The Danger of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility

My students are understandably preoccupied with money. They don’t have the privilege to not worry about it. They fantasize about what their future wealth will permit them to enjoy. They dream about specific models of cars in certain colors and gargantuan houses in particular neighborhoods and opulent meals at their favorite restaurants any time they wish. Many swoon over the East Coast liberal arts colleges they visit on the special trips that my school is thoughtful enough to arrange. Colleges like Swarthmore and Haverford fly students like Isabella out during college applications season. A few are accepted but most attend state schools, which, especially in California, can provide excellent educational opportunities. The irony, though, is that many of these students aspire to go to a liberal-arts school but don’t necessarily understand its significance. They’re drawn to sleepy quads, weathered brick, and cascading ivy, but they are resolutely pre-professional in spirit.

In contrast, at the private school I attended for the last two years of high school, my classmates thought about what they wanted to learn in college, not only what they wanted to become. Some knew medical or law school loomed in the future, but they thought about the work in a different way. My privileged classmates enjoyed money, from what I could tell. A few reveled in their cars and clothes, but most appeared to take it for granted. They didn’t talk about it. Instead, a future doctor talked about working at the CDC to fight public health epidemics. A future lawyer envisioned starting a defense firm to provide a service to the hometown community. Most of us wanted to do something special.

My students’ fantasies of the actual work they’d do in a well-paid professional capacity are vague by comparison—practicing law without knowing the difference between civil and criminal litigation or how to prepare for law school, doing business without an understanding of the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship. While the vagueness stems from the lack of models in their communities, it also comes from the lack of imagination with which mentors have addressed their professed college plans. Students hear that being a doctor is great because doctors can make money, enjoy respect, and have a great life. They don’t hear that being a doctor is great because doctors possess the expertise to do great things.

Article Appeared @http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/the-danger-of-telling-poor-kids-that-college-is-the-key-to-social-mobility/283120/

Higher education should be promoted to all students as an opportunity to experience an intellectual awakening, not just increase their earning power. AHH Reports: Worldstarhiphop.com is one of the most visited entertainment websites in the world. The site features music videos from both well-established artists and up-and-coming performers. It also highlights videos that depict violent acts often committed by young, black individuals. In response to those depictions of violence, activist and writer Rahiel Tesfamariam penned an op-ed for the Washington Post titled “Death of World Star Hip Hop (D.O.WSHH).”
Read more at http://keepittrill.com/online/2014/01/washington-post-writer-worldstarhiphop/#5RFVfzIKvF8G1rqO.99

Despite his widespread influence within the city, Bun B found the suggestion comical.

“Too many skeletons in the closet, lol,” he replied to OTK via e-mail. The big boss of the south recently released his fourth solo studio album, Trill OG: The Epilogue, a 14-track follow-up to Trill (2005), II Trill (2008) and Trill OG (2010). His trillness could prove to be invalauable in the race, OTK claims, allowing Dr. Brandon Rottinghaus, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston to weigh his chances.

“I think one way for him to embrace the image is to use that as a way to create a real, visible narrative of what’s happening out there, and letting people know that these problems need to be addressed, and he is a good person to do it,” says Rottinghaus. “A traditional politician may talk about those issues, but maybe hasn’t lived it, where in his case he has lived it and it gives him some credibility in a way doesn’t give credibility to a traditional politician.”

Bun is a trusted friend of Houston’s current mayor, Annise Parker and lectures at Rice University. He has until Nov. 3, 2015 to officially decide whether he will supercede Parker.
Read more at http://keepittrill.com/online/2014/01/bun-run-mayor-houston-2015/#A8Aebe2EkPU0Jrem.99

Bun B has already proclaimed himself Houston’s unofficial mayor, but will H-Town’s hip-hop veteran actually choose to run for office in the near future?

Off the Kuff, a Texas-based political blog, toyed with the idea of Bun B (born Bernard Freeman) becoming a legitimate mayoral candidate in the 2015 election — posing the question, “How does Mayor Bun B sound?”
Read more at http://keepittrill.com/online/2014/01/bun-run-mayor-houston-2015/#A8Aebe2EkPU0Jrem.99