What Jose wishes to say is there are self destructive cultures that make these people less interested in utilizing these tools, but they are there for everyone, nevertheless.

Again, the water is there, but you cannot make anyone take a drink. It is a decision that the individual must take. And Jose might be right that less from some groups are interested in making that decision.

This is why mentors who have the courage to expose the enablers and tell the truth about these self destructive cultural attitudes like BILL COSBY are so important.

He cuts to the chase and doesn’t enable the minorities by telling them they are less and can accomplish less. He knows the opportunity is out there for them. His message is reach out and take it.

Good job, bill.

Family, personal responsibility, mentors…all important, each for different reasons to each different kid. There’s no cookie-cutter formula for propelling each student to success, but we have to constantly rebuild the foundations of our social and educational infrastructures every step of the way.

The work is never done. We’re not working for a static group. We’re working for a parade.

Besides the statement of your Mom’s support, Jose, the words that ring my bells are these:
“it’s been proven that if you just talk to some of these kids like human beings, those disorders start going away.”

But fair enough: let’s take GEDs for instance, since it’s presumably for everyone. GEDs are mostly for people who, after not having done well in their educational careers earlier on in their lives, need to have it for a job that requires that degree. Alright, but it’s not so much that the higher-ups say, “No you can’t come in.” But rather, why would most people who have had terrible experiences with schools actually want to go back? One can persuade a group of people to not go further by making their previous conditions miserable.

The research shows that, after 3rd grade, the optimism that kids in urban public schools show decreases sharply. It’s due to many factors including unkempt facilities, lack of technological classes, overbearing and often insulting teachers, exposure to the contrast between rich and poor, parents who themselves have never had an education and don’t have that access, and tests that determine whether these children can go on to the next grade, even when they’re excelling. When someone, or a group of people, constantly have that sort of experience, what will they think about progressing past 8th grade? Chances are, when the chance comes, they’ll drop off their educational careers and never go back. And anyone who leaves can tell you how hard it is to come back into that. Even for those who leave in college have a hard time coming back.

And for many of the dropouts, they fall into a series of routines and familiarity, as most humans are a creature of habit. If you can sell drugs, not only are you learning math and language arts, but you’re learning law and business. The risks aren’t anything for someone who can take the average of someone in their specific demographic, and that’s a really low number. If they have a child or two, they have to raise your family.

Even as the children get older, they go to school from 9-3 with maybe a day care that’ll hold them until 6, which means that the parent will most likely work during that time, and if they have to go to school, they’ll do so after 6, in the care of someone else on usually some random days. How can someone count on someone else to constantly take care of their child when 9/10 times, they have their own issues? There’s still a proliferation of single parent homes, and even for those families with a mother and father, in an urban community, they will still have to work from 9-6, and someone’s going to miss out on their responsibilities.

And like I’ve said before, it’s shown that it’s easier to be from a “bad” family in a good neighborhood then a “good” family in a bad neighborhood, which suggests that even if there’s a good family, and the parents keep pushing the child to go to school and get their education, and everyone in the family is well informed, the child can be influenced by his or her teachers, peers, or strangers on the street. So it’s a cycle of “missed” opportunities.

As for the other opportunities, it’s a matter of statistics. Again, nothing personal. For instance, most affirmative action recipients are white women, by percentage and numbers. Even after that, you think about the probability of getting into your college of choice, then actually affording to go to college, because Pell grants and other FAFSA aid are significantly down since the 70s, it’s rather daunting for someone who’s never seen anyone actually make it that far, much less heard of someone.

What’s more, I don’t believe that most middle or upper class have to worry about certain factors working out for them (that’s changing for the middle class, too, by the way, as they’re also getting shelled financially). In any case many upper class citizens have legacy representation in many schools, and have parents who have also gone to college. It’s also a matter of money, because they can probably afford to go, and have a life expectancy that’s usually higher. They have better environments, more subsidies for their schooling, and healthier foods.

In other words, I go back to my original statement: it’s a multitude of factors that propel so many of us into success, and oftentimes, we need a lot more of one factor to make up for what we don’t have. Responsibility shouldn’t just fall on the victims of oppressive conditions. I agree that they have to have self-determination and take action for their own condition, but that’s not the end-all-be-all. To the contrary, many of the successes we attribute to ourselves has really to do with our environment. Programs like night school, GEDs, Associate Degrees, and certifications doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, so for many who’ve been through a lot of this is not a real opportunity. These aren’t excuses, but realistic situations.

I can agree to disagree with this one.