Week Ten: I am Lucky (and I think you are too)

When I was in college I saw a commercial once that depicted a man painting a picture from within a wheelchair.  This would not have been terribly uncommon or memorable had the man not been using his teeth to paint because he was unable to move any of the the rest of his body.  Throughout this short clip he struggled to complete his painting, dropping his brush many times.  The commercial captured what appeared to be a very frusterating process, but enjoyable process for the artist.  In the end, his labor of love was complete and the commercial just showed three words typed by the artist and read by computer softward that said.  "I am lucky."  I wish I could find this add on youtube to share with you, I unfortunately could not.  I do remember it vividly though and came back to me this week.

I don’t tell myself this enough but I am truly lucky to have the opportunities to pursue graduate education.  This is not something that many people have the opportunity to do.  As of 2005 according to the National Institute of Educational Statistics only 5.9% of Americans had completed a masters degree and 1.1% completed a doctorate (National Institute, 2011).  Wikipedia also has some charts and graphs associated with educational attainment that are worth looking into.  The bottom line is I find myself in a very small group of people who are blessed with a chance to pursue a graduate degree.  This is a message that I need to keep reminding myself of, I sometimes get bogged down in the work and the difficulty associated with the program and do not think about what a privilege this is.

As a part of a class discussion this week the following article was discussed about the shape of the future of higher education.  The article is written by Walter Benn Michaels, professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and titled “The Trouble with Diversifying Faculty”, it was published in Liberal Education which can be found here. The premise is that the primary group that is oppressed in admission processes of universities are financially underprivileged students. One of the summary quotes as highlighted by Rick Reis a faculty member at Stanford was:

“And, of course, what it also means is that the underrepresentation of African Americans in colleges and universities has nothing to do with those universities keeping out African Americans (or, for that matter, Hispanics and Native Americans). Universities don’t keep out minority students; they keep out poor students.”

It is not my intention for this quote to cause controversy or debate, but more an appreciation for what could become a growing trend.  I mention it more because it reminds my of just how lucky I am to have ended up where I have.  I want to make sure that I use this time and this privilege for good.  This just fortifies in me the purpose of my educational pursuits.  I want to further myself to help narrow the access gaps in higher education.  It is unfair to presume that our country can continue to grow and solve the complex problems we face if we continue to shut out access to education from anyone.  

The level of success I will achieve on this venture I am not sure, but it is still important to me to have a reminder every once and a while that I am lucky, and that anyone else pursuing graduate education is too.


Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.


Resources:

National Institute of Educational Statistics. (2011). Retrieved from, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_009.asp

Michaels, Walter Benn (2011). The Trouble with Diversifying the Faculty. Liberal education, 97 (1), p. 14.