Ms. McArdle exercising her 2nd amendment rights.
(2nd Anniversary re-print. Original posted 2/10/2010)
At a rather young age (10?) I recall reading an article about standardized tests. Researchers were doing studies to determine if standardized tests unfairly measured “low income” and/or “minority” children. The example they used was one of those common, simile problems often used to test a kid’s vocabulary, “cup is to saucer as…” The researchers claimed questions like that were unfair because some kids may live in households were saucers were not used. I laughed. At the age of 10 I laughed at that supposition.
I knew what a saucer was! Everybody does! I thought to myself that I couldn’t recall ever seeing anyone use a saucer, but saucers were everywhere… in literature. At the age of 10, living in a concrete, urban landscape, I had also never seen a raft made of driftwood, but I’d read “Huckleberry Finn.” I had never seen a chiffarobe, but I had read “The Yearling.” I had never seen a spaceship, but I had read about the Mercury, Apollo and Russian space programs in the newspaper.
It was utter nonsense to assume that a reasonably intelligent kid would not understand the simile “cup is to saucer as…” Did I go to school with some kids who would not understand that type of simile problem? Sure. But it wasn’t because their folks didn’t serve high tea every afternoon. They simply were not very bright.
At the age of 10 I realized the researchers were making a ridiculous assumption. They had never lived in an “impoverished” neighborhood, nor had they ever lived among minorities. Did they know what a “derelict” is? How about a “drug addict?” “Gang member?” “Graffitti?” “Prostitute?” “Bookie?” “Ex-con?” None of those things were likely in their neighborhoods (all existed in mine) but they could understand the simile; “Prostitute is to John as…”
At the age of 10 I understood that these people, in trying to understand me, were actually insulting me. Knowledge is knowledge. Literacy is literacy. We had a library at my public school. It wasn’t very big, and the books were old, but those books contained the same words the books in their neighborhoods contained. And I’ll bet money very few of those researchers had read as many words by age 10 as I had. What does reading a book where someone sets a cup on a saucer have to do with how much money one’s father earns, or whether one has a father in his or her home? My Cub Scout den mother was a topless dancer. Her son was in my class. His father was not present in his life so his mom worked nights to pay the rent. I don’t recall it ever coming up in conversation, but I’m confident her son knew what a saucer is. The father of the boys who lived a few doors down from me was in prison. Another of my classmates father’s was in jail for trying to kill his wife, my friend’s mother, with a handgun. Because of school district boundaries he and I went to different public High Schools and lost touch after grade school. Last I heard he was in prison for auto theft. He was a smart guy. If the topic comes up in prison, he’ll know what a saucer is.
One of my closest friends grew up in this same neighborhood. His mother, a Polish immigrant, had health conditions that kept her from working. My friend’s father died when my friend was in grade school and the family was left with nothing. They lived on public assistance. My friend went to the same public schools as me. About a third of the kids in our High School did not graduate. Less than 20% of the remainder went on to College, and the vast majority of them went to Junior Colleges to work on Associate’s Degrees. My friend went to one of the top Engineering schools in the country, then one of the top law schools in the country. Somewhere in there he also got a Masters degree. My friend earns a good living. A very good living. In High School, during lunch time he went to a special line. The state provided a free, healthy lunch for kids whose families couldn’t afford one. I’m not sure if the old “cup is to saucer” line ever came up on the ACT, GRE or LSAT exams when he took them, but based on his scores he didn’t miss many questions, so I think he managed to get through that one despite not having a father in his home and having a household income below the poverty level.
Megan McArdle grew up in a wealthy neighborhood in New York. Megan attended expensive and exclusive private schools and her graduate degree is from a Chicago school so private I’ve never heard of it. I like Megan McArdle’s writing. She understands Economics and has a lot of common sense. I used to read her writing a lot, but one day she wrote about impoverished kids growing up in tough neighborhoods, and what society should do to help them. It was all “cup and saucer” logic.
