Who Faces SERIOUS Adversity? Is there a such thing as the Modern USA?

 

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Who Faces SERIOUS Adversity? Is there a such thing as the Modern USA?

Published by Annemarie Sheridan

Many people are passionate about equal opportunity for education and employment. We all want to find good teachers. We all want to be on the same playing field and get recognized for our hard work. No matter what race, ethnic, or cultural background we come from, we all want equal opportunity, right? But as we all know, this is not the case. It depends on where you grew up, your family, your community, and economic factors. 

 

So lets review some points.

Point number one, people deserve their wealth, a stable career, and recognition because of their hard work and not because you got a handout. If you didn’t work hard, one could argue that you don’t deserve a great job or wealth. Our society respects people more if they earned their wealth and not because a family member told them, I’ll give you a hand out of million dollars if you do this or they got an opportunity “just because of a family connection.” Don’t give the reason you worked grueling hard when you had a high profile connection. High profile connections make it easier to become a millionaire or get a successful business. That’s obvious. Should we dismiss the people from acknowledging their hard work? Well, that's just silly. But it was more comfortable than the average person.

 

"...people deserve their wealth, a stable career, and recognition because of their hard work and not because you got a handout."

 

Point number two, you will have a simpler life if you have a supportive family, supportive community, you are able to get access to a good education, or by some miracle, you luckily get connected with someone that actually cares about you that changes your life drastically. Don’t give me the line, “I’m a high school drop out, and I came from nothing!” Did you really come from nothing if you came from a supportive family? Yeah… Okay… That’s just a weird line to say that.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Pursuing Compatibility (@pursuingcompatibility)

Point number three, times are changing. If you are tested to have a “High IQ,” no matter your race, ethnic background, economic class, if you’re an orphan, and even if you have a mental health condition like ADHD or autism, you are more likely to get ahead in life and get more opportunities. Why? Because it's looked at as “Oh! You have a high IQ! We have to offer you scholarships and all kinds of opportunities because you’re guaranteed success! So it makes us look good.” We assume a good test taker is worth giving a scholarship. Huh. We also have lazy students because they need to be more challenged to stay out of trouble in school. But they will still probably be fine because they are lucky enough to have the brain chemistry to “figure it out on their own.” Or they had smart parents that taught them everything, and they don’t want to admit it to people or acknowledge it.

To be fair, if you have a high IQ but have really bad EQ and poor relationship skills, you might not be a productive part of society because you cannot get along with anybody where nobody will want to work for you or hire you due to that.

 

Point number four, racial and cultural support groups. Unfortunately, racism and prejudice still exist, and to be fair I can understand why we have these groups. However, due to these networks and groups, people can get ahead and find equal opportunities. Times are changing, and we have much more open-minded and less prejudiced people in our society than they used to be. Are we still a work in progress? Of course! For me to not acknowledge that is dumb. 

 

So who faces serious adversity? Who faces the hardships of finding stable economic employment and equal opportunity to get a quality education? 

 

High IQ people or people that are just good at school will more likely be fine. But what about the students or people that need special education? Huh… We never talk about them. I guess they don’t exist? Oh, wait! They live, but in some parts of the world, they are ignored by society because they can't succeed. Sadly part of that is true without the proper good educators to support them. 

Well, let’s review. Special education is not available everywhere, and many teachers don’t even bother trying to help the students who need extra help in school. Those teachers that don’t bother trying should be ashamed of themselves. Also, special education costs A LOT! Everybody knows this. It's cheaper for people with high IQs, the average person who works hard, and people good at school, but it's not less expensive for students who need special education? WOW! Talk about adversity and inequality! As inflation occurs, it’s getting worse. Nowadays, students who need special education can get their needs if the family has money and resources. But the families or communities that want to support the students with their educational needs cannot provide support because the cost nowadays is ATROCIOUS! 

Photo Credit: Image by Julie Bang © The Balance 2019

Special needs teachers are absolute miracle workers if they know how to do their job right. They should get paid well! But when we have a society where it’s clearly unfair in the cost to support people with special needs, we have a severe problem. 

What else is there? There’s the high IQ or average kids that feel they cannot relate to a student who has a disability or needs a form of special education. Those kids need a humility lesson and stop the entitlement. When I taught students in South Korea, I encouraged my students to help their peers who need extra help in academics because it teaches them empathy and humility.

 

Oh yes, there’s the idea in the workplace that, “Well, they have accommodations, so they’re a pain in my butt.” So adults that need accommodations already know they need them. You don’t need to make them feel worse. Some can independently provide their own adjustments, and some might need extra help depending on the situation. Have we ever even considered giving accommodations in job interviews? Not really because they do not care nor understand. Even though we have different personalities and ethnic backgrounds, it's not okay to have different brain chemistries? Do we see the inconsistency?

 

“Hiring someone out of pity” instead of hiring for their hard work and built talent is stupid. Providing equal opportunities is fine but don’t hire because you feel sorry for them. Hire them for their great potential and if they need more training, so what? They have the work ethic to overcome their hurdles. You might be surprised.

 

There’s also the “I’m not going to promote that employee because they can’t handle the job because they have an issue.” There’s a new concept to educate yourself on people with mental health conditions. Not everybody with a mental health condition is super mentally delayed or limited. Before making assumptions that a person is incapable, try educating yourself on their specific mental health condition. Also, not everybody with a mental health condition will harm another person and will lose control of all of their emotions in every situation. Educate yourself.

One point I’d like to add is why we don’t have sign language offered as an optional language in every high school is ridiculous! Not sure why we have ignored that when we got foreign languages offered while the deaf community does not have as many equal opportunities in jobs. It’s weird. 

 

In summary, people struggling with disabilities and needing special education are not always getting equal opportunities unless you have a high IQ, good at school, or can “figure it out.” Sometimes talent and skills are built over time with life experience and a proper foundation of education. A person cannot get that without the right support. 

 

If you are lucky with a high IQ, good at school, and have had a more comfortable life, I recommend getting a humility lesson. Now go hang out with those that don’t have that luxury or overcame obstacles from adversity.  

 

Written By: Annemarie Sheridan

Founder of Pursuing Compatibility

Host & Creative Producer of Pursuing Compatibility Podcast

Join www.GenieMatch.life - An inspirationally, compassionate unique forum platform

Biography @ https://pursuingcompatibility.com/about-founder



Comments