Does anyone else think about this?

[The_Gabe]

Warning: This post is probably quite blunt and direct

 

 

I don't make threads often, I've been thinking about this enough to make my wonder this.

 

Is anyone else concerned about the future? No, this is not depending on countries as a whole, but just you as an individual. I'm going to be very honest here, and this is based on my experience in *sigh* America..

 

From my experiences, mixing educated and uneducated people is a very bad idea. Yes, this sounds... wrong but let me tell you what I think.

 

First of all, I am a sophomore in high school, and I've ridden the same bus and route from year 7-10, and this year they changed it. After experiencing the bus a few times with the new route and people, I am very glad my brother got his license this year and can drive us home most of the days unless he has something after school.

 

The bus company mixed people living in high middle class and the people living in poor neighborhoods.

 

This may sound wrong to many of you, but people from high middle class tend to be more motivated for the future, while people in poor neighborhoods are most likely living there because of their parents not being educated, which they probably think is ok, so they aren't motivated for most thing academically. Thus, they tend to act a lot different from the people concerned with their futures.

 

The easiest way I can tell someone being uneducated is if they talk like this "yo what's up [racist term] man [bleep] you [bleep] this bs" etc... Do you ever see any educated people talking like that at all? Even the black people that academically excel and are up in the chain of life don't talk like that.

 

Now back to what I've experienced solely on the bus today: I get on and sit in the back, 2 minutes later this black kid asks me so move a bit and I see him take out a lighter from between the seat and the wall. And a few minutes later, everyone is loudly cussing at each other, and I'm just glad I have an Ipod...

 

I'm not a wuss who doesn't cuss, but I don't use it to the extend that I yell in on the top of my lungs for everyone to hear... But of course, the school system put a bus driver that is probably 95% deaf.

 

I just think to myself, what are these people going to do in the future? Has it ever crossed their minds at all?

 

Another example that I've had as recent as yesterday; a skinny blood white dude comes up to me and starts cussing me while I was going to my brother's car because of previous experiences. He says he'll beat me up and all that crap. I just straight up and told him "an insignificant little [bleep] like you aren't worth my time." I think ahead of everything: fighting=suspension+ going to court. Suspension= Falling behind on work= lower grades= looks bad my portfolio. Court=record. Record=looks bad on portfollo, and even could possibly get kicked out of some extra curricular activities.

 

I guess we need people to be the next generation of garbage men and fast food workers..

 

So much for black people arguing for education in the 20th century, more than half of them don't seem to be appreciating and using the privileged people like Martin Luther King fought so hard to help them achieve.

 

Now, the main question. Do you also constantly think of the future?

[Skull]

Being poor changes your priories in life. It's hard to plan for your future when you need to worry about the day to day. It's hard to stay motivated when you know that you can't afford college and need to work as soon as you can to help feed your family and put food on the table. Education is a long term investment, which is why poorer people aren't as educated a lot of the time, they can't afford to wait for the payoff. It's an unfortunate cycle really.

 

That being said, I don't worry about the future too much. I should, but honestly it's just depressing.

[The_Gabe]

Being poor changes your priories in life. It's hard to plan for your future when you need to worry about the day to day. It's hard to stay motivated when you know that you can't afford college and need to work as soon as you can to help feed your family and put food on the table. Education is a long term investment, which is why poorer people aren't as educated a lot of the time, they can't afford to wait for the payoff. It's an unfortunate cycle really.

 

That being said, I don't worry about the future too much. I should, but honestly it's just depressing.

 

 

I'm not talking about the poor people that have to feed their family etc, I'm not talking about that poor. And in all honestly if you are worried you can't afford college, then you should get higher grades, get scholarships, take out loans for college, etc. Some of them can afford the wait, but choose to not take the opportunity in life and do it.

[Zierro]

They are desensitized to poverty - if you've lived your whole life that way and dealt with it, surely you'll have the mentality that you can deal with it throughout the rest of your life. Although this is not really an excuse for laziness.

 

This is one of the reasons I think the idea of mandatory schooling is silly. Some kids only go because of the legal obligation - they don't do any work and they consistently stir up trouble which takes away A LOT from the kids who actually do have a desire to be there.

[The Runar]

One thing that is really great in Finland is that education is paid with tax money - everybody gets equal education, no matter if you're rich or poor.

