I grew up in a upper middle class home, although we didn't live a lifestyle that would match our fiscal title, we were classified as so. My parents always saved money, were very, and are still very frugal. We still went on the occasional vacation but we didn't wear name brand clothing or buy name brand groceries. We lived comfortably and happily.
Both my parents graduated from a University with a degree in two successful feilds, I was born while my mother was still in college so when I was 3-4 I went with her to some of her college assignments/internships (she was blessed to be able to bring me with her). I have memories of seeing mom working so hard to improve her education, not just for me but for herself and for our family. My father as well, I was involved in them getting their education although memories are scarce considering I was a toddler but I remember and felt the impression it made on me watching my parents better themselves.
I hadn't realized until a few years back how important my education was to me, for so long I was rebellious, being forced to make a 5 year plan as a teenager would make me so angry and upset. I didn't want to think about my future, and didn't understand at the time how much work it would take to get where I am today. Luckily I am able to realize the importance of continuing my education now and bettering myself, so that I can be the best person I can be and be able to provide my future family with the life my parents gave my siblings and I growing up.
I cherish my education and I owe it all to my parents for showing me early in life, that education is a special thing. It isn't something everyone has as a priority. And it is frustrating seeing people on campus, not care about making it to class on time, or turning assignments in on time, and not paying attention in class.
I pay for my education, so I want to get my money worth and learn as much as I possibly can.
My point to this post is I am trying to understand why some students have such a huge passion for education while others don't. Please don't take me as errogant, I do understand people have other priorities in life, and it takes focus away from school. Im mainly focusing on those that enroll in classes and have nothing else in life going on that would distract them from class and they complain about all the assignments and tests and lectures and labs, when they have all the time in the world to study and pay attention and take advantage of the resources they have at their college/university.
Im curious if my current viewpoint on education, it being a gift I've been given and working hard to learn as much as I can, has been influenced by watching my parents in college, or if it stems from me wanting to better myself, and acheive my dreams.
I have support, and not everyone has that, would I be less dedicated to my education if I didn't have the support I do have?
Is that the reason why Jane doe and John smith don't have such a strong passion for their education, because the lack of a support system or they simply arent passionate about bettering themselves?
Just curious if others have had this frustration in class and wondered others opinions on how my upbringing has effected my outlook on college education or if its simply chance that I'm passionate about it.
I start my ADN program in two weeks and I'm just doing some self evaluating and soul searching so I have a clear mind when I start this incredible journey!
Specializes in Emergency, Correctional, Indigent Health.
I do not want to go into a personal history, but I feel my story might give someone some insight into the value of education. My Mom and Dad were the children of immigrants. My Dad had a third grade education, and my Mom completed the sixth grade. Their circumstances were not their choice, but they were who that segment of the population was during those times. My Dad was one slick business man, and a hell of a worker too. He died when I was five, and I never really knew him. My Mom had her own problems which I never understood until I was much older, and better educated. Eventually she had become demented. Yet I knew she was very dependent on me at an early age. I could have gone so many ways. Within two days of my high school graduation I was marching at Lackland Air Force Base. Now my schooling was mostly parochial, and I graduated from a Catholic School for Boys with a college prep program. I was tested out as number three in my senior class, but I never spoke college, and they never asked. Four years of loading nuclear weapons in the Air Force put me no where when I got out pf the military, even though I went through the ranks as fast as you could back then. None of my siblings went to college, and it was just not what I had in mind. I had never been encouraged by my mother to go to school, and my paltry efforts to attend college in the military were not encouraging either. Although I did pass a college GED test which said I had two years of college, as far as the US Air Force was concerned. I worked as a telephone man for two years during which time I married my high school sweetheart, and we were expecting our first child. She however, was a very smart woman and her parents, even though immigrants, had been teachers in their native country, and expected her to go to college. She in turn made me think about it too. Without much from me, she got the ball rolling, and even secured the financial aspects of loans and applying for the GI Bill funding too. Believe me I would be still be hanging from a telephone pole if it wasn't for her efforts.
