I have completed 5 interviews, and while I cannot say too much about any one interview per se, I feel it is probably okay to talk about them in a general sense. Partially, I wish to write about the interviews because they weigh very heavily on me. These kids are very poor, and have very, very tough lives. Most of them have multiple family members who are quite ill and as a consequence, cannot work. Several of the kids I interviewed have serious health problems themselves. Most live with extended family members. A few have family members in jail and rehab, or who are currently serious drug users. They talk openly about prior abuse, chaotic family lives, and depression. I am shocked by what I hear, to be honest. I did teach in a poor, inner city area. And while I knew of many difficulties in my kid's lives, they were often only shared in bits and pieces, when they became relevant to academic performance or school interactions. In interviews, I get a summary picture of the conflicting pressures on these kids all at once, and it is scary. Not to mention the fact that I think we expect these stories from Black kids, yet are often shielded from the depths of poverty that persist in White communities. While poverty found in Black communities can be more persistent, due to segregation and density, poverty is debilitating in any context.
I am amazed these kids have hopes, dreams, and optimism. They are not "planful" (to use Clausen's terminology), but in their circumstances, who would be? These kids don't need "work ethic" or "personal responsibility", buzz words of a political elite ignorant of the lives of the poor. Most of the kids do work, on top of performing child care and extensive chores in their own homes. They need stability and a consistent family life, a good education system, and healthcare.
Ironically, the town I am working in is solidly republican. And yet everything I have seen here makes me more angry at conservatives. They argue that keeping healthcare privatized gives families "choices". What choices? To cut spending on food, or cut spending on health? To avoid preventative medicine and turn to the emergency room as a last resort? Arguing that private-run health care is a fiscally conservative stance is plain wrong--preventative medicine is hugely cheaper than fixing problems later. Not to mention the money lost in wages and law suits when companies continually dodge payments for medical care. And while children's health care is a more popular measure to support than universal care, no one thinks about the damage done to kids when their parents don't have access to care. When single parents fall ill, who is there to take care of the home? Who makes sure the kids get to school? Who works? These responsibilities either fall to kids, or they simply fall through the cracks.
Like the nation, the town I am living in is segregated by race and class. The middle class folks (a minority) live in one small section of town. Their kids attend the honors classes, and have little contact with the rest of the students who take general education classes. Those on the other side of the divide--the working class and poor kids--have a little more perspective. But not much. And this is the problem with the political system. Segregation of any kind is easy to exploit. Where a lack of understanding exists, politicians can exploit it. So the poor become "shiftless" and "lazy". And the wealthy become "elitist" and "out of touch". And there are facts that can be used to augment these stories. Fewer people in poverty work--although no one mentions this is due to illness, depression, and job cuts. And the wealthy are segregated from the poor--due to lax housing regulation, school tracking, and yes, some old-fashioned classism and racism.
What do we do? And what do we do first? It is a chicken-egg dilemma, to me: housing, healthcare, education, families, jobs (not to mention, civil and human rights). But I suggest we start with healthcare.
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