I am incredibly excited to read this article this weekend. The Boston Globe does a great job with in-depth stories.
Being val is no guarantee of success or happiness. My brother who committed suicide was val of his HS class.
Just went through (high level) the data and read a single story. Fascinating. The number of equity issues and structural barriers is insane.
Sad story in one respect, but I challenge the point about losing a scholarship. BC requires faculty/advisor approval of every schedule every term (so that a student stays on track to graduate). BC also requires pre-approval for an undergrad in Arts & Sciences to take classes in the Woods (ânightâ) college, which is for non-traditionals. There is no chance that Michael was able to change his schedule to take only two classes in Woods without permission/guidance.
Thatâs a downside to using just memories from 10 years ago. The authors can turn it into a human interest story, but when the facts are suspectâŠ
OTOH, I have no doubt that kids from inner city high schools are underprepared academically to compete for A science grades (required for premeds) at top colleges. There are plenty of kids who aced AP Bio (and Chem and Physics) and are retaking a similar class in college for the so called âeasy Aâ. Kids who have not had AP science in HS are a decided disadvantage from the beginning.
I agree with you @intparent
And I am sorry to hear of your tragic loss.
It is a story that I can relate to for sure. My brother 4 years ahead of me was a val went off to the state flagship and got about 3.5 years in and didnât graduate. He bounced around in his 20s and eventually landed on his feet with a good job, but it was many years of struggle. We went to a city school not a suburb school. It wasnât as bad as Boston, NYC or Chicago, but I know now that we didnât get the education that you could get in the suburbs.
I came along and was the val as well. I ended going to a top 20 school 900 miles away. My brother was accepted at this school but didnât attend. I was about a 75-80% need student and I had the rest with an under the table scholarship. I can still remember hearing the president or someone tell us Freshmen that 96% of you will graduate on time and 98% will graduate eventually. I thought to myself just donât be the 2%.
I struggled with some of my gen eds. I failed an English course my freshman year. I could barely write a decent paper. I figured out how to study met my now wife and got on track and am doing fine. My wife was from a similar background herself. We joke that we went to this great school full of upper middle class and rich kids and found two of the poorest kids around.
Fast forward more years than I would like to count and I have my D19. She wonât be the val. Her school has almost 4 times as many kids as my HS. She did well on the ACT and I truly believe she is in better shape going into college than I was for sure and most likely my wife as well.
Manny inner city schools just donât prepare the kids for college even the top kids. Then they make some mistakes and they are totally off their plan.
A co-worker and I discuss college a lot these days. We both have high stats seniors. We have recognized that there is a birth lottery for kids. What you are born into will decide a large part of the rest of your life. There are always exceptions that make it out and make it big in the world, but on average it is hard to move from poor to rich or vice versa compared to where you are born.
I once read a study that said the income quintile you are born in is where you will most likely end up as an adult. Some will move up or down one quintile and a few will move two quintiles, but those are the exception and not the rule.
I was born and raised in Chelsea, MA and attended parochial school there and a parochial high school in East Boston. For those familiar with the socio-geography of Boston 50 years ago you will know that I did not come from a privileged background, far from it. There were 31 kids in my high school graduating class. Most went to college: Northeastern, BU, BC (in their non-elite days) as commuter students. One student went to Georgetown. Virtually all of us graduated. I was very prepared for college. Back then Catholic high schools had low tuition thanks to the low cost labor of the nuns. Course work was demanding and if you were a trouble maker you were booted out instead of remaining at the school to disrupt the education of other students or to drag down expectations Education as a means of advancement was drilled into us. The nuns were not there to be our friends nor to praise us for mediocre performance. We thought they were mean. They were just preparing us for success. That world is long gone.
The real obstacles for Blackwood were his unwise decision to play football, and the fact that he got his girlfriend pregnant. Do these have anything to do with being first generation, or low-income or any of the factors this story is about?
