The 3 Es
Nope, for those who remember (and that's most of us - repetition does work as a rhetorical device) the 3 Es aren't Blair's Education, Education, Education.
I came to this realisation earlier in the week when reading an article in The Independent by Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class (Verso, 2011): education clearly leads to employment, but if you want to get a head start in either then you have to focus on the individual's environment.
Environment, Education, Employment.
Plain common sense, perhaps, but true. The environment in which we grow up - our family circumstances and socio-economic background - plays a major part in how far we ascend in the academic world and in a career. Such 'cultural capital' - a horrible expression, as Jones points out - means that children get a massive leg up if both parents are middle-class and attended university. Interestingly, many children from middle-class backgrounds at comprehensive schools perform just as well as students in private education.
Class, then, still makes a difference. A recent survey in Scotland found that 'by the age of five, children with better-off, degree-educated parents have, on average, a vocabulary 18 months ahead of their poorer classmates'. We may think that when it comes to employment the recession is no respecter of class, as currently one in four of our 18-24 year olds is unable to find work. But here too there's an inevitable knock-on effect: when 'higher skilled' youth take an 'any job will do' approach, those with lower skills are increasingly edged out of the employment market.
The divide between rich and poor looks set to expand.
Some churches are already seeking to make a difference by forming projects which help teens gain the skills they need for finding work. But we arguably need more initiatives that aid out of work young people now whilst helping parents create a better learning environment for pre-school children.
The believers in Acts 2 famously had 'everything in common' - sharing out possessions and finances in order to meet each other's needs. What would it mean for us to start sharing 'cultural capital'? What will it take to make sure that the advantages our own children have experienced are passed on to others as well?
Environment, Education, Employment.
Environment, Education, Employment.
Well if repetition worked for Blair...
Jason Gardner
Links
Owen Jones' article in The Independent
'Increasing problems of youth unemployment', The Independent
Christian Education and Employment Initiatives
Chapel St - in particular see their 'family hub' project
SPEAR - helping teens gain the skills they need for finding work
The Lighthouse Group - a project that works with young people who are at risk of exclusion or are already excluded from school.
Pecan - helping people of different ages and backgrounds find employment
Evening Standard literacy campaign which uses reading mentors for children struggling to read
Starting up chess groups in schools and communities in order to promote brain training
Comments
My parents were both from working-class backgrounds and neither went to university. However, I and many of my contemporaries in similar circumstances succeeded academically and are, as a result, now "middle-class", due to one advantage we had, which is not available to the present generation of youngsters - the opportunity to attend a grammar school, the most effective engine of social mobility. I suggest that reintruduction of selection at 11+ would be preferable to the current trend towards social engineering in the allocation of university places. Also the article assumes that a gap between rich and poor, in the world generally, is a bad thing and should be reduced. The causes of poverty is a complex subject but I would suggest that, ultimately, as Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 2:7, "The Lord sends poverty and wealth". The relief of poverty advocated in Scripture, such as the "radical sharing and equality" referred to by Greg Smith, in both Old and New Testaments, applies primarily within the people of God, although of course we still have some responsibility to help the unbelieveing poor, in accordance with the principle in Galatians 6:10. The idea of sharing "cultural capital" is interesting, but I am not sure it is part of the New Testament pattern for church life.
I thoroughly agree with Jason. I also think that if we started formal educaction at least a year later in accordance with what we know about child development, it would be more of an even playing field for all and we would have fewer stressed children even among the middle classes and fewer would be labelled as difficult. The following clip gives food for thought. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=channel
Thanks Jason for highlighting some issues which have persisted for centuries...Highlighted again by the recession and the growth in numbers of "working" class NEETs.. Church projects to help are worthwhile and necessary.. we are trying to address this with intitiatives from various churches up here in Preston. But they are not sufficient...Society is becoming more unequal..with bad effects that are becoming more widely recognised by economists and sociologists ("The Spirit Level") The Bible as I read it favours radical sharing and equality.. yet the Church.. especially the Evangelical church in the West remains largely Middle and upper class (and turns working class and poorer people into middle class). We've failed miserably to become a church of the poor... and only rarely in some places and groups seek to become a church for, or alongside the poor. I fear what God will say when we face him in another place. Meanwhile tahnk God and pray for Church Urban Fund, Tear Fund, Community Mission, Frontier Youth Trust and all who struggle faithfully to make a difference.
Thanks for the comments, as you can see from the links connected to this article the church is tackling these issues with renewed vigour which is wonderful and we should continue the work of highlighting best practise in the fields of employment and education to churches up and down the country.
Date:
2011-10-21 17:03:08
Author:
Jason Gardner