Like my lawyer friend, I too made it out of the neighborhood and I always knew how to do it; go to school and work. Work hard in school. Work hard at work. Despite being raised around many people who did not follow that model, those of us who made it out knew what the model was. That was absolutely not a mystery to any of us. We knew that kids who did not apply themselves in school would have hard lives. We knew that kids who did not work and save their money would have hard lives. We knew that if we did not get out of our neighborhood we would have hard lives. The way was clear, and was never a mystery. Did some kids choose to deal and use drugs? Sure. Did some kids choose to cut class and drop out? Sure. Did some kids join gangs? Sure. Every one of those kids knew what their future would be, and many, if not most of those kids had worse family situations than I. I wanted to get out of that neighborhood and I did. I imagine just about all of us who had that as a goal did. Many of the kids I graduated with joined the service and had good careers in the military. Some went to College. Some started their own businesses. Even when we didn’t have parents telling us how to do it, or what to do, the way was still clear; obvious. Not easy. Not easy at all, but obvious.
So, what do McArdle and most well-intentioned “thinkers” raised in upper class neighborhoods miss when they pontificate on how to help poor, urban kids?
My example shows that it has nothing to do with language. I could handle myself just fine on the street, with my friends, but I could also use proper English on a school paper. My friend Chuck, who contributes here in Threedonia went from his family’s small apartment in my neighborhood to earn a degree in journalism and become a newspaper Editor. Why would it be that Megan McArdle can learn proper English but we could not? Can your father’s income put grammar and vocabulary in your head?
How about not having a father figure in the home? Well, that can be a big problem, but my friend the engineer and attorney managed to achieve great success in spite of his father’s all too early demise. No, some kids make it without fathers. I can give you many examples of people I know who did. You know people like that too.
And that’s part of the problem, we tend to make generalizations, speak in stereotypes, when we all, each and every one of us, know people who defy the statistics. And, I guarantee you, those who don’t break away from the statistics are not ignorant of what it takes; hard work and education, it’s just that they did not, or could not do that.
There are two things Megan McArdle and all the others miss:
- Except for a very small minority, the problem is not access to books, or teachers, or even funding for education. And it certainly has nothing to do with saucers! My friend raised on public assistance? He literally made money going to College! He got so much aid he actually made a small profit every semester he was in school. He and I were roommates. Both my folks worked and I worked three jobs in College and every summer, winter and spring break to pay for school. He got enough assistance that he did not need to work while in school.
- It is very, very hard to break out of one’s socio-economic environment. It is very hard to go against the “tribe” you are raised in. Recently there was a news story about a Harvard co-ed, Chanequa Campbell, who got into a bit of trouble. You can read about Chanequa here, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/nyregion/04campbell.html?_r=1&hp
The societal stuff is the hard stuff. Learning how to dress to fit in. Learning what to say, and what not to say. Learning how to lose the accent, and avoid slang. It’s not just learning that stuff, but it’s learning to accept that stuff. When you are raised around people who resent or outright hate wealthy, successful people it is very hard to become a wealthy, successful person. It’s hard to get over the self-loathing. I understand exactly what black teens mean when they talk about the abuse they get from their peers for “acting white.” It’s very hard to become what your peers, your neighborhood, your family resent, even when you learn to understand that is what you should become.
When I saw the movie, “Big” I could really relate to that scene when he goes to the formal dinner. That was me! I worked my way up the social ladder to get invited to events like that, but the first couple times I looked as silly as he did in his rented tux, eating the tiny corn cobs. In those situations I’d look for a young woman, who I might be able to charm, and who might take some pity on me, and then I’d quickly hit her with a barrage of questions; What’s this utensil for? Where do I sit? What do I drink? Do I button or unbutton my jacket? Do I eat this, or is it just for decoration?
