With so much emphasis on education today, we'll, it would be nice if you could use it! You may find yourself with a PhD and a life of debt while driving Uber or Lyft around your college town. Or maybe you've encountered a Master's Degree snob among your friends, as I have; one of my friends achieved a Master's in Marketing as the first college graduate in her family and has a superiority complex as a result but her second career as a realtor is so so. Doctor's wives with community connections and less education seem to be the competition.
One man I used to know who told me I needed an MBA, back when I had completed an Associate Degree and had to go to work, married himself an MBA and has been on the sofa with the dog a long time.
There was a time when college graduation did almost guarantee a good career start and income. Now, especially due to Covid, we're in a Topsy-Turvy world.
I currently know of a commercial photographer who is working as a school crossing guard, a pastry chef who is delivering Amazon packages, and a woman who completed a vet assistant program who feels lucky to still have her waitress job.
I can testify that libraries that opened are fairly vacant, making me wonder if there will be any need for replacing librarians who retire. Reference desk librarians don't feel like looking things up when patrons can use the internet themself.
Don't get me wrong. I love to read, love to learn, and I think there are reasons for education besides being career ready, but I think we need to start thinking about apprenticeships and being self taught and having "side hustles."
What does this have to do with a lack of what I call formal education among your ancestors? Not so long ago only the rich educated their children - their male children mostly. Heirs were educated even though they didn't have to work.
Student Loans gave people like me a chance to have an education beyond high school.
I found an article about high school drop out rates in 20th century America. Not until the 1930's did most American teens find themselves imagining they could complete high school. During the Great Depression a little more than half of the teen population was in high school. In 1940 half graduated. World War II caused a dip in attendance.
Reading the 1940 census, you may notice children working part time to support a family or children missing. They may appear elsewhere as workers, such as live in servants, or in a boarding house full of laborers. There may also be children no longer in their family groups due to early marriage (14-17), hospitalization (TB institution), living with relatives (city children sent to live and work with farming relatives), and, of course, because they died. The CCCs (1933 -1942) was a work program for unemployed
I know that there were special programs for returning veterans to complete high school. Returning vets were respected.
Did not having an education prevent people from success in life? I know our times are different, but in general no.
Here is an example from my extensive own tree. (This is not my direct line but a branch.)
Great Grandma. Europe agricultural region. No school. Orphan.
Grandma born U.S. rural mining community, family moved to large industrial city. 8th grade education. Poverty. Worked as nanny, then married high school graduate.
Mother. College Graduate. Married classmate. Worked for university whole life in administration. He built houses - own business. Two incomes. Accumulated wealth.
Their daughter. College. Married classmate. College. Year in Japan. No Masters or PhD. Video game design / IT. Great wealth.
Their son. College. In parents' business.
Heir apparent.
Of course, it doesn't always go this way.
But in 5 generations this branch went from abject poverty to respected wealth.
Perhaps the lesson is that it doesn't often happen quickly.
C 2021
