Think of all the inspiring movies you know about a rags to riches story; Someone that came from nothing and became a desirable millionaire. Unfortunately, these movies are mere fantasy. According to CNN Money, 70 percent of those born into poverty, stay in poverty. Keep in mind, the 30 percent don’t make it to be rich and famous, but just barely make it to the middle class.
Recently as I’ve been applying to colleges, I have realized just how difficult it must be for those who are poverty stricken to further their education. I’m aware of programs that offer scholarships and free applications to those who are in need of it, but the main issue is the lack of information about these programs. It is necessary to educate inner city schools on scholarship opportunities and how to apply for college. If kids born into poverty were educated on this information, it could start a chain reaction. These kids could get into and afford to go to college. They would soon become college education and secure a job. This will boost them to the middle class and hopefully even higher, and eventually helping to change the economy, but this cant happen without knowing how to apply for colleges and scholarships.
Zoe,
I really enjoyed this because it relates to my community. I agree with a lot of your main points, especially with the fact that there isn’t a lot of information on these programs. I hope I get to read another piece from you.
Dear Zoe:
I am aware of what is happening. I agree that we should do something to teach people that they can go to college even if they have no money. Your post stands out to me because I have seen many people that have not gone to college because they have no money. I do agree with your post because it is really sad that a lot of kids don’t get to go to college. One reason I say this is because many people have the opportunity to go to college and they don’t go to college. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next.
Dear Zoe,
I am happy about your post “The Lower the Social Class, the Lower the Opportunities” because, I grew up and lived in the inner city and I really wasn’t exposed to scholarships or opportunities outside that would benefit me, until I made it to junior year of high school. And even now as a senior I still don’t know much about programs or scholarships that could help me get into college. One thing you said that stood out to me was, “I’m aware of programs that offer scholarships and free applications to those who are in need of it, but the main issue is the lack of information about these programs.” This stood out to me because, I can personally relate to this as all I was taught was to get a job or go to college but I was never informed on programs that can make me pay less or get a full ride into college. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because if they relate to education or helping the inner city youth then I’ll look up more of your post.
I really like your post, it’s an interesting one and that it really affects our society. A sentence that stands out for me is “Keep in mind, the 30 percent don’t make it to be rich and famous, but just barely make it to the middle class”, because people think that one day they will be rich or they have this idea that they can be famous but that is not happening. Only if you fight, have a higher degree of education and have the support you can make it.
All of those movies of rags to riches stories remind people at some point that what is happening is a 1/1000 kind of thing. It’s hard to get out of lower socio-economic classes, sure, but we knew that, and due to social changes it’s actually been getting easier for these individuals to progress throughout the class system. Say in the 1880’s an individual wanted to make a better life for their family, well that would’ve been much harder comparatively to if they tried today, and instead of say having a 30% chance of making it into what they would’ve considered the middle class, it would’ve been closer to 10%. Now this may seem like a lot of people who cant progress in life but you have to realize that these people were content with what they had most the time, despite that being little to nothing, and most of them had nobody to help them progress in society, now we have organizations completely dedicated to helping these kinds of people. In every society throughout history there have been poverty stricken people, because that’s completely inevitable, but that isn’t always because of other people. I see how you’ve recognized that there are scholarship opportunities, and that people who go to college tend to get out from below the poverty line more easily, but there are plenty of people who go to college and do absolutely nothing with their degree, and most of these people are from lower income families. This wouldn’t start a chain reaction, people would miraculously become more wealthy, because that’s just not how things work, and if they are able to get above the poverty line then they’ll inevitably push someone else below it, because without stepping on the backs of others there cannot be any progress, and we’ve seen this by some of the most famous people in history. Most individuals do know about these programs, because nowadays colleges advertise their scholarship programs heavily. One of my best friends lives with her father, who recently got into a divorce. Their family is completely impoverished and they make on average $20,000 a year, yet somehow shes been climbing her way through society. She was home schooled up until the age of 18, by her crazy christian mother, and she got an education that she considers almost meaningless, but when she was younger she would go to the public library and read whenever she could, or pick up books from donation centers. She was accepted into a community college last year (Lansing Community College), and while she went their she got a job at Tim Horton’s, to raise money for if she made it into a university, earlier this year she was accepted to Grand Valley, which is a university close to Grand Rapids, Michigan. She’s making her way through the ranks in society, not because things were easy or handed to her, and not because someone walked her through step by step on how to obtain a college scholarship, but because she was determined to do so.