I’ve told this story before, but when I saw the movie, “Field of Dreams” I thought about what such a meeting would be like with my father. What if a 30 year old me met my father when he was 30? I have no doubt he would have hated me. If the 30 year old me showed up in my father’s bar, when he was 30… there is no question he would have taken a swing at me before I even made it to a barstool. When I was a kid my dad hated folks like the 30 year old me, but my 54 year old dad did not hate me when I was 30. He and I both learned a lot as I rose up through the rungs of the socio-economic ladder. But there were plenty of times on that climb when I hated me. What would the guys in the old neighborhood say? Hell, what would I say? I was doing some of the very same stuff I mocked; wearing a tie all day, sitting at a desk, reading the Wall Street Journal…
So, Megan, if you want to help kids up the economic ladder mentor them. Get involved with a few and show them how to use a salad fork, which spoon is for the sorbet, and when you eat the sorbet, how to apply to College, how to balance a checkbook, how to tie a tie, or put on make-up, how to interview for a job… Don’t give them fishes, teach them to fish. All too many folks think the problem is a lack of compassion so they lean towards solutions that they think will grease the tracks for the less fortunate. As Euclid said, “There is no royal road to learning.” I had to read the same books you did, Megan. And I did. I don’t need you to dumb-down the words for me. I can comprehend them just fine. The best way to help a kid make it out is to be an example. Show that kid what it’s like to be educated; to have a good job; to be self-sufficient; to dress properly; eat healthily. They know you’ve got it better than them, that’s why they want your life. Whenever I found myself in a situation where I knew I was out of my element I paid very close attention, and the next time I was less out of my element. I needed examples. I did not need empathy and I certainly did not need the educated or wealthy to dress or talk like me! That’s not even empathy. That’s condescension.
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The conspiracy theorist in me would say, that actually teaching “inner city” kids (how to tie a tie, prepare a resume, shake hands properly) would cause the Megan McArdles of the world to lose their power.
It’s always been the fall-back position of the liberal elite to be for the “little guy.” Well, what happens when you teach the “little guy” to be a “big guy?” When you raise the veil of dependence on others. Simple answer – the “Megan McArdles” lose their power.
Excellent article, BTW!
Kenn, maybe I’m naive, but I think there are a lot of well-intentioned folks beyond ideals like this. Actually, I fear that more than if it was all a ploy to retain power. As the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Great piece, Rufus.
I would agree with your distension from the ‘it’s about power’ meme. It isn’t a conspiracy so much as a worldview. A lot of folks think that top-down solutions are the best way to solve problems. I also think this cuts across ideological boundaries (as much as it might irk some who comment here to see something of themselves in their political opponents). I can’t count the number of times I heard a conservative talk about finding the next conservative leader, the next Reagan, to fix what’s wrong in America, to get this nation back to its Constitutional roots (it’s practically the mantra whenever Ron Paul’s name comes up, not to mention some of those deeply devoted to Sarah Palin).
Granted there is massive chasm between a leader who will allow us to live our lives pretty much as we please and a leader who wants micromanage our lives. The general concept, however, is the same. I think there is in our human nature to wants someone to take responsibility, take charge, and make life better. We are seeking that towering figure who will lead us out of the wilderness, rather than take the reins ourselves and do what we can where we are with what we’re given.
I agree, Daniel. I too get frustrated on those who focus too much energy on a potential candidate, candidate(s) or party to fix our problems. The main problem with our federal government is it has too much power.
Rufus:
“Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” –C.S. Lewis
Bingo!
Condescension dressed-up like compassion and understanding is one of the most socially detrimental aspects of our culture.