I consider Blackwood a success anyway. It is important to note that the majority of US college students are non-traditional. And there is plenty of aid for part-time non-traditional students taking at least two classes. It is too bad Michael didnât know that and he held onto the BC leafy campus and costs for so long. The many degree completion/continuing ed programs would have been of great help right away.
I always feel these articles are written FOR white suburbanites ABOUT urban people of color. I also feel that this kind of story plays out across the race, ethnic, income and even age spectrum and it is clearly not unusual, from the statistics, to finish college after more than 6 years.
It is also common for high schoolers to want to be doctors, and then they change their minds.
Finally, to me, the tragic undertone of this article is kind of insulting to a hard-working family man who is doing well in life.
Hello Compmom, I do think the decisions had to do with low income, which can make other problems, such as lack of support and perspective more influential. All young people (and older) make mistakes in life. But the consequences of those mistakes are greater for those lacking a firm foundation and access to supportive knowledgable people to depend on to help them back up --makes a huge difference. I donât think it is necessarily about people of color. But it may be more likely to be so in Boston. In places in the middle of the country it is more likely to be rural white.
Another point, and a point that probably fueled the conduct of the study is that there are huge discrepancies in quality of schools across communities of the US. Those coming from poor schools continue to have much more to overcome when they arrive at college despite often successfully navigating around obstacles before they ever got to college. I think the tragic part is the reality in our country of extreme disparities that keep growing.
Compmom, you seem to be forgetting the other obstacles: his failing bio, his brotherâs legal troubles and his fatherâs home in foreclosure. But the biggest issue is not having a backstop. If your kid or mine was having trouble with a bio class, we might offer to pay for tutoring or tell him to quit footaball. Many kids make dumb decisions in college, but those who have family support, especially if that support comes with some funds, have a much easier time riding out the bad times.
Where is there aid for part-time non-traditional students? BC only offers aid to full time students but notes that Pell grants and other federal programs may apply to part time students, but only if enrolled at least half time.
The story highlights the ways in which his inner city school failed him and many of the other Vals. Only 14% made over $100K vs more than a third of the suburban vals.
Blackwood clearly was a part of this story and wanted it to be known. And yes he is a success and will continue to do so. I donât see a tragic undertone, as the story as it says: "No valedictorian embodies this story of rattled confidence and resilience more than Michael Blackwood, "
The decisions definitely have to do with first generation and low income. Post #6 says it best in all ways - especially that there is a birth lottery for kids. As a first generation college kid with a parent who didnât graduate high school and attending subpar city public schools, I was definitely at a disadvantage out of the gate.
Great article.
I forgot to mention that I was also Val of my class.
@Leigh22 I totally agree. Myself and my wife were both first gen college students. Our parents were not much help in the whole process while at college and helping right afterward. It is tough.
Regarding âbirth lotteryâ (and other chances), http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/why-poverty-is-like-a-disease may be relevant; the author grew up poor, but escaped and became successful, unlike almost everyone else he knew (many of whom have âchecked out by handgun or heroinâ).
The issue with these articles always comes down to personal responsibility. I was a very low income kid. I worked from 14 on ( often up to 20 hours a week). I was often up till 12 or 1 in an age when few kids studied. I knew my ticket out was good grades. I got them. When I got accepted to multiple Ivies and other schools, I took the biggest scholarship package. And, I never looked back. I was so poor in college I often worried about buying toilet paper. Yep. I often had three small jobs ( books were not covered in those days, nor was clothing and I often lived off campus as it was cheaper and I didnât want to take out loans).
I am now a business owner ( have owned two businesses) and have a Masters and Post grad degree ( all great schools 3 Ivy degrees). Iâm in the top 1% (so is my sister who stated working at 13) I never made excuses for not following the hardest path. I knew there was no backstop. ( Honestly, at some points I donât even think housing was an option for me).
