In the article, “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility” author Andrew Simmons discusses how teachers motivate students to work hard in school by stressing that college is the best path to take in order to have a stable economic life. Furthermore, Simmons also discusses whether or not it is correct to “sale” College as a path to economic stability versus a path of intellectual awakening. In doing this Simmons distinguishes between lower income students and privileged students.
The first point that Simmons makes is that, “….teachers repeat again and again that a college degree will alleviate economic hardship. Yet by focusing on this one potential benefit, educators risk distracting them from the others, emphasizing the value of the fruits of their academic labor itself.”(Simmons 3) I am a student myself and, time after time we are told the key to economic stability is to go to college. We are hearing this so often that we forget the true meaning of attending college to find our true passion. Yes, going to college provides us with economic stability but, we must never forget the purpose of going to school. If our only purpose of going to …show more content…
They fantasize about what their future wealth will permit them to enjoy. In contrast, at the private school I attended for the last two years of high school, my classmates thought about what they wanted to learn in college, not only what they wanted to become.” (Simmons 5) Attending a lower income school and then moving to a better school I can say that there is a huge change in the way students think about college. My friends in my home school thought of college as a way to have money and to have things that they never had growing up. On the contrary my other friends viewed college as a way to reach their dreams and a new learning
The first point that Simmons makes is that, “….teachers repeat again and again that a college degree will alleviate economic hardship. Yet by focusing on this one potential benefit, educators risk distracting them from the others, emphasizing the value of the fruits of their academic labor itself.”(Simmons 3) I am a student myself and, time after time we are told the key to economic stability is to go to college. We are hearing this so often that we forget the true meaning of attending college to find our true passion. Yes, going to college provides us with economic stability but, we must never forget the purpose of going to school. If our only purpose of going to …show more content…
They fantasize about what their future wealth will permit them to enjoy. In contrast, at the private school I attended for the last two years of high school, my classmates thought about what they wanted to learn in college, not only what they wanted to become.” (Simmons 5) Attending a lower income school and then moving to a better school I can say that there is a huge change in the way students think about college. My friends in my home school thought of college as a way to have money and to have things that they never had growing up. On the contrary my other friends viewed college as a way to reach their dreams and a new learning