In the past two weeks, all of the graduation festivities for New Trier's seniors have been in action. Starting off, the most popular school newspaper of the year came out. It was the issue which declared every senior's next four years. The issue is a New Trier tradition which advertises and shows off its graduates. Going through the pages and searching for the most selective schools names seemed to be the mindset of many juniors. I started to wonder whether this advertisement was a theme specific to New Trier or whether it is more of an American theme.
After some quick research, the statistics that I came across were quite literally jaw dropping. According to www.classroom.synonym.com, in 2011 68.3% of high school graduates enrolled in college but nearly half of those kids were enrolled in a community college. PBS then revealed to me that only 40% of working-aged Americans hold a college degree. In striking contrast to these stats was our school newspaper. Only one (two if I missed one) graduate is attending our local community college, Oakton where as everyone else will be attending college, university, or taking a gap year.
It turns out that the college binder sitting on my desk which reads; "College is not a prize to be won, it is a match to be met" is truly a New Trier or maybe on a more general scale, an upper class motto (see my education inequality blogpost). This phrase has always bothered me, ever since my parents placed it on my nightstand. College to me is a prize to be won, it is what we work towards but that in itself is an upper class theme. Many Americans do not have the money to attend such selective pricy institutions. Growing up, college has always been an expectation. Dinners and run ins with family friends--the question nearly always arises; "where do you want to go to school?" or "where are you looking?" The New Trier theme of college expectations leads to further questions of class divides.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/percentage-americans-college-degrees-rises-paying-degrees-tops-financial-challenges/
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