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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (99047)	3/21/2005 3:14:40 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

<And certainly the GI bill isn't the only way to go to college. > That was the only one I qualified for... What are these programs? The ones being cut? ubdaily.educatorsportal.com Officials Fear Cuts in College Programs More black and Hispanic students are going to college, but education officials say that trend could be reversed if Congress cuts programs benefiting disadvantaged students, including those in Georgia. Between 1991 and 2001, minority college enrollment increased by 52 percent, according to a report released Monday by the American Council on Education. Black enrollment rose by 37 percent, Hispanic enrollment by 75 percent. White enrollment declined by 4.6 percent but remained well ahead of blacks and Hispanics. In Georgia, the numbers outpaced national growth. Black enrollment grew by 89 percent between 1991 and 2001. Hispanic enrollment jumped 106 percent, and white enrollment was up about 13 percent. While educators praised the upward trend, they were quick to warn that the gains would be lost without programs like Upward Bound and Talent Search that help disadvantaged students prepare for college. In his latest budget proposal, President Bush has proposed eliminating the programs, as well as Perkins loans, a federal loan program for low-income students. "I cannot overstate how important these have been in the overall strategy to increase the [college] participation rate" of minority students, said William Kirwan, the educational council's chairman and chancellor of the University System of Maryland.

To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (99047)	3/22/2005 8:59:14 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

Augustus, after reading many of your posts I'm starting to think that you somehow don't understand that just because your grandfather suffered during the Depression and still sent all his kids to college doesn't mean his children had that same disadvantages that a lot of black and other minority children, as well as poor children today, have. A lot of people lost all their money in the Depression, but they had underlying values of striving and hard work. The number one indicator of whether a child will do well in school is the educational achievement of the child's mother. I think almost everyone at SI, whether they came from nothing or from a very privileged background, had parents who were interested in their children's education, read to them, and made academic achievement an important priority. I think almost all our children do well in school, and have all sorts of extracurricular enrichment activities that we pay for, and when a problem comes up we pay for tutors, as well. The problem is, there is another society out there that I don't even think the SI crowd usually comes into contact with, because most of us live in a very elite and small world whether we are aware of it or not. When I go to a ball game or the 4th of July fireworks--the only time I am ever in crowds--there are all those people! The ones who didn't do well in school, the ones whose children are begging for expensive athletic shoes because that's what is high status in their world, the ones who scream at their children or get drunk in public, the ones who don't read to their children and do not know how to foster academic excellence and success in life because they have no role models to show them how. Bridging that gap isn't easy. Even though you are aghast at the idea of rewarding students with money for small achievements (I'm not sure how I feel about that, either, and I have the flu so I'm not really into thinking seriously about it right now), my guess is that you are not a champion of universal preschools or parent intervention/education classes or fully funding Head Start either (other programs that intervene early and let students overcome the disadvantages of their families), and that you are not unhappy that government funding for Pell grants, the ones that allow minority students to afford college, is way down under Bush. Bush doesn't care at all if poor and underprivileged students succeed, let's be clear about that. So the number of poor and minority students who actually did struggle and make it through high school and want to further themselves but just can't afford to go to college anymore is growing. I think that is a wrong way of thinking, because a society's best assets are its children. It is obvious that under the Bush regime, this is not important. The children of the rich and privileged will continue to thrive, and everyone else will take a step backwards. Not a prescription for a healthy society, definitely. Please excuse me if I misinterpreted parts of your belief system. I did the best I could from the posts you have written on this subject. I would welcome clarification if I am mistaken. But from here, your world view lacks empathy and compassion, and I think that is because you really are unable to fathom what it is like to grow up totally disadvantaged without parents who know how to help you and have the means to do so.