Education a passport to the future
NIAGARA VOICES
Put your hand up if you were raised in a household where postsecondary education was held up as “the holy grail” of opportunity.
For many of us growing up in working class families, a high value was placed on education. Whether your dad worked in the factory or the paper mill and your mom was a stay-at-home parent – they wanted us to “do better,” and that usually meant college or university.
It was what our parents aspired to. There was a certain amount of pride and sacrifice attached to being able to send their kids off to college or university. It gave them bragging rights and they were right there in the front row on graduation day when we received our degrees and diplomas.
Thirty years later, a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same.
While a diploma or degree no longer guarantees you stable and lucrative employment, you’re still better off with one than without. A 2015 article from the Niagara Community Observatory at Brock University, confirms that postsecondary education has become increasingly essential in today’s fast-paced knowledge based economy.
In Canada, employment opportunities for those with post-secondary credentials has grown 43 per cent, while jobs for those with high school diplomas or less, has decreased significantly. The article cites further benefits of postsecondary education including higher levels of life satisfaction, healthier lifestyles and more community involvement.
The evidence is clear, post-secondary education is a good thing. So why then, are not more young people pursuing post-secondary studies?
Parental experience and influence, finances, a child’s early experience in school, cultural or social isolation and expectation are among some of the barriers.
If this is what our kids are up against, imagine what it must be like for children and youth in foster care. They can pretty much check the boxes for all of the above, and then some. Youth in foster care graduate at half the rate of their more fortunate peers due to the unique challenges they face as a result of their life circumstances, making their chance for post-secondary ever slimmer.
A young person in care once told me that she had attended 13 different schools, and that was before she came into care. Her home life chaotic and her family moved frequently. Given the turmoil some of these kids face, it’s not surprising that they may struggle in school. I would also like to tell you that this same young person is now a college graduate and a parent. But this does not happen by accident.
Success happens when you give kids the chance to succeed. When you put measures in place to help kids navigate the system and get the support they need. When you start talking to them about their academic, career and life goals at an early age. And when you talk to them about when they go to college, not if.
Here in Niagara and across the province, child welfare is placing a premium on educational outcomes for children in care. Our kids need it, they deserve it and it will be the one thing that will launch them into a much better future than the difficult pasts many of them have endured.
We have employed educational liaisons to help kids get the services and supports they need at school. Our Crown Ward Championship Team brings together champions from our school boards, Brock University, Niagara College and the John Howard Society to give kids every chance to succeed at school and in the world of work.
This month at the annual meeting of Family and Children’s Service, our charitable foundation