School wasn't my finest hour. I had been undiagnosed with an ADD, and even now I read books on tape. I got through school not because of the University, but in spite of it. I was so unsure of what I wanted to do, and counseling wasn't going to direct me to be a nurse as a male, at that time, that was for sure.
With the birth of our second child. I was the first husband in delivery at both facilities we used. That was my wife's doing not mine. I finally got interested in Nurse-Midwifery. That was a real set back as the world was not ready for a male in that profession, and neither was Nurse-Midwifery, nor was the Air Force. Where I had returned as a Nursing Officer, Worked OB for two years. We had a third child in the car on our way to the hospital 85 miles from home. I eventually applied 5 times to Nurse-Midwifry, and was rejected five times. Dropping out of Nursing, I went into being a professional Paramedic. Two of my finest years, although we were on food stamps and WIC Program. My wife became very sick shortly after our fourth child was born, and we returned to Miami for her to pass there, where I might be able to get help from her family raising the four kids, all under 11 years old. She didn't pass, and we are now about to have our 49th wedding anniversary. I was out of school for 23 years before returning for for my Masters. Again it was a horrendous experience, and I graduated in spite of the University, not because of them.
I must say all four of our kids have gone to college. That to was almost totally due to my wife's efforts. She secured their funding in very creative ways, and I will say she is now supporting our grandchildren too, sending them to college with very little borrowing and debt to repay. One of our adult kids asked me to read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" a book that poo poos college, and talks about how the author, whose father was a college professor, made his millions in real estate with little or no college. It was an impressive effort to read, but I can attest to the fact that the way out of crippling poverty is education. Oh there might be a select few to get rich through sports or computing, but the tried and true way is almost always education. Don't be fooled by the Sooth-Sayers who promise you the moon, and give you green cheese.
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
Katieoak, I think you brought up an interesting topic. 😃 I've considered the impact of my parents on my being a good student as well as my commitment to working.
I used to be an early childhood education teacher and I learned in college, that children's biggest predictor of academic success is highly dependent on the parents lifestyles. For example, kids whose parents don't read for pleasure and don't have books lying around their home growing up are less likely to learn how to read well--unless schools do a lot more to help these children.
As for my growing up. Im sure we weren't upper middle class, but my parents were never on welfare either. I think, not to offend anyone on here, that many people view themselves as poor growing up when in reality, we weren't. I know people who earn 80-100K as a family income who constantly say they're poor because that money doesn't go super far in CA. But I don't feel I could ever justify calling my family poor because we always had a roof, food and a running vehicle. I understand that having those basics makes us relatively wealthy compared to the way many people live in the world and even in the U.S.
I think that seeing my parents always work full time, I just always assumed that's what you do. I've worked my whole life. (Except while in nsg school clinicals😉)
As far as academics, from a young age, my parents always told us we had to go to college. I think that idea stuck with me. Though these same parents kicked me out of my home at 16 for the last time. (First time at 11/12)
I got a job, I went straight into a university out of HS with a 2 yr old. I have always been committed to college graduation and though I've started and stopped many times, I never gave up on the idea. (I'm almost 40 now) I think their telling me to go when I was young stuck with me. Although they never helped me at all.
Even through my divorce while returning to college at age 33 with 3 kids and no where to live, they didn't help me financially nor did they allow me to live with them, after my husband took the house.
I do give my parents credit for installing the importance of education in me, but I also think that for some cultures/minority groups/ whose parents didn't attend college, they have no idea of how to help. Or maybe my parents are just abusive jerks.
I think parents who have had An education are more likely to assist their children financially (even by simply allowing their children to live at home) be cuz they know it's really hard to complete an education without family help.
