Extra-curricular programs for poor children may help them
succeed in school, but do they get to the root of the problem?
Mike Rose argues that intervention programs actually reinforce
the individualistic paradigm that creates and justifies poverty.
A version of this blog was published as "Character Education Is
Not Enough to Help Poor Kids" in the January 23, 2013 edition of
The Christian Science Monitor . It is republished with
permission from Mike Rose's blog The foster care system failed
Sam miserably. There wasn’t a nurturing household in his long
string of placements. He grew up on his own, got into trouble
with the law, kicked around in odd jobs, and found the community
college where he turned his life around. Sam is 25, a big guy
with a full smile who cares deeply about education and leading a
meaningful life. Though he’s been sleeping in his car for a
semester—we finally got him housing—he’s maintained strong
grades, participates in student government, and works on campus
as a tutor and in a summer pr