Sam Horn

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN YOUTH EDUCATION AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: HOW TIME TO RISE IS WORKING TO MITIGATE THESE PROBLEMS

Education is a vital aspect of children’s early development. A child’s ability to learn and think will offer future success while providing these children with the opportunity to be a contributor to society. Education is a gift that one can use to affect humanity. As Nelson Mandela states, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yet, in many schools across the world, young children are compounded with issues that affect their path to finding a vision of the future. The detrimental aspects within a child’s upbringing are poorly affecting their educational and youth development. Furthermore, harmful elements of a child’s upbringing can drain inspiration for learning, hinder ability to have independent thought, and inhibit a vision of the future. During a child’s development, their family’s socioeconomic situation, relationship with their parent(s), and lack of their school’s educational resources lead to their detriment.

A family’s socioeconomic environment plays a major role in the child’s ability to develop. The American Psychological Association researched the effect of socioeconomic status on early childhood development. The group defined socioeconomic status as “quality of life attributes as well as opportunities and privileges afforded to people within society.” Within their findings, the association found that socioeconomic status, also known as SES, “affects overall human functioning,” explaining how a family’s SES can contribute to the benefit or detriment of their “physical or mental health.” SES can drastically alter a child’s stress and anxiety levels while changing their behavior based on their socioeconomic status. The American Psychological Association determined that SES affects their educational abilities, not just their psychological and physical health. The group discovered that socioeconomic status has a series of effects on a child’s educational outcome. For example, “Low SES and [high] exposure to adversity are [directly] linked to decreased educational… [achievements]” (“Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic Status”). Also, influences and experiences at a young age can have a “lasting impact on learning” their “linguistic, cognitive, and socio-emotional skills.” Furthermore, children who were a part of a poor socioeconomic family status were more likely to have “significantly less linguistic knowledge,” and have average literary skills “five years behind those of high-income students.” Likewise, their abilities in mathematics are negatively impacted. The American Psychological Association determined that children from impoverished families “score at least ten percent lower than the national average” in mathematics. Children with low SES are oftentimes, “more likely to be absent from school through their educational experiences.” This not only hurts their intellectual abilities but also “increases the learning gap between them and their wealthier” classmates (“Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic Status”). Furthermore, the dropout rates of high school students in impoverished environments have increased, while the national rates of high school dropouts have continually decreased. Students who fall in the low socioeconomic status category are “five times” more likely to “fail to graduate”

than middle SES families. Moreover, these low SES students are “six times” more likely to “fail to graduate” from high school than the higher socioeconomic percentile (“Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic Status”). The Rand Corporation determined that a significant percentage “of children are disadvantaged in terms of resources available for healthy physical and mental development.” They discovered that “One-fifth of children under… [the age of six] live in poverty,” while “nearly [one-]half of all children face one or more risk factors associated with gaps in school readiness.” Similar to the American Psychological Association, the Rand Corporation found that the detriments of a poor socioeconomic status directly “translate into shortfalls in academic achievement, prosocial behavior, educational attainment, and eventually, greater rates of unemployment and criminality.” The communities and neighborhoods of low socioeconomic status limit childrens’ ability to have positive “social interaction… role models” and other aids, “such as quality child care, health facilities, parks, and playgrounds” which are vital in an early child’s learning and development (Karoly, Kilburn, and Cannon). A family’s socioeconomic status is inevitable to the child. Yet, their SES doesn’t have to control their development. Organizations like Time to Rise offer essential opportunities for children to learn how to improve themselves without the concern of their family’s socioeconomic environment and their family’s financial abilities.

Another detrimental force on a child’s educational development is the lack of a positive parental relationship. Furthermore, a child with a single-parent household faces severe educational and character development risks. The Rand Corporation discovered that kindergarteners in a single-parent household enter school “lagging behind their more advantaged peers in terms of” their social and academic knowledge. Specifically, many children in single-parent households lack “reading and mathematics proficiency,” as well as having issues with their social behaviors. Moreover, children in single-parent families have a lower willingness to learn than those of double-parent families. English writing proficiency is also another lacking factor of a child in a single-parent household. In the general population of school children, only “18 percent of children overall are not familiar with basic…[English] print or writing.” Yet, in single-parent households, that percentage grows to 32 percent if the children’s “mothers have less than a high school education.” (Karoly, Kilburn, and Cannon). A study out of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health also determined that parental issues cause young children to lack school readiness. The organization claims that “frequent changes of primary caregivers, lack of supervision and poor role modeling” are significant factors negatively impacting a child’s educational readiness and development (Ferguson, Bovaird, and Mueller). Also, children in single-parent families face the developmental risks of lower grades, lack of attending school, and issues relating to their “peers and teachers.” Children with one parent are more likely to “exhibit problems…[of] increased aggression and anxiety” (Kelly). Nevertheless, even in a two-parent household, there are still risk factors involved with a negative relationship between a child and their parents on educational and character development. Scientists based in Guangdong, China, worked on a research project where they learned about the effect of parental-child relationships and the child’s motivation to read. The study, with a testing population of 2,294 eighth grade students, determined that even in households of two parents, the quality of the relationship had a direct correlation with their ability to read and their academic performance. The scientists

