On foreign websites, there is a small cartoon "On the Plate" which has won hundreds of thousands of praises. Comics show how children who grew up in two different environments, rich and poor, step by step embarked on a completely different life. (The cartoon is from the cartoonist Toby Morris, and it has been briefly translated for your convenience. If you have any mistakes, please feel free to ask. )
The child on the left is called Richard. His family is well-off, his room is dry and warm, his bookcase is full of books, and his refrigerator is full of food. The girl on the right is Paula. Her family is poor and her room is humid and noisy. There is nothing at home but people coming and going, and she often feels uncomfortable.
Richard's parents can do anything for their children, so can Paula's parents, but they have to work two jobs for it.
Richard went to a good school with rich resources, excellent students and dedicated teachers. On the other hand, in Paula's school, the class size is large, the funds are insufficient, the teachers are under great pressure, and they often feel tired.
Richard's parents have high expectations of him. Looking at his B+ report card, Richard's parents think it's time to hire a tutor to improve his grades. But Paula's parents have different expectations for her grades. When they see her grades, they will say, "B? Not bad! "
These little surprises, day after day, year after year. ......
Richard can study wholeheartedly in college, and his parents can pay his college tuition; Paula, on the other hand, has to go to a technical school while working, and at the same time she can't make ends meet.
These differences gradually developed into an insurmountable gap.
Later, Richard's father can arrange an internship for him by saying hello, and Paula's father needs to take care of him when he is sick.
The differences in their lives are not so easy to detect. It was not until Richard applied for a loan that it was easier to get approval, but Paula's loan application was rejected, suggesting that she could apply for a commercial loan.
Richard entered the company and began to believe that he should stand at the top of society. He relies on himself. Paula, on the other hand, found a job as a waiter and began to learn to "know herself clearly". At Richard's celebration, Richard and Paula met. As a waiter, Paula delivers food to guests. At this time, someone asked Richard curiously, "What is the secret of success?" Richard picked up the food handed by Paula and said confidently, "less complaining and more doing." I hate people who only ask for it. There is no free lunch, and no one will arrange everything for me. "
Richard, on the other hand, neglected all kinds of resources brought to him by his parents from an early age. There is a classic saying at the beginning of The Great Gatsby: "When you want to criticize others, you should remember that not all people in this world have the advantages you have." Because you haven't experienced other people's lives, don't define and judge anyone and things easily.
The cartoon reaction may be extreme, Richard in reality may not be so smooth, and Paula may do better. I don't judge and guide Richard and Paula. What I want to say is: Are poor children destined to be poor? How can poor children turn over? The impact of this cruel gap between the rich and the poor may affect generation after generation.
The ancients said: one life, two fortunes, three feng shui, four virtues and five studies. We all believed that "knowledge changes fate" before, but is it still applicable now? There was an online article "It is difficult for poor families to get out" before. "Class solidification" has also been mentioned again. In fact, the more stable the society, the more obvious the class solidification, and the more difficult it is to break the class barrier. American universities have done a data study before, which confirmed this phenomenon.
In 20 17, The New York Times released a data about American college students. According to the data, there are 38 universities in the United States, including five Ivy League schools (Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, Pennsylvania and Brown), and they admit more students from the former 1% families than the total number of students from the latter 60% families. A large number of elite schools are occupied by the upper class.
There is a saying in the gospel of Matthew in the New Testament: "If you have anything, give it to him to make him more than enough; No, even what he has will be taken away. " This allusion, later called "Matthew effect", is used to describe the social phenomenon that the stronger the strong, the weaker the weak, and is widely used in economics, social psychology, education and other fields. The "Matthew effect" in education is mainly reflected in the plundering of educational resources by the upper class.
In fact, not only educational resources, but also all kinds of resources we come into contact with are unevenly distributed. Rich or poor, more money and less money is only a superficial phenomenon. It is the environment, resources, thinking, vision and high-quality contacts that really open the gap.