Education main key to successful job
Education continues to be one of the keys to finding and retaining a successful job. I am a product of this process, and I value my experiences at Ball State University both in and out of the classroom. I met a group of great people we know as the Lambda Sigma Chi’s. My attitude toward education began as a youth and continued after Ball State. I am still learning … every day.
My example is not always enough to inspire the young people I work with every week in the different age groups at the church. They see their world as it is, and many of these children of minority ethnic groups don’t see a pretty picture. The news is in the headlines, too. Nationally, Black unemployment is 14.8 percent, with Hispanics at 12.15 percent, while whites have 8.5 percent, and the percentages increase with males in the minorities, too, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of the whites, 71.7 percent, own their home while only 49.1 percent of Hispanics and 47.4 percent of Blacks own their home.
There are times in my youth I disagreed with my parents that my homework was more important than a favorite TV show I wanted to watch. As a father now, I hear the same talk from my two teenage children, and I give them the same advice I received when I was their age. I know the public school environment has changed drastically from when I was in school. There can be more violence, and financial cutbacks in educational programs and technology. I’m sure words like Twitter have a new meaning from when I was in school.
As a parent, I work to keep my children’s classrooms the best they can be, and I want to be involved in their education. I need to show them that education is really a key to getting a good job and keeping it. This is also the message I carry through the different programs within my church youth ministry. I have had graduates of my past classes come back to talk with the current groups, and this helps reinforce this message of hope.
Success, by any definition from society or business, has education as a key factor and there are many examples of people in minorities in the last 150 years who rose above environmental elements to become wealthier and have a more affluent life style. Blacks who knew how to read and write were considered threats to the established institution of slavery before the Civil War.
It is important to see education as a process, not just a certificate from a school or college. Elementary schools are linked to middle schools, and high school graduation is important. It is here many youth fall behind. Further education means a four year degree or a two-year program with a community college. Education may mean learning a new computer system or earning a certificate in a related, but different area to keep a current position. No matter how it is viewed, success without education is possible, but the path will be more difficult.
Blacks and minorities still encounter job discrimination on subtle levels, especially in low wage markets, studies show. One way to offset this problem is through more education, which tends to take people out of the low wage range.
Peace be you with always,
Rev. Paul Abernathy
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2
Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.
Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.
