Blah blah white people. Blah blah blah black people. Same old story of white guilt by the NYT
I'm neither white nor black, but I was definitely poor. Grew up in the ghetto with gang violence. The problem isn't "access" or outreach programs for poor people—the problem is and always will be the parents. My parents stressed the importance of education and now I do well. My friends' parents didnt, and most of them barely graduated high school. Some even dropped out.
It's wonderful that your parents stressed the importance of an education. If only your education had stressed the importance of actually reading a piece before responding to it! Perhaps then you would have noticed that this piece: isn't in the new york times; doesn't talk about outreach programs for poor poeple; only mentions race via quoting a 1999 Malcom Gladwell piece
The post argues that the income-boosting effect of going to a top college isn't due to the education one receives, but instead is due to the possibility of inclusion in a network of people who are all more likely to find success. In other words the friends you meet at a top college are a much better influence than the friends you meet in the hood, and having a good network of friends is more beneficial to your career than what you learn in the classroom.
Of course if you escaped the ghetto to do well you probably know everything there is to know about how poverty works. Other people's thoughts are just sort of a speedbump on your way to let the truth shine here on hn.
instead is due to the possibility of inclusion in a network of people who are all more likely to find success.
I recently looked into the University of Washington Technical Management MBA program and the University was pretty brazen about admitting this. They spent far more time talking about networks and ROI than academic rigor.
Business schools are all about networking and the social aspect. I feel that as an introvert, I got a lot less out of my undergraduate business education than many of my classmates did.
It is not about "white guilt" at all. This isn't even about racism as much as it is about classes, so I think the statement is off...
Growing up poor, I know firsthand that parents don't stress education enough, in my opinion. Most of those parents have no idea about how to change their situations or they would do it themselves. This is what the outreach programs and access to different ways of thinking, a view of how easy it is to get ahead, and access to opportunities that their parent may have never even knew about address.
I agree with you across the board, but I have to point out that you used level-of-education as your comparative metric, which seems suboptimal in making your point. How were you vs your friends in other metrics of success?
I'm neither white nor black, but I was definitely poor. Grew up in the ghetto with gang violence. The problem isn't "access" or outreach programs for poor people—the problem is and always will be the parents. My parents stressed the importance of education and now I do well. My friends' parents didnt, and most of them barely graduated high school. Some even dropped out.