I am a middle-class teacher in a low-to-middle class area and would like to hear your thoughts on why some parents seem to put little value on their childrens' education. Don't they want their children to have every advantage possible in life, and aren't basic reading and math skills advantages for everyone? Or do some people have such issues with the public schools that they 'sabotage' teachers' and schools' efforts just out of spite? I am not talking about responses to bad teachers and hateful administrators; I am talking about general disdain for anything academic. I sincerely want to understand, because it kills me to see this happening to kids before they even know what they could be capable of.
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Name : Nathan20143, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 40, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Tech, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I share your disappointment with some parents and the education of their children. My parents came from Eastern Europe and valued education, and promoted it. Some North Americans have a disrespect for achievement, which can be a distortion of humility. Recognizing that our abilities come from God, we are being good stewards by using what has been given to us, and to use it to the best of our ability. From what I have seen, it is better to have a desire to achieve in a person of average ability than to have a person with great ability having lost their desire to achieve.
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Name : A-Urbonas23970, Religion : Christian, Age : 50, City : Edmonton, Alberta, State : NA Country : Canada, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, It has been proven, through standardized testing and school rankings, that a parent's reaction to what a child learns in school has much to do with the parent's education level. Parents who have post-secondary educations and/or are in professional jobs (e.g. teachers, managers, doctors, etc.) are more likely to encourage their kids to do well in school than those who are less educated.
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Name : Cynthia31774, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 23, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Grad Student in Education, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, This isn't an answer, more of a related question. My kids went to a school in a small city with a large minority population, and I was active in the PTO at their elementary school. Based entirely on the turnout at PTO meetings and evening events we held, I commented to the principal that the school seemed to have very few African-American students. She told me that, in fact, it was about 1/3 Hispanic and 1/3 African-American. I wondered then, and still do, why the turnout of Hispanics was so much greater than the showing made by African-Americans (although Anglo whites predominated at our functions). It certainly wasn't economic status, because the Hispanics were not a prosperous lot as a whole. Perhaps the African-American churches drew people's interest away from the public schools?
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Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I've had experience with people from almost all classes in society, ranging from the lowest to at least upper-middle class. I can't say I know any film stars, but I do have friends with incredibly large houses and two-doctor salaries in their household. I'm also incredibly interested in psychology and people in general. I think there are numerous reasons why parents put little to no emphasis on their children's education. Sometimes it is because they truly believe education holds no actual value. If they themselves grew up in a lower-class household, and their parents had jobs requiring little skill, or those that just didn't pay well, and they now have these same kinds of jobs themselves, they will often think, 'What's good enough for me is good enough for my kids.' Sometimes they truly believe that because their child doesn't have an IQ of 150, he or she can't get anywhere that far in life, and will follow the same path as they did. Other times, it's because they need the child to do other non-academic tasks at home. This will be more common when the child is one of a large family, and one of the older few. He or she might be required to look after his or her younger siblings, run errands, etc. This could also be the case in one-parent families, especially if that parent is consistently unwell, or has a demanding job. It sounds odd that a parent would take a child out of school simply to do the jobs you'd normally expect the parent to do, but it does happen. Using the child is obviously cheaper and easier than hiring a nanny or asking someone else to weed the garden.
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Name : Pic A., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Satanist, Age : 16, City : Birmingham, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper class, I find it disturbing that you make the sweeping assumption that all poor people lack any interest in anything academic. I was raised by a single mother from a poor to a working/middle class neighborhood. From my own experience, my mother emphasized the importance of education, even though she never attended beyond high school. What's even further disturbing is that if you, as a teacher, carry this assumption every time you enter the classroom, you are creating an environment of low expectations, which can also be translated into 'sabotaging' the academic progress of your students. The problem in the United States with respect to education is the fact that many adults and children fail to see the connection between academics and success. And to some extent these opinions have some truth to them. Preferences based on social class, race and gender significantly affect the opportunities needed to become successful. When people perceive that hard work, ambition and motivation lead to success in life, you see a significant difference in the performance of students.
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Name : SoulOnIce, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 26, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I wish that people would read the posting carefully before replying with their 'interpretation.' SoulOnIce, Marita clearly stated that she was referring to 'some' parents. Since she works in a school in a low-middle school neighborhood, the obvious assumption is that some of the parents in that school put little attention on academic achievement - not ALL low-income parents, as you assumed. As a person who grew up poor as well, I took no offense at the question or any underlying assumption.
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Name : Pedro, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 33, City : Easton, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Telecommunications, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, You hear from some poor people the phrase 'it's not what you know, it's who you know.' (or something similar). A lot of poor people think most successful people are successful because of their 'connections' not because of their own effort and hard work. So they think education and hard work is pointless since they have no 'connections.' If you think of the successful people you know, most got there from hard work and education, not 'connections.' I also never cease to be amazed at the number of poor people who actually don't know how many jobs require a college degree.
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Name : Dan-G, City : Sewell NJ, State : NJ Country : United States, SoulOnIce's response is interesting. Having reread the question several times, I don't think the man read the question carefully.. Nowhere does the question even mention 'all poor black people'. He accuses the teacher of assumption at the same time being guilty of the same.
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Name : John29322, City : Cincinnati, State : OH Country : United States, I am in southern california, and in my area a disproportionate number of poor are black and latino. When I taught at an inner city Junior High (about 6 years ago), there was a feeling among a lot of students that because they weren't white males, they couldn't get the good jobs/big houses so they weren't interested in trying. I hope that with more ethnic role models in high places that kids will change their attitudes. Will be interesting to see what effect the slow but systematic dismantling of affirmative action will have on our youth. Will they prosper or decline in a 'color-blind' society?
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Name : Betty Blue, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 29, City : Southern California, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : administrative, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, This is a tired question... What if every minority in the US got an education? Who would pick up the garbage, serve your food in the restaurants, wash the dishes, make your Big Mac, serve you your frapachino at Starbuck's, etc? Would you? Of course not. If everyone was Bill Gates, we'd be screwed. Think about it. Society has always been this way since the begining of known history. It sucks, yes. But that's the way it is. Some make it and some don't. And let's not go too far by saying this is a racist comment against minorities. It happens with whites as well. Wake up and look around. It's social-economics. What I find amusing is how easy 'sensitive' people complain about the plight of the lower class in the comfort of the suburbs. Let's face it, as a minority, I had a choice, to succomb to the pattern or break out and make something of myself. I had the same problems as anyone in the ghetto. The difference is that I didn't give up on myself and some did. Just because a perosn is in the pig sty doesn't mean they have to stay in the pig sty. I can't make anyone choose the best for themselves. Neither can you. Do the best to instill a better choice and move on.
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Name : Educated-Latino, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 36, City : Akron, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I personally don't think that the parents intentionally try to deprive their children of a completely involved education, I just think that since most of your class is from a middle-lower economic status, parents simply cannot afford the luxeries that are required for their child's education. I'm sure that a lot of these families are constantly struggling to at least but dinner on the table every night instead of buying their child a brand new calculator. As sad as that is, it is the truth of reality. I personally am studying to become a teacher and when I constantly hear about how the budget for schools is so low and many teachers have to buy the majority of necessities that they need for their students from their own pocket, I sometimes get nervous about how I am going to supply those things for my class. It is a harsh world out there and it is even more cruel for families that are struggling economically. Sure every parent wants the best for their children, so it is not like they are trying to deprive their child of the best possible education, I just think that families prioritize the necessities of their lives with the available economic funds that they do have.
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Name : Janet20962, City : Cortland, State : NY Country : United States, I HIGHLY recommend reading Patrick J. Finn's 'Literacy With an Attitude: Educating Working Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest.' It discusses the parental attitudes you talk about, where the attitudes stem from, the effects they have on children as students, why they may respond to you or your educational methods as they do, and how or why you may want to reconsider your own attitudes/ methodology. The work is fairly comprehensive, drawing from Finn's own experiences as well as from other studies on the topic. Sorry if this isn't a very 'deep' response, hopefully Finn will make up for it. This book helped me get some good perspective where others failed.
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Name : Jessica S., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Bridgewater, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Educator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Marita L. Athens, GA US, 27 (now 28) female, christian, ... wants to know why the uneducated are afraid of the educated and in response, refuse their children an education. I believe you are dealing with a psychology that I am not completely familiar with. I have had experience with the 'uneducated' and I have dealt with those who refuse formal education but I have not dealt with many people who live in caves and create impenetrable walls for their children. I do know that fear is a huge factor in controlling people, look at how our government acting today. You are a public school teacher, I would assume. And the reason you are asking this question is because you have to deal directly with people of this nature. And you seem to be aware of public school systems failures. My advice to you, as a psychologist, is to find time for each parent outside of the school. The building it self is enough to spring instant walls for those who are afraid. I do not know how you will do this, perhaps it's the school sporting events, perhaps it's the local pub, perhaps you'll have to do a little research about that particular parent and where, what, who and why. I know you do not get paid enough for this type of work and I also know that some of this is unconstitutional...in some ways, but your dealing with children who are influenced by hate and the last thing our world needs today is more hate. Good Luck jon
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Name : Jon Haynes, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 33, City : Pepin, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : psych/artist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It is entirely possible that lower-class parents believe that 'what's good enough for me is good enough for my kids', especially when poverty runs in the family, because being poor can seem like a hopeless trap that there is no way out of. Why bother trying to get out when it's impossible anyway and what we have is enough? Even when parents do recognize the value of education and encourage their children to learn and achieve, they will then have to deal with their own insecurities of having their children be more successful and wealthier and smarter than they are. My mother did everything in her power to help me through college and try to give me a better life, and now when I go home she says 'you think you're smarter than your own mother, don't you', or, 'you think you're better than me, don't you?' Lower-class parents worry that they will lose thier children to some sort of secret society of the rich that they will never be able to enter, or that their children will be ashamed of them and never want to come home again or help their parents out financially. Moving between classes is a tricky business for all involved, a veritable emotional minefield, and education is the first step into danger that many families may not want to face.
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Name : J-French21278, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 
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