01
in my life for this dream.” –Isaac, 11th grade
1
When Isaac walks across the stage to collect
if my brothers can do this, why can’t I?
his high school diploma, with his family cheering
If my mom can do this, why can’t I?”
him on, it will not be an accomplishment he takes for granted.
Isaac was also struck by the realization that his lifelong aspiration—becoming a registered
There was a time when it looked like it might
nurse—might slip out of reach. For Isaac, it
not happen. He’d struggled during his freshman
was a goal to which he was deeply committed.
year, including experiencing a period of
“I can’t give up on a dream that I’ve always had
homelessness, and had encountered adults in
since I was a little boy. I’m willing to take any
school who undermined his belief in himself—
chance in my life for this dream.”
some quite explicitly. “There were many people telling me I couldn’t make it,” says Isaac, who attends a small public high school. “I stopped going to school. I’d sign in and leave.” Eventually, his guidance counselor told him he wasn’t on track to graduate with his class. He found himself contemplating the pain he would cause his family if he didn’t earn that diploma. “It hurt. I was looking at myself like,
TNTP-OpportunityMyth_final.indd 1
THE OPPORTUNITY MYTH
“I’m willing to take any chance
After taking on extra credit, staying late, writing essays—“whatever it takes”—he got himself back on track to graduate. Despite his early struggles, Isaac invested deeply in school. He did everything he was supposed to do to reach his goals.
But has school held up its end of the deal?
8/21/18 12:52 PM
