Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
---Bob Dylan
Dylan clearly saw the changing tides in the early sixties when he wrote the song, "The Times They Are A-Changin'", and he tried to use his music to make a difference. He begged people to take action or watch their world sink around them. People heeded his call, and a war was ended, civil rights came into focus and the economy grew.
Unfortunately, our educational system lagged behind during those years of change, and the youth of today are fighting a battle that many are ill-equipped to win.
Through all of the turmoil of the sixties, one belief remained consistent. When young people got a good education and worked hard, they could generally have a life that was as least as good, or generally better, than the one their parents led. When the economy was weak, it was weak for everyone, and even the children of less successful parents were often able to climb out of the economic hole that they were being raised in.
Today, it is much more difficult to dig out of that hole. First of all, the fading of the middle class makes the climb that much more steep. While parents of the sixties, seventies and even eighties supported their children's reach for a better life, today's families are so busy trying to put food on the table, there is little time left for offering an emotional push. The upper class today lives lives so far removed from the lower, that upward mobility seems more like a fairy tale than a lifestyle.
The classroom should be the great equalizer, offering a superior education to all who enter, but it is not. Money makes the difference here as well. Parents from wealthier neighborhoods pick up the financial slack in their children's schools, while in poorer neighborhoods students make do with less materials and fewer opportunities. It has been proven that extra curricular activities, such as band, debate, art, etc. enhance all areas of a student's learning, yet less advantaged parents can't pay for the uniforms, trips and supplies that are necessary for their children to be participants.
I could could go on, but instead I will strongly suggest that you read the book, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert D. Putnam. Putnam uses the town he grew up in as an example of "every town, USA," and he shows the differences in class and education through interviews with people who grew up in that town. While he does use some charts and statistics, the interviews help the reader to see the class divide in a very real manner.
Inside the George, by Beth Tyner is another book about a small town that captured my interest this week. This book is fiction, though it reads like a memoir, and tells the story of a family-run hardware store that is the heart of a small southern town. The book is heartwarming, charming and comical, and I am glad I had the opportunity to read it and share it with you.
As always, full reviews of both books will follow this blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly