I stumbled across this comic a few days back and felt compelled to blog about it, but wasn't exactly sure where to go with it. It's about being born into a family of privilege versus being born into a family that is disadvantaged. It speaks to the fact that the small gaps between these two classes early on in a child's life, grow to enormous chasms as they grow into adulthood.
I found myself torn when reading this comic (by the way, if you have not yet taken a look at this comic, you may want to do it before reading on so you know what I'm talking about... go ahead; I'll wait), because in my book, Secrets of Safety-Net Parenting I write about parents using no excuses if they want to raise happy, successful children. Yet, this comic shows just how difficult this is to implement in real life.
As an educator, most of my students come from disadvantaged families. In this comic I see my students. I see where the divide starts and how it expands, and I wonder how we fix it.
But this is where I am torn; I came from disadvantaged family. My parents were young and poor. My mom raised me nearly by herself and was 18 when she had me. We lived off of Food Stamps and dumpster diving. Yet, my mother instilled in me all she could to keep me up with the "haves". She taught me how to act like them, to fit in, to talk with them. And, when I interviewed families for my book, I found those who were unwilling to use lack of education, not knowing the language, physical disabilities, nor finances as a crutch as to why their children wouldn't succeed.
I need to know your thoughts. This comic is very powerful, but how does it fit in with Safety-Net parenting. Please comment below. Thanks.
image courtesy of ©MorgueFile.com/taliesin
I found myself torn when reading this comic (by the way, if you have not yet taken a look at this comic, you may want to do it before reading on so you know what I'm talking about... go ahead; I'll wait), because in my book, Secrets of Safety-Net Parenting I write about parents using no excuses if they want to raise happy, successful children. Yet, this comic shows just how difficult this is to implement in real life.
As an educator, most of my students come from disadvantaged families. In this comic I see my students. I see where the divide starts and how it expands, and I wonder how we fix it.
But this is where I am torn; I came from disadvantaged family. My parents were young and poor. My mom raised me nearly by herself and was 18 when she had me. We lived off of Food Stamps and dumpster diving. Yet, my mother instilled in me all she could to keep me up with the "haves". She taught me how to act like them, to fit in, to talk with them. And, when I interviewed families for my book, I found those who were unwilling to use lack of education, not knowing the language, physical disabilities, nor finances as a crutch as to why their children wouldn't succeed.
I need to know your thoughts. This comic is very powerful, but how does it fit in with Safety-Net parenting. Please comment below. Thanks.
image courtesy of ©MorgueFile.com/taliesin
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