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Kenneth Oldfield Humble And Hopeful Analysis

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Kenneth Oldfield Humble And Hopeful Analysis
Being a first-generation student is hard work, especially being part of the low income working-class. There is no one there to hold your hand to get through the process. Yes, there are counselors and advisers, but they have other students to help as well, which means they will not be with you every step of the way. First-generation students being the first in their family to attend college, makes it easier for the student to feel discouraged from the responsibilities and having to figure things out on their own. Since college is sought out to be only for the upper-class who do not lack cultural capital, and have relatives or siblings who have gone to college, prevent the lower class students to feel as if they might have a chance to succeed …show more content…
One of the lessons that stood out to me was the lesson four “I wish I had known that college is not just for smart people”. In this lesson, Oldfield talks about a struggle he had with his study habits and the generalization of the low income working class. Considering the fact that he was a first generation student and starting off with a negative mind set, Oldfield continued using the old study habits from high school. These study habits led him to not do so well on tests. Nearing the end of the semester, Oldfield got his act together and changed his study habits. His new habits payed off, he started passing tests and got better grades on his report card. Being a first-generation and part of the working class, of course many people did not expect this from Kenneth Oldfield, especially a wealthy relative of one of his friends. This relative had said, “Oh Tom, I just don’t under-stand. If Ken Oldfield can get through college, anyone can.What’s wrong with you?!” about Oldfield after discovering that “Tom” had dropped out of college. It was a surprise to This generalization about the working class still exists today. From the lesson I understand that no matter how well the lower class students do in school, the socioeconomic status reigns over
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