So who else was ready to quit college after the first speakers? I already get guilted enough by my parents so my hefty tuition tag and now I get to hear that maybe it's not even worth it because I will be forever in debt. Maybe I misinterpreted the message but I came away with this: "Do what you love, but realize that unless you love business you will not be making any money and will have a hard time being financially stable." Parts were encouraging, the fact that one of the speakers was a single parent and did manage to pay off his loans certainly raised my spirits a bit. But am I the only one who reconsidered majoring or minoring in English when that women asked if it was worth and they basically replied that it wasn't?
The second speaker for "Coming of Age at Minimum Wage" was a bit more charismatic. She too read off a paper but in a more spontaneous and personable way. Perhaps it was that her topic was less daunting but I enjoyed this discussion much more than the first. Once again money was the major issue. Here were these kids that basically had to work full-time jobs while going to school and balance all of that with a social life. I was one of the few that raised their hand when asked who had worked in a fast food restaurant. I was lucky enough to work at an In'N'Out Burger for my first job. I wouldn't say that my experience was pleasant, but I certainly learned a lot. I am guessing, however, that my wage and conditions at In'N'Out were much better than the kids had at "Flips." I was struck by the quote "Poor kids grow up too fast." It's so true. If you are working the ridiculous hours these kids are working then you are going to become very mature very quickly. It isn't fair and it is certainly something to be admired. They place such a great value on education that they are willing to spend the extra hours at their jobs and maybe sacrifice their social life to stay in school. And yet, for most it is not enough.
It really makes you realize how lucky you are. That I can afford to be at Santa Clara and taking this english class. Maybe I'll stay in school, and keep my English minor, even if it won't make me any money.
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These lectures totally made me wig out about college too. I am now torn between writing college of as an institution of indentured servants, or an institution that it your only way out of a minimun wage job at a fast food restaurant.
I read an article yesterday in the New York Times that really resonates with what the guest speakers were saying in the first lecture. This article is called “’Top Chef” Dreams Crushed by Student Loan Debt.” It’s about a chef who, now two years out of culinary school, owes $46,200 in student loans (and another woman who owes $84,000!) He only makes $10.50 an hour, and relies on his parent’s support. Before going to culinary school, he’d worked in fast food and was trying to move up to become a real chef. It’s also sad because he says people make fun of him for even putting his degree on applications— I guess a culinary school education isn’t really the key to success in the restaurant business.
I don’t know much about how student loans work, but this article says that only about a fourth of the amount he needed was covered by federal loans, and for the rest he had to take private loans from banks. I found it interesting that “the majority of students are the first people going to college in their families.” The situation reminded me of the young workers at “Flips” who were struggling through community college, with the belief that this was the path to success. Apparently while culinary school may give aspiring chefs some advantage, paying $30,000 to go is pretty risky considering beginning chefs make about $20,000 a year. One woman who did successfully rise to become an executive chef said that only three out of the 32 people in her culinary academy are still cooking— and are most likely still paying off debt that lead them nowhere.
Also speaking of the lectures, I found the second lecture really moving and upsetting. One theme that I’ve noticed in Nickel and Dimed, Fast Food Nation, The Working Poor, and the lecture, is that people living a low wage life often blame themselves for their situation. It’s really sad to see that young people trying so hard to make a better life for themselves, even when they mistakenly think that going into the fast food business is a good first step, keep getting shot down. When their efforts in work and in school lead no where, it’s no wonder their self esteem is hurt. We were talking in my psych class about the idea of “locus of control.” Basically, people who have an “internal locus of control” feel that they are in control of their lives, while those who have an “external” one, believing that they are controlled by other people and by fate. Those with an “internal locus of control” have been shown to have greater successes in life. But when you try you hardest and are met with disappointment after disappointment, setback after setback, how could you possibly develop that “internal locus of control?” I don’t necessarily think it would be helpful for people to go through life angry towards everyone else, but I wonder how they manage not be infuriated with our capitalist society that creates such horrible inequality. It’s really unfortunate that poor people tend to see themselves as failures, when really it’s the system that’s failing them. There seems to be this paradox: I read in textbooks that people with “internal control” are more successful, well people living the “low wage life” really don’t have much control, how are they supposed to feel that they can control their lives when they face so many obstacles and other people taking advantage of them?
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