I have enjoyed this thread and especially the article from Natilus. I work at a community college in a gateway city like Boston, also in MA. Poverty plays a part in just about every step of Michael’s journey and we see it play out time and again. He had no safety net, no one to advise him, and no one to nag him like I’m certain we all do to our kids. I was that first gen student and made it to the other side but my sister wasn’t as lucky. I was totally not the Val, sal, or anything else. Maybe the one guidance bet on as the least likely to succeed.
Yes, for sure. Many moms on CC would have jumped in to support their baby grandson, for one thing. (Not to mention the fact that if the mother of that child had been the daughter of a CC parent and had had an unexpected pregnancy as a teenager, chances are she would have terminated the pregnancy. Let’s be honest about this.) When CC kids get in trouble, they get bailed out, because we want our kids to succeed, we understand what they will need to succeed, and most of us have considerable resources to give our kids.
The point is, why was he at BC in the first place? If he had college educated parents they would have understood the Mismatch and not let him attend. However, in this case they thought BC knew best; he would be fine. If they were educated parents they would have perhaps helped him pick an easy major. For example, they could have explained to him that he could major in African studies and take one science class a semester to fulfill med school requirements to end up with a better gpa, or not dropout, for example. The point is that he didn’t have the network to tell him these things. Apparently, there was no adult in that college to explain this to him. Why was that?
Blackwood did not fail so why all the regretful posts? If he were my kid, and had been in a situation where he had gotten a girl pregnant, I would have been proud of him for stepping up. It’s not unusual to end up somewhere in life that is different from childhood dreams. So Blackwood is included in this article because he isn’t a doctor?
He did end up leaving BC and finishing online, a path many many students take, and they are proud of graduating and having the degree. Why is he included in an article about vals who don’t fulfill their promise?
Think outside the box a little here folks.
In 1969 I worked in Appalachia around the time that Life magazine had a cover article on poverty in Appalachia, with a cover photo of a family on their porch. To readers, it looked like dire poverty but to that family, it was home. The people I met in that community were hurt and outraged at being depicted as pitiful.
I hope Blackwood doesn’t feel degraded by being included in this article.
Opportunity, choice & commitment. Followed by a second chance.
Wow. If a Private school founded by the Jesuits can not take a chance on a student who overcame the death of his mother as a child and a sketchy home life to become valedictorian of his high school (how much more could he do given his circumstances up through high school graduation?), then they might as well only look at students whose families come from the “right side of the tracks”. Blackwood’s story is an American success story in spite of the fact that he did not complete Boston College. His story is still being written, but the fact that he is serving our country gives some insight into what he is made of. Thank you for your service Staff Sergeant Michael Blackwood.
Blackwood should be, and seems deservedly proud, not feeling degraded by, inclusion in the article. Why would he feel degraded? His story is compelling, real, and while his path diverged, he rose from the challenges and succeeded by having a stable income and supporting his family. He has both of his sons with him in Okinawa (a great place to grow up), providing an opportunity for his older son as well as his son from his marriage. I am impressed. It sounds like he did everything he could to try to make it through college, chose the school that offered him the best financial support (like CC parents advocate all the time) and did not take the path his brother did despite the same challenging childhood. Why put him down for playing football (which he was apparently quite good at)- applaud him for trying to handle school, work, sports and family, and ultimately figuring out a way to make it all work. I think he did a great job with the little guidance he had.
“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?”
Heck yeah, they do! These stories are virtually unheard of among CC kids. That is not a coincidence.
Blackwood is obviously incredibly intelligent, determined, and hardworking. He definitely has every reason to be proud. I think the part of the story that is sad is that a man of his abilities and character who was born into a family with more information and resources might not have had to make such difficult choices - working 3 jobs, having to reduce his courseload, losing his scholarships, racking up loans, eventually leaving school. I don’t think the article is saying Blackwood hasn’t done well just because he isn’t a doctor as much as it is shining a light on the obstacles some of these incredibly bright, hardworking young people face and showing how much more difficult it is to overcome setbacks and obstacles when they lack information and resources of middle class families.
For me this is the crux of what happens to a lot of kids who grow up without a lot of resources.
@gpo613 Actually, I know a lot of people who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and are highly successful. I also know a lot of people born into poverty who are solidly middle class and really have done more than most on CC.
The default to championing people who hear a story in the news and donate to go fund me might be part of the point. Why aren’t people who are concerned about poverty and educational opportunities doing something in their own communities?
I was raised to give back ( even though we had very little). In my suburban bubble it’s easy to find people suppporting per projects they can put their names to. But it is rare and difficult to find people who really care and do something to help. One of the biggest lessons I want my kids to learn is to do well and be anonymous in the process.
Not all homeless folks came from low incomes and not all successful people have strong interested parents. Don’t feel bad for someone with three jobs who is working hard. They might have a summer house before you do 
I think saying people born into poverty cannot escape takes away their ability to push through. I had many say I shouldn’t bother with college. I never listened.
