I saw this poster on my newsfeed this morning. Kudos to the student who has 'made it'. It would be great to be debt-free... to work and go to school at the same time... to have the choice to choose to live below his/her means... ahhhh... there's that word: choice.
Not knocking hard work or living below one's means (I, myself, live below the poverty line by current Canadian standards), or in any way poo-pooing a strong work ethic, I want to address the myth this person appears to be perpetuating whether consciously or unconsciously.
Many Canadians (and Americans) live under the notion that we are all equal under the law, with equal access to all resources (in this case, school acceptance, scholarships, and a job), and equal opportunities for all. Unfortunately, this is not the reality we live in. The white Euro-centric work ethic of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" has so permeated our churches, schools, and popular thought that to even think that someone could not live debt-free or not be able choose to live below their means is ridiculous... and lazy.
And there's that word again: choice. You know, for those people who have the supports and resources to have "made it", we sometimes take for granted that we have the choice to choose. Many -- a vast many, at that -- do not have that choice. They cannot choose to live below their means. That choice is made for them. They cannot apply for scholarships because they do not qualify for them or (which is so common, sadly) the options to apply are simply not presented to them because the poor really won't make the most of them... their GPA's just aren't... well... you know... they just are not quite there. If they graduate high school, THAT'S a victory! Soooo... maybe a trades school? Even the expectation of success changes when youth are seen as poor or of colour or of a different sexual orientation. But you see, we've convinced ourselves that 'those people' are just plain lazy. And we wipe our hands of it of all. How far from the truth have we come?
Example?
Living in a neighborhood without a grocery store, living as a single parent, 2 young kids (one in daycare and one in kindergarten), 2 jobs and night school. I mean... it's ALL about education right?... so without the parent trying to 'better' themselves, it all looks like laziness or bad choices. Any word to the contrary is made to sound like 'they' are blaming the government again. But on a typical day when said parent is exhausted, has no car, but picks up both kids faithfully, and has to take 3 buses to get to a market that is actually stocked with healthy, affordable food, back home again in time to make supper, put the kids to bed, pay the sitter, and whisk out the door to school, will he or she 'make it'? Well... what is your definition of 'making it'? The popular cultural thought is being debt-free, not living off the support of government welfare, and looking out for your own. According to this definition, said parent already has NOT made it. He or she might in the future... maybe. The kids? Well as long as they work hard enough... and around comes the cycle.
You know, it's great when a student learns early to manage limited funds. But post-secondary education does not come cheap at all, and the gap is growing monthly... yearly. Debt is almost inevitable. And when Christians come down hard on those who choose to enter into debt for that education, the guilt and stigma creates unnecesary schisms. If people only took the time to understand the risk factors that plague a broken world, a broken system, and broken people. It's not all about personal choice, and it's not all about a bad governing body. It IS about understanding the smaller and larger pictures... and choosing compassion overall.
So!
Some risk factors stemming out of this picture that can place any youth at risk for slavery (or any form of exploitation), and vulnerable to current/future poverty:
- low expectations (you expect certain classes or races - if we're going to use those terms - to do poorly, why should they measure up to you?)
- no access (many schools have guidance counselors and scholarship programs, but not all; friends have testified to counselors telling they wouldn't qualify for scholarships because of various silly reasons and the opportunity goes to someone else; lack of well paying jobs that do not create month-to-month choices between paying off loans or food; neighborhoods with community supports)
- no opportunity (in neighborhoods neglected and marginalized, it's hard to find places that will support a kid in their quest to make it out)... middle to upper class folks find this incredulous because hey! If we made it, then they can too. The schism widens.
- bad theology (the white Euro-centric ethic of making it on your own without anyone to blame is a distorted language of the Gospel... when a kid has 1 parent who works 2-3 jobs and still needs government support, lives in a neighborhood that is largely low income, teaches that skin colour DOES make a difference, sees oppressive elements everyday from drugs to prostitution to abuse, learns from a young age that law enforcement is not an institution to trust, and attends a school where the teachers checked out long ago -- you tell me... just how hard does this kid have to pull on hisor her bootstraps before he or she makes it?). When this is perpetuated in churches, attaching God's name tag to what is 'right' only further dominates so many people who are aching for freedom and relationship. But because one way worked for us, the privileged hard-working few (the definition of hard working is an entirely different discussion altogether), we are adamant that it must and WILL work for others. Anything else is laziness, excuses, and blame-gaming.
That's it for now. There are many more. Just 4 for now.
Low expectations
No access to supports
No opportunities for a future
Bad theology
Mull these over for a bit. Dig deeper. But don't stop here at the tough reality. How do we move forward?
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