College Kid in a Factory? Well That's Silly.

     Andrew Braaksma touches on some very relevant points in his essay. The notion that education is the key that unlocks the door to opportunity is always relevant in a day and age when budget cuts target out educational system. Thankfully, I graduated from the public school system before things got really bad and the fact that Hofstra doesn't have a football team is something I hardly find myself upset over. While on the subject of sports, I find interesting that when high schools are faced with a budget cuts, no one ever thinks to cut sports. Would it not be simple to do community based sports programs instead of the school paying for them? Instead, these schools fire teachers and assign larger classes to those that remain. This is, of course, is just a side note (After all this is a blog, right? I can vent just a tad).
     Braaksma also points out the anxiety these workers experience knowing that they could wake up tomorrow and no longer have a job. We are still struggling with unemployment rates in this country. I come from Nevada, a state that holds the highest unemployment rate at a startling 13.4 percent. My mother works in human resources at UMC. Now as much as I love my mother and have faith in her work ethic, the fact of the matter is that her job could be cut very easily. Whenever my mother would come home with a sort of dismayed look on her face, I always worry that she has been fired.
     While looking at the newspaper and seeing the many people who don't have jobs is additional incentive to get an education, nothing motivates you more to live a better life for yourself than to watch your family struggle financially. I suspect Braaksma did not really experience this motivation and as a result, his essay can come of as a bit insulting to students who have not functioned in the work place to this degree. I get the feeling he's calling me shallow for not having worked in a factory. "Waiting tables is selfish. Work in a factory to gain a real appreciation for education." While I realize that this is not what he's saying at all, it brought up an interesting point in my mind. What truly motivates students to pursue a higher education? Is it the potential for a higher income? Is it for the actual learning experience? Or is it because in some socioeconomic classes, its just an assumption that kids go to college. If the latter is the case, how do we motivate others to feel the same? You got me there.