"So the idea of where you go to school making you is a very loaded argument."
Yes. I was being a bit sarcastic there. It's supposed to be this long chain of cause and effect--go the right preschool, succeed at the right grade school...etc. all the way up to college. And why are parents here way freaked out about their kids school? Because they are afraid the kid won't get into Harvard.
I hope it was a little clear I was ridiculing that line of thinking. But I was also saying--even if it is true...so what! It's just absurd.
But we are crazy if we think some don't worship where people go to school. I have seen it so much myself. You get to be just a little bit better than other people even though somehow everyone knows you are not. It's like the Heinz catsup in the generic bottle v. the Heinz catsup in the Heinz bottle. Everyone wants the Heinz bottle. Why? Because we are idiots!
My parents are also wildly successful like yours from their state college degrees. (I do think society is becoming more stratified and this is why parents are freaked out, however. So I think the upward mobility our parents experienced may be a thing of the past.)
You bring up another issue...the atmosphere in inner city schools. I remember everyone was beating each other up and sniffing glue at my grade school but this seemed normal to me, in its way. I had nothing to compare it to. I was scared of getting beat up--but I didn't even tie it to the neighborhood or anything. (True, the black girls were the ones who were always beating me up. But even that did not seem like anything weird.) And as a parent, I would never, ever let my kid be in a truly dangerous environment. One of my friends is very wealthy and chose to live in a less swanky neighborhood and one of her kids was beaten very badly. So that is a major drag...I just haven't even gotten that far in my thinking yet.
And as far as suburbs go, Brookline is so seductive. Those huge trees...the parks...it really is a compelling place to me because of its kind of funky feel. So I cannnot say the 'burbs are not calling me.
I think I was partly tired, I should know well enough you were being a little sarcastic. Its a hotspot for me though, can you tell? I have a lot of friends who I like and respect that don't quite get it. I also was living in SF during a really loud chapter of the public versis charter school debate, it will be interesting to see what happens to a lot of city public schools.
My mom actually was so thin and fragile when she went to school that all the big black girls in her neighborhood watched out for her a bit, a lot of her dates wouldn't walk her all the way home but they did. You can hardley blame them for moving to the suburbs tout suite, huh? Yeah my parents are pretty interesting. They are definitely comfortable but the same effort and energy goes into every decision about spending any penny now the same as it did then.
I have to admit, I consider my part of Brookline urban even though we're technially a suburb, I mean I'm a 1 minute walk from Boston and that part is the back of Mission Hill. of course my area now has a "beautification counsel" but we also have a housing project. I like the funkiness too, its a really unique place. There are the stodgy parts too, and I don't know that I'd like them the same way.
Yes. I was being a bit sarcastic there. It's supposed to be this long chain of cause and effect--go the right preschool, succeed at the right grade school...etc. all the way up to college. And why are parents here way freaked out about their kids school? Because they are afraid the kid won't get into Harvard.
I hope it was a little clear I was ridiculing that line of thinking. But I was also saying--even if it is true...so what! It's just absurd.
But we are crazy if we think some don't worship where people go to school. I have seen it so much myself. You get to be just a little bit better than other people even though somehow everyone knows you are not. It's like the Heinz catsup in the generic bottle v. the Heinz catsup in the Heinz bottle. Everyone wants the Heinz bottle. Why? Because we are idiots!
My parents are also wildly successful like yours from their state college degrees. (I do think society is becoming more stratified and this is why parents are freaked out, however. So I think the upward mobility our parents experienced may be a thing of the past.)
You bring up another issue...the atmosphere in inner city schools. I remember everyone was beating each other up and sniffing glue at my grade school but this seemed normal to me, in its way. I had nothing to compare it to. I was scared of getting beat up--but I didn't even tie it to the neighborhood or anything. (True, the black girls were the ones who were always beating me up. But even that did not seem like anything weird.) And as a parent, I would never, ever let my kid be in a truly dangerous environment. One of my friends is very wealthy and chose to live in a less swanky neighborhood and one of her kids was beaten very badly. So that is a major drag...I just haven't even gotten that far in my thinking yet.
And as far as suburbs go, Brookline is so seductive. Those huge trees...the parks...it really is a compelling place to me because of its kind of funky feel. So I cannnot say the 'burbs are not calling me.
Your parents sound very interesting...
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My mom actually was so thin and fragile when she went to school that all the big black girls in her neighborhood watched out for her a bit, a lot of her dates wouldn't walk her all the way home but they did. You can hardley blame them for moving to the suburbs tout suite, huh? Yeah my parents are pretty interesting. They are definitely comfortable but the same effort and energy goes into every decision about spending any penny now the same as it did then.
I have to admit, I consider my part of Brookline urban even though we're technially a suburb, I mean I'm a 1 minute walk from Boston and that part is the back of Mission Hill. of course my area now has a "beautification counsel" but we also have a housing project. I like the funkiness too, its a really unique place. There are the stodgy parts too, and I don't know that I'd like them the same way.
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