Before my parents pulled me out of public school and sent me to private school I was classmates with a few students who were from the poor neighborhoods. It was pretty rare in the area of south FL that I grew up in to be classmates with someone who was actually impoverished, but there was one student I remember well. He would come to school in shabby closed that were not always clean. He didn’t have the greatest social skills but he had a few friends. But one thing that he was not was dumb. He was a bright kid, but our teacher always seemed to give him a pass when he answered a question wrong. Even at my young age (I think this was third grade) I could tell she just assumed he wasn’t not going to do well in any subject and therefore didn’t give him the chance. The worst part was I always suspected the kid knew why he was treated differently. The kid already felt like an outsider being surrounded by upper middle class peers but this just made it 10x worse for him. I’m sure our teacher felt she was being understanding but what she did was the ultimate disservice to one of her students.
Equality of opportunity, not outcome. Some kids have it tougher, and some have it easier. As Lady Day wrote, “Them that’s got shall get, them that not shall lose. So the Bible says, yet it still is news…”
We don’t do this in sports, and look at the percentage of kids from broken or impoverished homes who make it in the pros. Do they have to work harder than the kid who has the best equipment, whose dad plays catch with him in the yard, who gets private lessons? Yes. They have to work harder. And they do.
The bigotry of low expectations…and I carry a gun way better than she does………..
I was fortunate to go to schools where I did have teachers who cared and didn’t give me any breaks because of my economic circumstances. Two teachers in particular stand out; my thrid grade teacher Mrs. Gaylor was the first person to ever tell me she believed in me and that meant a lot to someone who came from my situation, and Mrs. Hooper my eighth grade English teacher who had so much faith in me that she put me in charge of the school paper. Both gave me an opportunity to make my own breaks and excel and more importantly made me believe I didn’t need anyone else to carry me because I was good enough to make my own way. That is how I believe you help someone better themselves; give them an opportunity and let them know that you believe that they’re as smart and capable as anyone else. Really the only person these kids need to prove themselves to is the “man in the mirror” and they’ll never feel good enough if someone is constantly giving them special treatment. All that creates is a chain of dependency.
Well put, Veruckt!
I admit to not knowing who this lady is. However, looking at the photo, one can immediately see she is not quite right in the head … anyone carrying a shotgun on a skeet field like that isn’t ‘all there’ ….
I know Cougar she looks ridiculous. Cripes!
If I were a single, working parent with a minimal income I think I’d try to find an apartment I could afford in an area with great schools. My kids might be ducks out of water, the only apartment dwelling kids in a class of suburban McMansion dwelling kids, but at least they’d be surrounded by kids who are likely to be focused on school and career. There are no guarantees, but I’d look for the best environment I could afford.
To be fair to Megan… I’d wager she’s not shooting from the hip in the4 pic… there’s some blurring by the stock. She’s either raising or lowering it. Nothing wrong with holding it there.
I agree with all that Rufus. Kudos. But you will still never get 5,000 back! Bwahahahahaha!!!
You’re forgetting I have administrative rights to the site and a delete key. I can own any number post I want.
Dude she doesn’t know whats she’s doing. Its obvious she has a lack of confidence. I’d love to have her trap shooting with me. Heh.
This conversation just led me to look at something a bit differently. We all know the stats, and the surest indicator that your kid is at risk is if he or she is raised in a single parent home. I think, officially, it’s being born to an unwed mother and being raised in a home with no father.
We also all know correlation is not, necessarily causation. I would guess most unwed mothers tend to be younger than wed mothers. I would also guess homes without a father have lower household incomes than homes with a mother and father. I would also guess homes without a father more likely have a working mother, and latchkey kids. And, there are surely other factors I’m not even thinking of.
So, we’ve got a lot of variables already. What’s the cause? Having a young mother? Not having a father figure? Being poor? Being a latchkey kid? All of the above? None of the above?
I don’t know. Because of the number of variables I’ve never felt good about hazarding a guess. And, because I know kids that meet one or more of those criteria who have bucked the odds it’s hard for me to say. But I just thought of something new.
