Not Our Parents' World

Maybe all generations come to this realization at some point, they probably do, but in recent months I am especially struck by the differences between challenges at raising my kids versus the challenges my parents faced.  At the core the goals are the same: raising a happy, healthy and well educated child. 

When I was little almost everyone I knew lived in a house they owned.  Typically one parent did not work and that was affordable.  Some could even afford to send their kids to private school.  And if they could, there was a place for their child.  This is not the case today, at least where I live.

Parents typically both work and many still cannot afford a house.  Of those who can they must pay for childcare and/or private school because the school system that their taxes pay for is a wreck.  The public schools get a grade of C and the private schools and A-, if you can get your child in.  The school lunches are filled with highly processed foods and the time spent on teaching to and taking standardized tests eats into any actual learning that could be done.

While it seems there are more opportunities in classes, jobs, and education then ever before, there is also a scarcity of resources.  Too many kids are qualified for the schools while there just aren't enough out there to provide a quality education.  Competition has neve been stiffer.  A recent report estimates that top tier schools such as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton accepted only 7% of applicants.  I can only imagine what it will be like when my daughters are applying.

So with a scarcity of resources and a demand to work harder for those resources,  I pause to wonder what it is all for and have we lost our goal or is it just a lottery no matter what you do.  Are there a lucky few who work hard and get their kids on the golden path and will that path even make a difference?  In the long run,  probably not.  At this point the elite is more elite than ever before and the opportunities for those in the middle are dwindling.

I am a problem solver by nature but this one might just too big to handle certainly it is not the world my parents raised me in.