hypothesized that the parent’s relationship with their children was the “bridge” between their socioeconomic status and their child’s reading abilities. As discussed in the previous paragraph, low SES creates extreme stress toward parents; this stress is drastically higher if there is only a single parent. The stress of parents due to their socioeconomic status reflects onto their children. The study concluded that parent(s) of low socioeconomic status had increased use of “negative… [and] unkind strategies to get along with their children,” resulting in an unhealthy and “undesirable” parent-to-child relationship. It was proven in the Guangdong study that families of high socioeconomic status had “much more time, energy and knowledge about education, and they are [more] inclined to express more warmth and affection” to promote a better and more well-rounded parentchild relationship. The study found that the higher quality relationship with a parent or classmates, the “higher academic performance;” this includes a higher class rank, final exam grades, and “higher scores in Chinese, English, mathematics, physical education, and music.” A parent’s emotional enthusiasm offers a child more encouragement and motivation to “enhance their academic performance and reading ability” (Chen, Kong, Gao, and Mo). Time to Rise helps fight this problem by offering academic support and encouragement to these children that might be lacking in their current family situation.

There are factors that risk a child’s poor educational and character development that are not directly related to socioeconomic status or the quality of a parent-to-child relationship. The American education system can be a complex disarray of public and private schools that differ in quality from state to state. As a right restricted purely to the states, the United States Constitution allows a state to determine numerous facets of a school’s funding and operations. With the exception of government-ordered elements of the education system (the general school coursework), different states use their funding to improve their public education system, while in other states, public schools often struggle to fund their programs. Also, in recent years, the “percentage of new teachers ([with] less than four years of teaching experience) is higher in private schools at 16 percent;” whereas, public schools are lower in percentage due to higher salaries and better benefits. Furthermore, families in a low socioeconomic situation struggle to send their children to private schools due to their high tuition costs. Likewise, according to a study, private schools have a lower student-to-teacher ratio “of 12.2 students compared to 16.1 students” in the average public school class. This leads to higher quality education in certain private schools because children are allotted more time with the teacher because of the smaller class sizes. If a child finds themselves lost or confused on a subject, the teacher will have more time and ability to work with that student with a smaller class size. Therefore, a child in a family with a low socioeconomic status has a lower chance of getting academic help from their teachers. Another factor that can affect a child in a public or private school is a positive environment. Private schools have the capability and restrictions to “screen who they [choose to] allow in[to their school];” unlike a public school system that has little to no choice whether a student can attend that specific school. A private school’s conditions offer students a statistically “more positive peer environment,” sometimes leaving a child in public school to fight to find a positive environment. Due to lack of funding and resources, public schools are “more focused on the core classes, often at the expense of more peripheral subjects.” All private schools have a general “focus on preparing” their students for the collegiate setting. Due to these academic opportunities, students in

private schools score an average of “4 points higher on the ACT test” (Lindenberger). Therefore, students whose families are of low socioeconomic status don’t have the opportunities to attend expensive private schools. They are left with the public school system in their local neighborhoods, placing a ticket in an uncontrollable lottery that determines the quality of their public school. If their public school does not offer highquality education, their educational opportunities will suffer. Moreover, without the ability to have a high-quality education, a compounding effect, in turn, leaves them with few opportunities to develop a strong character. This compounding effect leaves children to have little to no vision of their future.

