"U.S.A., Land of Limitations?" by Nicholas Kristof
This article by Nickolas Kristof was extremely interesting, based on a lot of the news and current issues in the United States it has become more public that the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity that it once was. I decided to go with the prompt of choosing 3 quotes from the text. The first quote I have chosen is: "School might have been an escalator to a better life, for Rick had a terrific mind, but as a boy he had an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder and teachers wrote him off. In the eighth grade, the principal punished Rick for skipping school, by suspending him for six months. Rick was thrilled. By 10th grade he had dropped out for good." (Kristof). As a future teacher, this piece really caught my attention. Though Rick was in school many years ago, it is still a major issue that he had an undiagnosed disorder and instead of being concerned about possible problems, he ended up suspended for six months. Which, as Kristof said, helped lead to Rick dropping out.
"I hear from people who say something like: I grew up poor, but I worked hard and I made it. If other people tried, they could, too. Bravo! Sure, there are extraordinary people who have overcome mind-boggling hurdles. But they’re like the N.B.A. centers with short parents." (Kristof). This quote probably stuck out to me the most of the entire article, because plenty of people say how they, or someone the know, has been able to get out of poverty and make a better life for themselves. But as Kristof said, just because it happens does not mean that it is easy or possible for everyone, there are plenty of statistics, a few of which listed in the article, supporting the fact that rising out of poverty is extremely difficult and unlikely.
“The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall,” Krueger observed in a speech. “It happens, but not often.” (Kristof). This quote just explains how difficult it is for people to get out of poverty once they are in it. And the worst part is that when people start off in poverty, that's where they end up staying. There are systems and programs in place to help people, but they seem to help them survive in these circumstances, not necessarily help them grow out of it. All of the facts and examples Kristof gave in his article, just proves that the U.S. is no longer a land of much opportunity.
Point to share:
"Rick acknowledged that he had made bad choices. He drank, took drugs and was arrested about 30 times."
"He married twice and divorced twice, raised children as a single dad, and was a loyal friend to everyone around."
The two sentences from when Kristof was discussing the life of his friend Rick in the article really stuck with me because, he was arrested thirty times, did drugs and was a drinker. And I think people in shoes like Rick's are often stereotypes to be bad people because of their bad choices, and Rick was not a bad person he was a good father and friend. But to those who did not know him beyond drugs and arrests they probably had a different perception of him and could be why he has less opportunity than others, which is very unfortunate.
This article by Nickolas Kristof was extremely interesting, based on a lot of the news and current issues in the United States it has become more public that the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity that it once was. I decided to go with the prompt of choosing 3 quotes from the text. The first quote I have chosen is: "School might have been an escalator to a better life, for Rick had a terrific mind, but as a boy he had an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder and teachers wrote him off. In the eighth grade, the principal punished Rick for skipping school, by suspending him for six months. Rick was thrilled. By 10th grade he had dropped out for good." (Kristof). As a future teacher, this piece really caught my attention. Though Rick was in school many years ago, it is still a major issue that he had an undiagnosed disorder and instead of being concerned about possible problems, he ended up suspended for six months. Which, as Kristof said, helped lead to Rick dropping out.
"I hear from people who say something like: I grew up poor, but I worked hard and I made it. If other people tried, they could, too. Bravo! Sure, there are extraordinary people who have overcome mind-boggling hurdles. But they’re like the N.B.A. centers with short parents." (Kristof). This quote probably stuck out to me the most of the entire article, because plenty of people say how they, or someone the know, has been able to get out of poverty and make a better life for themselves. But as Kristof said, just because it happens does not mean that it is easy or possible for everyone, there are plenty of statistics, a few of which listed in the article, supporting the fact that rising out of poverty is extremely difficult and unlikely.
“The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall,” Krueger observed in a speech. “It happens, but not often.” (Kristof). This quote just explains how difficult it is for people to get out of poverty once they are in it. And the worst part is that when people start off in poverty, that's where they end up staying. There are systems and programs in place to help people, but they seem to help them survive in these circumstances, not necessarily help them grow out of it. All of the facts and examples Kristof gave in his article, just proves that the U.S. is no longer a land of much opportunity.
Point to share:
"Rick acknowledged that he had made bad choices. He drank, took drugs and was arrested about 30 times."
"He married twice and divorced twice, raised children as a single dad, and was a loyal friend to everyone around."
The two sentences from when Kristof was discussing the life of his friend Rick in the article really stuck with me because, he was arrested thirty times, did drugs and was a drinker. And I think people in shoes like Rick's are often stereotypes to be bad people because of their bad choices, and Rick was not a bad person he was a good father and friend. But to those who did not know him beyond drugs and arrests they probably had a different perception of him and could be why he has less opportunity than others, which is very unfortunate.
interesting picture. Do you think people today have become desensitized to those in Rick's situation?
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