News-Record.com

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Kris Patel

The News & Record's report ("Dollars and Sense," Oct. 9) on the link between poverty, wealth and education was disappointing and feeds into the stereotype that if you are poor, you cannot succeed. My husband's experience demonstrates that this simply is not true.

His father came to this country with literally a few dollars. His family moved into the basement of an apartment building where his mother slept against the door to keep homeless people from coming inside. Eventually, they moved into a better home but never became economically stable.

Here are the jobs of some of my husband's family members: two uncles are cooks at Denny's, one aunt works at McDonald's, another is a manager of Taco Bell (after working for years as an employee), and another uncle worked for years as a cook at Red Lobster.

Now, let me tell you about their kids. My husband, after financing his own college and medical school education, is now a very well liked and respected physician in High Point. Two of his cousins are in medical school while another is applying. One is in high school making straight A's. Another came to this country three years ago not speaking any English and is now in the fifth grade making straight A's.

Why have my husband and his cousins succeeded? Like my parents (who were not wealthy, either), their parents have had clear expectations of their children: try your best in school, do your homework, respect your teachers, follow the rules, go to college, have goals, don't pity yourself, etc. Unfortunately, not every child has such parents.

I don't know how to change the attitudes of irresponsible parents; however, I do know that monetary wealth alone would not make them value education.

Articles like the one written are counterproductive and demeaning to the parents who are economically disadvantaged but are trying to instill the values of hard work and discipline in their children, and they are also insulting to the people who have achieved educational and/or financial success through hard work.

The newspaper ought to promote the idea that the value parents put on education and the work ethic of the student are more strongly related to success than is money.

I hope that economically disadvantaged families will read about my husband and his family and see that high expectations are the key to later success.

The writer lives in High Point.