
With these students experiencing very different worlds and opportunities, it helps to make the statement of the chapter Whom You go to School with Matters, a very valid argument, because as we saw from the environments of the different families, some have access to help and some don 't. If there is a mix of "the have and the have nots," then the have nots get a chance to see what the world could be for them and the have gets to see the humble side of living and hard work without handouts. Even if there is some way to give all students equal opportunity to succeed then Putnams statement “The American public educational system was created to give all kids, regardless of their family origins, a chance to improve their lot in life,” (Putnam, 2015) will reign true. Although the educational system was created for the purpose he mentioned, it is failing a large population of students. The main reason most students attend school is for social interactions, which happens a lot in extra curricular activities. According to the book, students who are not low income sometimes have access to the millions of dollars donated to the schools by affluent parents for extra curricular activities. However, for low income schools this is an area highly