I know this is long, but r/t paying it forward the value of education to the next generation:
My eldest left me to live with relatives at 17 when I went thru my divorce. I was very poor at the time , (like on welfare and earning $9/hr as a CNA. I also had no place to live)
The relatives she stayed with did not help her pay for college, after she was accepted to 2 universities. We weren't talking at the time, so I assumed they were helping her. I didnt claim her on taxes, they did.
When she and I started talking again after her 2nd year of college was almost done and told me this, I was shocked, as her father and step mom are college educated and have a lot of money (federal attorney and corrections) But no one would give her money or even their info to be able to file for federal aid!
Because I'm considered poor, because I'm in the bridge to rn program, I gave her my info to use on her FAFSA.
But these people still claim her on taxes. 😡 I don't get people. Or maybe my family is just really messed up.
AngryAngel
17 Posts
I do not want to go into a personal history, but I feel my story might give someone some insight into the value of education. My Mom and Dad were the children of immigrants. My Dad had a third grade education, and my Mom completed the sixth grade. Their circumstances were not their choice, but they were who that segment of the population was during those times. My Dad was one slick business man, and a hell of a worker too. He died when I was five, and I never really knew him. My Mom had her own problems which I never understood until I was much older, and better educated. Eventually she had become demented. Yet I knew she was very dependent on me at an early age. I could have gone so many ways. Within two days of my high school graduation I was marching at Lackland Air Force Base. Now my schooling was mostly parochial, and I graduated from a Catholic School for Boys with a college prep program. I was tested out as number three in my senior class, but I never spoke college, and they never asked. Four years of loading nuclear weapons in the Air Force put me no where when I got out pf the military, even though I went through the ranks as fast as you could back then. None of my siblings went to college, and it was just not what I had in mind. I had never been encouraged by my mother to go to school, and my paltry efforts to attend college in the military were not encouraging either. Although I did pass a college GED test which said I had two years of college, as far as the US Air Force was concerned. I worked as a telephone man for two years during which time I married my high school sweetheart, and we were expecting our first child. She however, was a very smart woman and her parents, even though immigrants, had been teachers in their native country, and expected her to go to college. She in turn made me think about it too. Without much from me, she got the ball rolling, and even secured the financial aspects of loans and applying for the GI Bill funding too. Believe me I would be still be hanging from a telephone pole if it wasn't for her efforts.
School wasn't my finest hour. I had been undiagnosed with an ADD, and even now I read books on tape. I got through school not because of the University, but in spite of it. I was so unsure of what I wanted to do, and counseling wasn't going to direct me to be a nurse as a male, at that time, that was for sure.
With the birth of our second child. I was the first husband in delivery at both facilities we used. That was my wife's doing not mine. I finally got interested in Nurse-Midwifery. That was a real set back as the world was not ready for a male in that profession, and neither was Nurse-Midwifery, nor was the Air Force. Where I had returned as a Nursing Officer, Worked OB for two years. We had a third child in the car on our way to the hospital 85 miles from home. I eventually applied 5 times to Nurse-Midwifry, and was rejected five times. Dropping out of Nursing, I went into being a professional Paramedic. Two of my finest years, although we were on food stamps and WIC Program. My wife became very sick shortly after our fourth child was born, and we returned to Miami for her to pass there, where I might be able to get help from her family raising the four kids, all under 11 years old. She didn't pass, and we are now about to have our 49th wedding anniversary. I was out of school for 23 years before returning for for my Masters. Again it was a horrendous experience, and I graduated in spite of the University, not because of them.
I must say all four of our kids have gone to college. That to was almost totally due to my wife's efforts. She secured their funding in very creative ways, and I will say she is now supporting our grandchildren too, sending them to college with very little borrowing and debt to repay. One of our adult kids asked me to read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" a book that poo poos college, and talks about how the author, whose father was a college professor, made his millions in real estate with little or no college. It was an impressive effort to read, but I can attest to the fact that the way out of crippling poverty is education. Oh there might be a select few to get rich through sports or computing, but the tried and true way is almost always education. Don't be fooled by the Sooth-Sayers who promise you the moon, and give you green cheese.