Class Rank, the stench of poverity and moving out of a social class.

It started 3 years ago.  I was attending a conference at woodstock hs.   I am not an educator or even educated.

I was at a conference with leadership greater Mchenry county.  It was a class I was taking to gain experience in the community.  The lessons were interesting and cut to the core of my being.  They spoke of the secret language of poverty. As educators they had to  think about the secret language that students were constantly speaking and school, but never said a word out loud.

Those lessons  and lectures really brought home my own existence, my family experience, and explained things that I could never explained before.  My eyes were open and I wasn't sure if I liked what I was looking at.

I hadn't thought about this and while.  A well, not in at least four years.  Until yesterday March 2,  when my son came home telling me how much he hated psychology class.  I asked why and he told me it was because there was no hope for him.  He said that his teacher told him that it was impossible to move up a social class in your lifetime.  Even if it was done, it usually ended with tragic results.  My son went on to explain how is instructor named a long list of celebrities that died or became imprisoned by just by moving up a social class.  They just weren't ready for it.

I know differently.  I moved off and moved on. 

I think I'm going to begin to tell that story.  All the difficulty of moving out of the social class, what it takes to do, and what you have to give up in order to do it.  I know many people share this experience with me. You give up a great deal to do this -- people you love-- in order to do better for yourself and your children.

Some may read this and say that it is  selfishness.  But those who know -- they understand that letting go and moving on is the most selfless thing you can do for your self and for society