So when I hear people talk about âprivilegeâ I just laugh. Life is about hard work. Some kids ( like mine) are born into wealth and have lots of educational opportunities. But we never know what life will throw our way. It doesnât mean their path will be easier. Health, marriage, and accidents can throw a wrench into any personâs life. Talk to a parent of a kid with cancer if you doubt it.
People who make mistakes and blow their opportunities and then try to blame society arenât thankful to the people who gave them a chance. If I could thank the people who gave me all those scholarships I would. I would tell them how many people I have been able to hire and how much my education has meant to me. I always give back. I get it. I donât preach to people or moralize about how they have too much. Instead, I focus on what I have and what impact I can make.
There ARE huge disparities in education across the US. Does that mean that a kid from the inner city canât graduate? No. Almost every college these days has centers for helping students who are struggling. Some are very specific. Letâs get away from making excuses and get back to helping students get where they are willing to go. Give merit scholarships again based on grades, not ALL college $ based on solely FA. This ensures the kids with the top grades move forward. There are so many things people can do if they have the right mindset. Labelling people isnât one of them.
This is a subject that is near and dear to me. I have thought about it a lot in the last 2-4 years. First, Happytimes2001 I applaud you for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Unfortunately you are the exception. Now we as a society love to place blame on people. And I will agree people make their own choices in life. People should know better than to make some of the decisions they make, but at times your back is against the wall and you do the wrong thing.
There are two things I would like you guys to think about. First, a homeless man in Kansas City recently helped one of the Kansas City Chief players to get unstuck from the snow to make it to the game on time. The player didnât realize he was homeless and tried to track him down to give him tickets to the next game. It was reported he was homeless and people started to help the guy out. A gofundme page was setup and plenty of money was donated. A dentist was going to give him free work. A nice feel good story. Then we found out the man had been in jail from 2008-2015 with a 6 month break during that time. If our hero hadnât come to the aid of the player would we shower him with gifts. No we wouldnât because everyday we blame the hero in the story for their own situation and wonât give them a hand-up. If anything we hate them as a group.
The second item to think about is this. Ask yourself this question. If Mr. Blackwood was the son of any of us here on CC do you think his story would have been different. I am going to say yes for sure. I know my main focus will be making sure my D19 and D23 graduate from college. If they stumble I will help them right the ship. And of course if any of children happen to get a full-ride they wonât lose it because they didnât enroll in enough classes.
So in the end the blame isnât solely on the individual it should be on the parents, the school, the government, and society as a whole. Sure the student and the parent should bear most of the blame, but remember at times we all need to look in the mirror.
I didnât graduate either and was top in my class (a long time ago). One of my kids is in a non-traditional program.
My problem with the article is mainly that the gist of the series is that many vals didnât succeed as expected. The subject of this story doesnât fit.
To me, Blackwood is a successful person with good values, who takes care of his family and does decent work. So why is he in the article?
Itâs not a big deal to leave an expensive school and finish in a part-time program- or not finish if that works out.
I think the author is bringing some kind of âmiddle class biasâ to the definition of success.
Also- I worked in a large shelter for years and many come from wealthy backgrounds actually.
Agreed.
The story was about valedictorians who did not manage to get through college in 4 years and head straight into good jobs or more education. It is worth telling. The best prepared student at a poor school is still not well prepared.
There is so much more to getting through a rigorous curriculum than âhard work.â Like it demonstrates in the article, students from mediocre high schools have never experienced the velocity of material expected at the college level.
A fraternity brother of mine, the val from a Seattle area suburban high school, failed out. His willingness to put in the hours was tremendous, but his ability to work quickly had never been developed. He struggled to get all his work done. He struggled to finish tests. There werenât enough hours left to relearn material or catch up when he fell behind. His velocity could not compare to those who made it through the hyper-competitive environments in the suburbs on NY and Boston and Chicago. Prep school kids were even better off.
He picked back up in a big state U where it was not so important and finished well. His parents had the resources to allow it. The Seattle area has gotten much more difficult since those days.