When I was getting out of high school in the late 1960’s America was going through a revolution. No, I am not talking about the counter-culture (hippie) movement nor am I talking about the peace movement.
The movement that I am referring to is, for want of a better word, a ”bootstrap” movement. The United States Government and major educational institutions provided free or reduced-cost education for the underprivileged.
At first, it seemed focused on African-American youth but it did not take long before it spread to include pretty much any minority student who had the chops to go for the offerings.
To a great deal, it is the same today as it was then. With the combination of tuition help from non-competitive scholarships (being deemed underprivileged or underrepresented being the driving factor), various grants and loans the opportunities are much different than they were prior to those changes.
However, it would be remiss to not mention the group who is getting short shrift now as well as in the past.
That is the white working class student. The one’s whose families have no way of helping then obtain a higher education, they do not have access to grants, they may have access to loans now but they used to be highly limited, and most importantly the support system (counselors, teachers, administrative people) is geared to focus on others so they get laid by the wayside.
You know who I am talking about:
- Working class
- Underprivileged honky
- Trailer Trash
- Poor White Trash
If you look at people who have bootstrapped up in the last 50 or so years, I expect you will see small change in THEIR average plight.