[PereGrin]

One thing that is really great in Finland is that education is paid with tax money - everybody gets equal education, no matter if you're rich or poor.

So when you get out of school and get a job, you are still paying taxes so that other people can go to school? That's more like paying for school your entire life, not just for the few years that you will go.

[Giordano]

You're still in High School, the younger half of it too, and you're assuming the rest of your life will be like in HS. That is completely incorrect, I can assure you. The reason why you think (in this case) poor people are rude idiots is because you're forced to be surrounded by them. Go to a college and I can guarantee you the majority of poor people there will NOT be rude idiots. After High School you get to choose which types of people surround you.

 

Now that I got the 'nice' part out of my way, stop generalizing that all low-income jobs and poor people in general are a bunch of uneducated idiots. At least, however, a good chunk of them have respect and morals unlike the business school graduate CEOs of banks, insurance companies, etc., etc. Because education =/= being humble. I would rather live in a world of friendly illiterates than greedy geniuses.

 

As for the question in hand, yes I always think about my future. So far, I think I'm heading in a good direction. :thumbup:

 

 

This is one of the reasons I think the idea of mandatory schooling is silly. Some kids only go because of the legal obligation - they don't do any work and they consistently stir up trouble which takes away A LOT from the kids who actually do have a desire to be there.

Agreed.

[Sir_Squab]

You know, there's a whole social dynamic your missing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to go from ""the ghetto" to being successful? Most of the comments here, to me, suggest ignorance towards their life-style. Segregating rich people from poor people just makes the gap worse. There's a whole social-economic reason for all of these, which if you researched it enough, goes all the way back to the slavery of black people, and how, generally, they never really rose up after being freed. Not to mention that rascism isn't exactly a dead concept.

 

What I REALLY liked about your argument however.....

 

 

Another example that I've had as recent as yesterday; a skinny blood white dude comes up to me and starts cussing me while I was going to my brother's car because of previous experiences.

 

So much for black people arguing for education in the 20th century, more than half of them don't seem to be appreciating and using the privileged people like Martin Luther King fought so hard to help them achieve.

 

 

Plus, really. You say "Hey, look at us rich(er) people. We start off rich(er) and end off rich(er.) Now look at all these poor people. They start off poor. Then they end up poor. This shows that rich(er) people from rich(er) backgrounds are more motivated and likely to become rich(er) then these poor people.

 

Well no [cabbage].

 

Start poor ---> End poor.

 

Start rich ----> End rich.

 

Start low on the ladder --> Finish low on the ladder.

 

Start high on the latter --> Finish high on the ladder.

 

What I'm pointing out here is your criticizing them for not "going up" the ladder, where most of these rich(er) people don't either. If your born middle class, you'll most likely die middle class. If your born rich, you'll most likely die rich. If your born poor, you'll most likely die poor. It's a lot easier to go up then down.

 

As for the "legal" obligation line, how some people waste school resources by being forced to go to school.... I think the best solution is to just allow them to drop out. Then have somewhere they can go to upgrade a few years later in life when they realize how they've [bleep]ed themselves in the ass.

[The_Gabe]

You know, there's a whole social dynamic your missing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to go from ""the ghetto" to being successful? Most of the comments here, to me, suggest ignorance towards their life-style. Segregating rich people from poor people just makes the gap worse. There's a whole social-economic reason for all of these, which if you researched it enough, goes all the way back to the slavery of black people, and how, generally, they never really rose up after being freed. Not to mention that rascism isn't exactly a dead concept.

 

What I REALLY liked about your argument however.....

 

 

Another example that I've had as recent as yesterday; a skinny blood white dude comes up to me and starts cussing me while I was going to my brother's car because of previous experiences.

 

So much for black people arguing for education in the 20th century, more than half of them don't seem to be appreciating and using the privileged people like Martin Luther King fought so hard to help them achieve.

 

 

Plus, really. You say "Hey, look at us rich(er) people. We start off rich(er) and end off rich(er.) Now look at all these poor people. They start off poor. Then they end up poor. This shows that rich(er) people from rich(er) backgrounds are more motivated and likely to become rich(er) then these poor people.

 

Well no [cabbage].

 

Start poor ---> End poor.

 

Start rich ----> End rich.

 

Start low on the ladder --> Finish low on the ladder.

 

Start high on the latter --> Finish high on the ladder.

