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Essay / Growing up in poverty determines a person's destiny
How can you expect everyone to achieve the same goal without everyone having the same necessities to accomplish it? This would be like expecting a fish to climb a tree the same way a squirrel does. Many people set unrealistically high expectations of the long-sought American dream and apply those expectations to everyone else; However, not everyone experiences the exact same circumstances. The allure of anticipated success is an illusion that has denied the reality of American life for many Americans, because a person's circumstances as a child directly impact their future opportunities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIncome inequality is one of the most deeply rooted flaws in the idea of the American dream. Research by the NCCP, National Center for Children in Poverty, showed that the highest percentage of Americans' income increased by $180,000, middle earners increased by $400, and the lowest earners increased by $200. . Coming from a low-income family and earning only $200 more, it would be extremely difficult to compete with middle-income families, and it would be nearly impossible to compete with the top percentage earning $180,000 more. This means that low-income Americans would have to overcome large financial differences before even considering moving into a higher income group. Economic mobility is the ability of an individual or family to move from one income group to another. In the United States, it is at an all-time low and is currently falling. As a result of this setback, families often slide into downward mobility, meaning they fall into a lower income group. The lack of mobility alone shows how unequal the idea of achieving the American dream is. A family living in poverty is very unlikely to make it out of poverty, causing their children to continue the cycle of poverty, which can hinder their children's ability to succeed later in life in a variety of ways . According to the NCCP, there are approximately fifteen million children. live in poverty. Currently, one in five children in the United States lives in poverty. Research has shown that families struggling with poverty would need almost double the federal poverty level to be able to meet their basic needs, meaning their children would not have access to some necessities. A child born into a family living below the federal poverty line has the potential to struggle later in life, particularly with regard to their learning abilities and overall educational attainment, which only perpetuates the cycle of poverty that is transmitted from parents to their children. is the key to success. With over 82% of poor children whose parents do not even have a high school diploma, it is very unlikely that these children will receive a complete education. They are raised by their parents in a way where schooling is not the priority. When parents don't care about education, neither does the child, which is not their fault, but they are the ones who end up being negatively affected by this mindset. Private schools are out of the question for these children, forcing them to enter the public education system. Although the government considers public education an equal opportunity for a child's education, there are drastic academic differences between these types of schools. This means that due to the economic situation of theirfamily, they are less likely to receive the same education as someone from a high economic status. 53% of low-income families with children are raised by a single parent who is trying to balance maintaining a job while raising their children. As a result, many poor children will leave school to work so they can help their families financially. 30% of children raised in poverty do not graduate from high school. In today's society, almost all jobs require that you have at least completed high school. So even if they currently supported their family when they were teenagers, they will not have the skills to support their own family later in life. Receiving the right education has the potential to take these children further than they could imagine. When a child is educated, he gains confidence and believes that he can achieve the impossible. Education should be the way out of poverty for these children. However, they either drop out of school or do not receive the same educational opportunities that someone from a higher economic class would receive. Without a proper education, they will never have the abilities to succeed financially, socially, etc., which will hinder their overall opportunities later in life. The overall goal of education is to prepare you for anything later in life. Education is the basis of success. The experiences and knowledge you gain throughout your educational journey cannot be found anywhere else. Apart from the mental growth that education brings, it is capable of determining your future success in your career. By furthering your education, such as attending a college or university, you study the field in which you plan to pursue a career and establish a path to achieving that success later. However, with over 17 million children whose parents did not have a college education and some did not even complete high school, these children are not being taught that they need to be educated to succeed . Although one's childhood opportunities determine their future success, many believe that hard work and determination are the key to achieving the American dream. The American people are very naive in believing that everyone can go from nothing to everything. Oprah Winfrey is a great example of a rags to riches story. She was an orphan and had to face many difficulties such as rape, poverty, abuse, etc. However, Winfrey didn't let her childhood disasters stop her from becoming one of the richest people in the world. She used her past as motivation and achieved wonderful things that a poor child, like her, would never have thought possible. Americans view stories like these as motivating and make them believe that they can achieve the same things if they are determined and work hard. On the other hand, an increasing number of jobs are filled by machines. No amount of hard work by a human can ever compare to that of a computer-programmed robot. However, the knowledge and experience gained through school trumps a machine every day. Workers need to be knowledgeable enough to be able to adapt to the rapidly changing technological world we live in today. Without any prior training, machines deprive humans of opportunities to succeed in the workplace. Overall, a person's education and experience have a far greater long-term impact than determination and,.