The non-profit organization, Time to Rise, is offering children who suffer from the detrimental effects of a low socioeconomic position, struggling family situations, and lack of educational resources the opportunity to improve. Year by year, Time to Rise fulfills their motto of providing “at-risk youth the opportunity to learn and grow–one summer at a time” (Time to Rise: “About Us”). Their use of academic enrichment opportunities, while they contribute to the evolution of the student’s character development, offers these children the opportunity to discover a vision of their future. Time to Rise illustrates how education is the key to unlocking a child’s vision of their future. Without quality educational opportunities, students struggle to see their potential. Also, a child’s low socioeconomic status and issues with their parental relationships contribute negatively to their growth and prosperity. Thankfully, organizations like Time to Rise are working to fight against these issues by developing a method to provide numerous at-risk children with a better future. Time to Rise is offering these students the ability to become positive contributors to society while uncovering the meaning of their education. Education gives children the ability to make intelligent choices, think critically, and question different aspects of the world around them. A person’s education can allow them to succeed in complex career fields or in their goal in life. People, not just children, who have the ability to independently think, can change the world, and make positive contributions to the world around them.

WORKS CITED “About Us.” Time to Rise, time2rise.org/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. Chen, Qishan, et al. “Effects of Socioeconomic Status, Parent–Child Relationship, and Learning Motivation on Reading Ability.” Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media, 25 July 2018, www. frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01297/full. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. “Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic Status.” American Psychological Association, 2010, www. apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/children-families. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. Ferguson, HB, et al. “The Impact of Poverty on Educational Outcomes for Children.” US National

Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Oct. 2007, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC2528798/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. Karoly, Lynn A., et al. “Children at Risk: Consequences for School Readiness and beyond.” Rand

Corporation, 2005, www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9144.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. Kelly, John. “Does Single Parenting Affect Children?” How Stuff Works, InfoSpace Holdings, 23 Feb. 2021, lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/parenting/parenting-tips/single-parenting-affectchildren.htm#:~:text=Developmental%20Effects%20of%20Having%20a,relating%20to%20 peers%20and%20teachers. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022. Lindenberger, Hudson. “Private School vs. Public School: Facts, Benefits & Statistics.” Fatherly, 12 Oct. 2021, www.fatherly.com/love-money/private-school-vs-public-school-facts-benefits-statistics/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2022.

REFLECTION: SAM HORN

REFLECTING ON TIME TO RISE

An organization whose mission is to support at-risk and underprivileged youth is a cause worthy to support. As a student at a college preparatory school, I understand the gift and importance of quality education and what it has the possibility to do for a person. In a recent English paper on the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, I wrote about the importance of reading and its effect on one’s ability to think critically, speculate, and question different aspects of the world. During my time reading this novel, I discovered how organizations like Time to Rise are working to prevent a society like that of Fahrenheit 451 by promoting a generation built by their education. I wrote about the importance of a child’s ability to read and the impact reading has on early development. Especially at a young age, the value of learning, reading, and absorbing information is vital to growth and development into adulthood; restricting children from learning causes them to hold no value as a citizen or make a difference in the world. I wrote, “Children should be allowed to have their minds wander, speculating about a passage from a book, lecture, or entity that offers new information. A child should grow up with a capacity to think, the most vital skill that is oftentimes overlooked in certain aspects of the general education system. Rather than participating in complex mathematical equations, scientific methods, or memorization of certain topics, having the power to think allows one to understand those elaborate topics. A person who can think will become a mathematician, a scientist, and a contributor to society.”

Throughout my seventy hours spent volunteering with Time to Rise, I realized that this organization was providing students the ability to do just that; think for themselves. As children, their willingness to read, do math equations, and write sentences was reluctant in the beginning; As a current student, and once a child the same age as the children I was volunteering for, I felt empathetic to their indisposition. Yet within several days, many of the kids seemed inspired, wanted to read, complete math problems, and absorbed as much information as possible. I discovered that the starting point of this inspiration was in science class; the students stopped thinking about how they were in school and were focused on their mission of problem-solving the current task at hand. Their minds creatively wandered, thinking of ways to perfect their lab experiments, creating the most air-resistant parachute, or making ice cream from cream and ice cream salts to learn about melting points and reactions. Sure, any student would enjoy inhaling ice cream rather than solving math problems, but their impulse to learn grew over the course of the weeks. Their focus and willingness to comprehend how to solve a math problem or their patience to sound out a complex word while reading grew.

Time to Rise affected these kids’ desire to learn; the teachers, counselors, and their classmates impacted the students’ willingness to learn, problem-solve, and think. Time to Rise’s environment provides a stable pathway in which they offer their students academic and enrichment opportunities along with a character education initiative while offering them a vision of their future potential.