 

What I'm pointing out here is your criticizing them for not "going up" the ladder, where most of these rich(er) people don't either. If your born middle class, you'll most likely die middle class. If your born rich, you'll most likely die rich. If your born poor, you'll most likely die poor. It's a lot easier to go up then down.

 

As for the "legal" obligation line, how some people waste school resources by being forced to go to school.... I think the best solution is to just allow them to drop out. Then have somewhere they can go to upgrade a few years later in life when they realize how they've [bleep]ed themselves in the ass.

 

 

That's because I wasn't limiting it to one group of people, I was meaning people who didn't actually think about the future. Plus, if you were born poor, wouldn't you be motivated to get out of poverty?

 

Now, going up the latter is easier than going down? How? That doesn't make sense in the least...?

 

Also, you are missing a point. I am saying that people from middle class think about high paying jobs. Even if you were in poverty, would you not aim for the same goal?

[Alg]

You're still in High School, the younger half of it too, and you're assuming the rest of your life will be like in HS. That is completely incorrect, I can assure you. The reason why you think (in this case) poor people are rude idiots is because you're forced to be surrounded by them. Go to a college and I can guarantee you the majority of poor people there will NOT be rude idiots. After High School you get to choose which types of people surround you.

This. College is different because people are there because they want to be, not because they have to be. Having to pay for optional education is a great way to weed out the [bleep]wads who aren't interested in learning.

[K4ylan]

well, I don't necessary think about my future as in "if I punch this kid, I'll get into trouble, go to court, fall back, do drugs, die young", I'm smart enough (and I assume you are too) to realize what's completely idiotic to do, and what's only mildly stupid to do. The people on your bus aren't very much aware of that, or they don't care. And to not care about your own life...just doesn't make sense. If you don't care about yourself, you obviously care about nothing else. Seems like those kind of people just take up space.

[OldJoe]

Your post is pretty "black&white".

 

I don't know what it's like in USA and high-school, but the equivalent would be gymnasium here. When going to gymnasium, you apply for different sorts of educations, depending on your future after gymnasium. Auto mechanic, construction worker, business, nature/biology etc etc etc. So you "weed out" the people there already.

Personally i don't view it in terms of money (obviously it depends on how poor you are, if you're family is having trouble with money after paying all the bills for example), i view it in a personal preference. It's the attitude towards studying, slacking or not?

A lot of what you are talking about is due to maturity, how you were brought up as a kid, what morales you were taught etc.

Your motivation towards education is the key, except in the more extreme poor conditions, i don't see a real reason why your mothers&fathers salary would influence your studying.

 

And on the comment about garbage men, the average salary is 3k here.

 

I think this topic will be more about your post than a discussion about future.

[fakeitormakeit2]

You're still in High School, the younger half of it too, and you're assuming the rest of your life will be like in HS. That is completely incorrect, I can assure you. The reason why you think (in this case) poor people are rude idiots is because you're forced to be surrounded by them. Go to a college and I can guarantee you the majority of poor people there will NOT be rude idiots. After High School you get to choose which types of people surround you.

This. College is different because people are there because they want to be, not because they have to be. Having to pay for optional education is a great way to weed out the [bleep]wads who aren't interested in learning.

This is true. Plus I've known plenty of upper class kids who are "rude idiots".

 

I personally support the idea of a noocracy that would yield the best for society, but that would be highly impractical to implement.

[rangeor]

- Note: Only read the OP so far, will read the rest of the thread later.

 

I've gone to schools from lower-, middle-, and ridiculously upper-class neighborhoods. I can tell you that there are people that act like that regardless of their financial situation. Though I did notice the upper-class people tend to avoid conflict, but still spew profanities like a fire hydrant and pretend to be tough. Seriously, 4th year in an upper-class high school and I've seen zero fights so far. People leave their backpacks on tables at lunch to save their seats. Doing that at a lower-class school (or at least the one I went to) will probably result in you not having your backpack any more.

[KittyKat]

I take classes with some of the most brilliant people I've ever met and a few of them still talk in that sort of manner.

[Dupin]

To answer your question, yes, I think about the future.

 

There is quite a bit to address in your post. First, you say "poor people aren't going anywhere" and then somehow convert that to "black people aren't going anywhere". The problem here is obvious, and by the way, all five of the kids I met when I did court-ordered community service were white. Second, your views on poverty seem a bit ignorant. It is a proven fact that the financial status of a child's parents during the first twenty years of his life determines his financial status for the rest of his life. This is because living in an area with good schools costs more, and poor people can't afford college. Furthermore, they are living in an environment that encourages swearing, smoking, and laziness.

