Realizing the American Dream
When talking with high school students about their aspirations for college, it’s important to realize that there is no onesize-fits-all program. Students today face complex economic realities as they try to formulate not only what they would like to study, but how they can afford to enter a certain program. It is perhaps even more critical that they also prepare for how they can pay back the costs of the program after graduation. It is to this end that the composition of today’s student body has evolved.
According to the Lumina Foundation, 64% of college students work and 40% work full time while attending college. While this may sound unreasonable, given the difficulty of higher learning expectations; however, with 49% of college students operating financially independent of their parents, clearly they have to have some operating capital to survive. Not surprisingly, the fact that ninth graders from high-income families are over one and one-half times more likely to pursue post high school education aligns with this data. Ironically, the students living in poverty for whom college is perceived to be the most out-of-reach, are the exact students who most desperately need to access this lifeline. Especially when one recognizes that these students are five times more likely to escape poverty if they earn a degree.
When platformed on a universal scale, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics’ “Education at a Glance 2019: Putting the U.S. Data in a Global Context,” the national percentage of 25-34 year-olds with a college education (anywhere from an associate’s degree to a terminal degree) the United States is evidenced to be bested by Korea, the Russian Federation, Canada, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Australia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Clearly, there is an opportunity for improvement; but given the wide variation in the manner in which students are funded in these countries, it is not surprising that disparities exist. However, it is clearly incumbent upon the United States to re-evaluate the obstacles to post-secondary degree attainment to improve the outcomes, not only for the optics of the nation’s image, but more importantly, to effectively train and educate a workforce and create a nation whose intellectual capital ensures that it will not only maintain its presence as a superpower but improve the quality of life and opportunities available to its citizens for generations to come.
One key facet of the report which offers readers a variety of analyses, details the lag in the United States’ participation in early childhood education programs. While some may see this subset as only distantly related to higher education needs, the truth remains that early education, particularly for students considered at-risk due to presently limited financial resources, inconsistent living arrangements, and multi-generational poverty are especially vulnerable to missing the opportunity to realize any degree of education past high school offerings. Early education helps support students to be on track to begin school with their peers, increasing their likelihood to be able to keep pace throughout their academic careers.
Collectively, it is paramount that students be both made aware of the necessity for post-secondary education as well as mentored as to how to access this often complex proposition. Students need to fully understand the rewards for attaining a degree as well as the pathways to get there. For many students, this access may take longer and be more challenging as they struggle to survive financially through the journey, not privileged enough to be able to begin their segue into the world of work after the academic foray is completed. It is these students who especially need the academic, moral, and economic support to venture and succeed in academia, to escape the bonds of poverty and truly realize the American Dream.
Dr. Angela Farmer is a lifelong educator, a syndicated columnist, and an author. She serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Honors for the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University where she can be reached at afarmer@honors.msstate.edu.