Sounds like this man in the article is living a good life. A college degree doesn’t make you a better person. And today it doesn’t even guarantee a well paying job. It’s the work ethic that matters. Always was, always will be.
The authors of this feature seem to be in the camp that unless you graduate from a prestigious college you are a failure.
I guess these are schools in Boston city. They must be pretty awful and in rough neighborhoods if the valedictorians don’t get into good schools.
Obviously, huge numbers of students are sent to Ivies and such from nice Boston suburban public schools, exam based Boston Latin, and the many top prep schools in the area.
@TomSrof Boston you articulated what I have been trying to say, a lot more concisely.
People are misunderstanding, but whatever. The Globe is geared to a certain clientele. I am a regular reader and get annoyed.
Blackwood is being included in a series that is comprised of supposedly sad stories, and his is not a sad story. Look forward to more stories of inner city kids who wanted to be doctors and lawyers but ended up with regular jobs.
@Happytimes2001
Your comments about hard work and acknowledging that achieved wealth and higher economic status can be wiped out by bad luck ressonate with our family.
Parenting is the key…
Grandparents didn’t finish HS. One parent finished college when I was 7. College was made affordable with my loans, parent loans and scholarships. Grad school paid for by employer. Our oldest are at top tier schools without financial aid. Our household now lives on a cliff because the major breadwinner is a terminal cancer patient. Looking at medical costs and college expenses, it is easy to see how a lifetime of work and savings can disappear quickly. All due to bad luck.
Each generation in our family made education a priority from reading to toddlers through college and modeled working hard and self reliance.
My younger sisters are teachers and tell me that each year they do more parenting in class and by default less teaching. My parents did not understand the academic tracks. They taught us to be inquisitive, work hard, save money for the hard times and truly be present to care for your family. Those are the skills that our children are and will use to plow through their academic endeavors and grieve the loss of a parent.
No one ever said that life would be easy or fair. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Your family teaches you these skills, school concentrates on academics, teachers are not parents.
To me, the point of the article is not that Blackwood would only be considered successful if he had graduate from BC on time and was earning a big salary, but how much harder it is for even very smart, dedicated kids from low performing HSs to move up in class compared to Vals from “good” HSs. That point seems to be missed by focusing on the fact that Blackwood is now able to feed his family, thanks to the military. But even his military career has been impacted by not finishing college. Perhaps if BC had better supports and counseling in place, he might have been able to get some guidance on how the decisions he was making would impact him in terms of financial aid for example. Of course some of that is on him, as to using those resources. However, even kids from families with college educated parents make poor decisions. The difference is that parents are there to either re-direct them or to offer the support until the kid can recover from that error.
@sattut There are many high schools in the US that are poor or only adequate schools. Why is this a surprise to you? Most schools aren’t sending hardly any students to top schools. Many are in lower income areas (city or rural). You might want to research how K-12 schools are funded and how education standards are set in the US if this is a surprise to you.
The issue with painting people into a corner based on their economic status, racial status, or anything else is that you are then saying that those factors matter more than working hard and figuring it out.
I have a good friend who was raised in a high economic area with very good public schools. Her father was an alcoholic. It created a lot of issues for her in college. She was able to figure it out but it impacted her life to a large degree. Just because you can’t see something going on in someone’s life doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
IMO, everyone is dealing with something. For some it’s health, others a poor high school education. That doesn’t have to define their life forever. I would rather than seen an article written that was prescriptive about kids who were VAL and low income and went on to figure out how they could succeed despite not having a backstop. That would give kids today the idea that it can work and you can work your way out of poverty.
For some on CC, the highest belief is that parents being available/the backstop is the key. In fact, many of these parents haven’t even taught their kids how to do laundry or hold a job or work with others. They are going to go out in the world and while they might have a college degree, they are sorely lacking in interpersonal skills. Do they have the skills to be a good person and raise a family as this guy seems to be doing? Do they treat everyone with respect?
I haven’t raised my kids to rely on us. I have raised our kids to have the skills they need to get along in life. We hope that will include college degrees. If for some reason, it doesn’t than fine. It’s not my life. It’s theirs. I’d be really wary of picking up my kid and dusting them off too many times. Kids need to learn that life is tough and sometimes you lose. You just have to have the right tools so that you are going in the right direction. The people I have seen who are the most successful financially, take big calculated risks. They are willing to work hard and they get along with others. They are never people who were coddled by their parents. Often they are people who came from some difficulty and just kept on.
That is exactly the pov of the authors!
We all love the underdog story, whether it is sports or life in general. Those are feel good stories.
The article is pointing out trends and actual results. The Vals from inner city Boston are not ending up in the same spot the Vals from the burbs of Boston. There are many reasons why this happening. The level of responsibility is at the highest point with the individual then the parents then the schools and so forth. So don’t get me wrong I hold the individual most responsible, but there are other factors. If we choose to ignore those other factors then there won’t be change.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pursuingamericandreampdf.pdf
One of the lines from the article. “Americans raised at the bottom and the top of the family income ladder are likely to remain there as adults, a phenomenon known as stickiness at the ends.”