 

All people deserve an equal opportunity in life, and forcing them to attend High School until age 17 or 18 is the least a government can do. Just because it detracts from your experience as an upper-class, motivated individual doesn't mean the world should hide its blemishes from you.

 

As a footnote, I'd just like to say that these people are exactly the same as you and me. They were just brought up in a different society. As someone else mentioned, you don't climb the social ladder either.

[sees_all1]

I think of my future to the extent of what classes I need to take to graduate. I also think about where I want to be in my field in 5 years, and in 10 years. Most of it is uncertain, but I don't worry about it too much. STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors will always be needed, especially if the world is going to become more technologically advanced. Its not like I'm a philosophy major...

[RpgGamer]

OP cares to much.

 

lower class people can be just as motivated as high class people, and vice versa. it just sounds like you have bad experiences with more urban type people. Dont mind them. They know they're screwed up, and they've accepted it. They'll live a life of hard work, and crappy pay, but they'll get through it.

[Saru Inc]

One thing that is really great in Finland is that education is paid with tax money - everybody gets equal education, no matter if you're rich or poor.

 

 

And the taxes are higher than my opinion of these [garden tools].

 

/end song reference.

 

 

Seriously though, the trifecta countries I call them have absurdly high taxes.

[Perakp]

Yes, I think about my future. Education doesn't guarantee you a good life or a better paying job. Hedonism isn't getting us anywhere. We are playing in a loop of generations just [bleep]ing around. The future is a lie.

 

//wrist

 

Where did this 21st century pessimism come from? Someone shoot it please.

[Nadril]

You're still in High School, the younger half of it too, and you're assuming the rest of your life will be like in HS. That is completely incorrect, I can assure you. The reason why you think (in this case) poor people are rude idiots is because you're forced to be surrounded by them. Go to a college and I can guarantee you the majority of poor people there will NOT be rude idiots. After High School you get to choose which types of people surround you.

This. College is different because people are there because they want to be, not because they have to be. Having to pay for optional education is a great way to weed out the [bleep]wads who aren't interested in learning.

 

Not really. I've known some people who have gone to college just because they feel like they have to. Meh for the most part it is right though even if you don't always want to be in all your courses.

[Racheya]

I'm one of these poor kids on the bus, trying to get through the education system when there's only enough money in the bank to get me there in the first place. I always have been. (Though I'm not the sort of idiot you talk about, an idiot is an idiot whether they're rich or poor). My parents have accepted that they're not going to be in a position where they can really afford very much, they want more but debts and the entire world just stop them.

 

I'm just starting University, the money for my fees and grants are all coming from the Government. If they didn't provide this, I would probably be in a dead end job now. I'd be doomed to Council houses forever. But, I have a chance. I do aspire to be more, I'm determined that being in a life of poverty isn't going to be my future. University is my chance for this. I'll be in debt when I come out, but I'm just hoping that I'll get a job that allows me to pay it off. I don't want to be poor, but there's a big chance that I might end up that way - just because of where I've come from.

[Zygimantas]

Yes, I think about my future. Education doesn't guarantee you a good life or a better paying job. Hedonism isn't getting us anywhere. We are playing in a loop of generations just [bleep]ing around. The future is a lie.

 

//wrist

 

Where did this 21st century pessimism come from? Someone shoot it please.

21st century? There has always been and will be pessimism.

 

Anyways this topic reminds me of a book I've read, and here is a video about the book, ( same author). Make what you want to make of it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJybVxUiy2U

[Guest Rob]

As a general rule, most upper-middle class people have higher goals than those of the lower class. (I think) that's the gist of his entire post, which (Imo) is correct. And the higher class will be able to afford a higher education, while the lower classes may not be able to get into a better school. The upper class students are more likely to have their parents care more about how they do in school, because they figure "Hey, I got an 80 average in school, and it helped. Maybe I should push my kids, too!".

 

The point I'm trying to make, is that if you have it easier off, you'll go higher. It's not fair, but life isn't always fair either.

[Bows]

Everyone thinks about their future. Period. Some people just think, "When am I going to be in jail?" And others think, "I wonder if I made honor roll this year and if my college application will be accepted."