I wrote my second LTE for The Boston Globe after noticing a piece discussing the merits of being a child of affluent parents if applying to private college -- especially during the economic recession.
This letter has a similar theme from the last one, but with an altered framework. Unlike the last letter I sent to the Hampshire Gazette, the article that prompted the Globe letter was influenced by the comments of readers that trailed after the post.
Reading through some of the drivel made me favor the commenting method of sites like Slashdot, which allow the community to rate the best ones up and push the poor ones down.
Anyway, here it is:
The American Dream sure is seeing a revision. Instead of opening her arms to the tired and the poor, she'll just be sure to check your credit rating before opening the gate.
Peter Schworm's piece in Tuesday's Globe (“Economy lifting college prospects of the well heeled”) makes one thing certain – if students from affluent families are more likely to be admitted into private schools than those requiring financial aid, we can be assured that our public schools will see an even greater increase in applications in the coming years as they are turned away from these institutions.
Investment in public higher education is vital during difficult economic times. State community colleges and four year schools are in dire straights. By the end of last year, dramatic increases in applications at state schools (see Boston Globe “Applications soar at public colleges,” Dec. 23, 2008) were already present. We have a choice: we can prioritize education for the next generation of American workers or we can leave education only to the wealthy.
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