If given the option, would you choose to go to school 3 extra hours every day and have hours of homework to do after that? I know that I wouldn't. However, Marita chose to do exactly that. Marita is a child in the inner city area of New York. Her family is not rich or powerful but she has the privilege to go to an amazing school. While her mother made the initial decision to put her in this school, Marita makes it clear that she is more than happy to stay in KIPP, the school with such a great record of achievement. Marita's bargain is that she gives up most of her social life and free time in order to get a better education at KIPP than the one she was going to receive at a public high school.
Unfortunately, the stereotype is that children that live in poor neighborhoods will have no chance of getting a solid education. Most of these children grow up not being taught the value of a good education so they have little to no motivation to strive to do well. Gladwell tells us that Marita started at KIPP by being selected in the lottery system and then her mother did not let her say no (Gladwell, 263). This shows that Marita was hesitant going into the situation, knowing that she was going to be doing much more work than she would at her old school. However, through the rest of the chapter, Gladwell makes it clear that Marita does not regret the decision. She works extremely hard at KIPP but receives a great education. She says that she hates to stop working on homework even to go eat dinner, a choice I know I would have no trouble making (Gladwell, 264). To her, the education is more important than the "fun" life of a child. This is an attitude that I admire.
Some people, on the other hand, may feel that the idea of KIPP is bad. Many people believe that children should enjoy the time they have before they go into the working world. "Enjoy it while it lasts," people say about youth. Do you think Maita really enjoys learning? Probably not. However, she appreciates the opportunity she has been given. This opportunity makes her an outlier. She understands that if she does not want to live in a one bedroom apartment for the rest of her life, a quality education is a step in the right direction.
Marita makes a bargain that many people probably would not. She chooses to give up her free time in order to get harder schoolwork. Go ask some high school students if they want harder work and see what kind of response you get. However, Marita is planning for her future and her bargain definitely helps her prepare to get out of the impoverished lifestyle.
To me, the KIPP almost sounds like a mini version of high school. In high school, I woke up around 5:30 and didn't get home until 4. Some nights I worked up to 11 on homework, but not often. I like how you point out that you wouldn't be able to do it, but only because you grew up with a different background. I'm sure if the circumstances were different, you would've made a bargain too.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about her character. She is obviously going to do great things with her life. I'd like to know where she is and how she is now.
ReplyDeleteI'm not totally sure if I would have or not. It depends how I was raised. My parents stressed getting a good education so I try really hard on stuff but if they didn't do that, I don't know how I would have ended up. I may not have chosen to do more difficult work just to get an education. That's what amazes me about Marita. She came from a lifestyle that, for the most part, doesn't even get a chance to get a good education. Despite that, she still gave up almost all of her time to go to KIPP.
ReplyDeleteI think, too, if you are raised in poverty, you are more likely to do anything to get out, whereas people raised with money don't depend on education to get them somewhere like they do the money. It all comes down to the value of a dollar for me.
ReplyDeletethat's definitely true. people raised with lots of money have a good safety net if they don't feel like doing their best in school. it's definitely unfair to those whose families don't have tons of money but still give their best efforts.
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