What if it’s imitation? Monkey-see, monkey-do. If a kid grows up in a household of readers is he or she more likely to be a reader? If a kid grows up in a household of sports fans is he or she more likely to be a sports fan? We human primates tend to be very good at mimicking. Is it simply as simple as being imprinted at an early age with the image of one or more parents getting up at the crack of dawn and busting their hump? I am very different from my father and mother, but I do have that in common with them. I saw them do it. How does a kid without an example of a mother or father working hard learn to work hard? Applying oneself in school is hard. Applying oneself at work is hard. Do we have to be imprinted with that at an early age to be good at it later?
I think you’ve hit on something, there, Rufus. Although, I’ve also read that geneticists are going to be coming out with info, which may indicate that a great deal of what we are is inherited. So there may be an inherited link between a mother/father’s irresponsible behavior and their offspring. Of course this will lead to the inevitable: “My genes made me do it.”
Kenn,
I am nowhere even remotely knowledgable on the subject to speak with any authority, but from what I’ve read the surprise for geneticists is how much regional variation there is in human genes, and how important that may turn out to be. In other words, folks who were in such and such a region 200,000 years ago can do such and such, but folks who were in a different region cannot.
All the movement and mixing we have now probably nullifies a lot of that, but it looks like it’s going to explain some historical things that were not initially anticipated.
I doubt something so broad as “intelligence” or “sloth” is inherited, or at least passed down. I doubt there is one gene for those broad categories.
Wonderful post, Rufus.
I got “chiffarobe” from To Kill a Mockingbird.
I thought “To Kill a Mockingbird” was “davenport.”
As far as the picture goes, her finger is on the trigger before she intends to shoot. She needs basic firearms training.
As far as society… The responsibility of charity belongs to individuals, not government. Socialists like for others to not be needy, so they think government should take care of it. Housing, food, health care, transportation, etc. Why government handouts is a false conclusion is what it does to human nature. If you give people stuff, they learn they don’t have to earn it, and eventually expect it, so you better not take it away. It slowly dissolves their own ingenuity and creativeness, leaving less and less of the “image of God” within us and leaving more of the “animalistic” nature. Freedom is basically stolen. Although it is nice to think we are helping people out by having government handouts, we are basically creating slavery out of freedom. The democrat party is still a lover of slavery.
Well said, G-Man!
Nah, Miss Mayella called in Tom Robinson to bust up a chiffarobe.
A lot of Rufus’ essay takes me back. I can relate to a lot of these issues. Climbing that social divide can be hard. I literally jumped from blue-collar, dirty-every-day, scum-of-the-earth employment to a writing/office/management job in the span of a week. The culture shock was immense. In ways, my blue collar experiences better prepared me for dealing with my daily job as a reporter. My various co-workers, all graduates of prestigious universities who never even flipped a burger, came straight from the upper middle-class to upper-class and couldn’t get anywhere in a basic conversation with the locals. I’ll never forget taking this group to a demolition derby, I felt like a pre-school teacher herding cats. I managed better, just because these were the people I was raised around and worked with.
On the other hand, learning to dress different was hard, learning to talk different was hard. My parents came from rural Southeastern Ohio, my grandmother had an outhouse until I was 12. My parents fared better, but this was still the dominant culture around the house. Still, I did crap jobs for so long, I still don’t feel comfortable in decent clothes.
I like McArdle. I respect her classical liberal tendencies, but like Rufus, I think she has the poverty problem wrong. I hate to bring up the broken windows theory, but the little things matter in raising people up from the clutter, more so than the big things. If Blackhawk’s teacher made his classmate apply himself, even just once a day, it could have made a difference in his life.
Why would your 30 year old Dad take a swing at the 30 year old you?
My dad hated college edumacated guys in white shirts and ties.
One of my highlights of blogging was when -Mike-! told me one of his sisters sometimes uses this post to help inner city youths. I like -Mike’s- sister. She’s obviously brilliant.
Well, if by you saying “helps” means printing it out and then using the paper to draw bunnies and mister sun on…then yes it helps inner city yutes.
Hey, that post has saved thousands of lives!
Sez you.