Good news

The University of Phoenix's enrollment has fallen by half. LINK

Our Kids

Robert Putnam's Our Kids is a must read.

It asserts that there is a widening opportunity gap between rich and poor kids. He begins with his own mid-century high school graduating class, noting how rich and poor kids all seemed to have a good shot at making something of themselves.

What happened? To selectively summarize: Mid-century prosperity and its abundance of manufacturing jobs made for a strong culture of opportunity for kids growing up in stable households in economically diverse communities.

The shit hit the fan when manufacturing employment declined. Women don't want to be married to a man who can't provide decent income, so marriage rates declined and divorce rates rose among the poor. Well off women tend to put off having kids until they start their career. Poorer woman want a fulfilling career as much as wealthier women, but seeing no opportunity for a good career, they have children young. This first happened in the black community, but it is prevalent among poor whites now too.

The country segregated the hell out of itself economically. Cities, once a place where rich and poor lived on the same block, became concentrations of poverty as people with means moved to the suburbs. Urban crime rose and the quality of city schools declined.

Poor children now often grow up surrounded only by other poor people. The result of this is that they lack strong role models. They don't know people who have succeeded academically and professionally. The end up ignorant of how to get ahead in the world. That seems to be the most awful part of this. A poor kid won't have a rich uncle with business connections to share or a savvy next door neighbor to to recognize when a bright poor kid just needs a little support and advocacy at school. The author recalls that such resources were available to poor kids in his hometown decades ago.

The book is a robust mix of data, personal stories, and the author's own life. It is very readable and quite compelling.

I didn't find many of his recommended solutions very memorable. I literally can't remember any of them except one: We need to take responsibility for all children. If any of our kids are failing and falling behind, it is a failure for all of us.