Privilege

[andrewducker]

There's been a meme going around about privilege, which was vaguely interesting in its own right.

More interesting, though, is the post here that heron61 pointed me at, about what kind of privileges make a difference at college/university level, including all sorts of things you might never have thought of.

I, by the way, am terribly privileged. Partially because of money, which was always there for the things that mattered when I was growing up. Which doesn't mean large amounts of expensive foreign holidays (when we went abroad it was usually in a cheap, off-season way - we went to Austria by coach, for instance). But it did mean that when I needed additional tutoring to get through my English GCSE it was possible, and when I needed another year to get my degree it was never going to be an issue. Of course, nepotism helped with cash too - because my father was a doctor when I needed a summer job I was working at the hospital without any problems. And of course, I was working in IT because my father was buying computers before they were either popular or readily affordable for the general populace.

The other, and much more important, part of my privilege was growing up with educated parents who had huge numbers of books, watched documentaries and generally made sure I grew up interested in the world around me.

When I was a teenager I remember one of my brothers telling me that the kids in their class did not believe that we sat around a dinner table each evening, eating together and talking about what we'd been doing that day, or anything else that occurred to us. We could ask my parents questions and generally speaking _they would know_. Most of the other kids were eating while staring at the TV. I can't quantify the difference this made to my life, but all three of us are now well educated and earning a fair bit more than the median UK income, so I'm not about to start complaining.

Comments

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

My family almost never ordered take out. My grandmother was Head of Food, and thus every single evenings we had a meal cooked from scratch, even things like mince pie.....

Looking at that questionnaire, makes me feel mildly embarrassed, I've always been thankful for what my grandparents provided, but it sets the idea firmly in my head that I had a very privileged background.... and still do, because they were willing to fund my PhD.

However, I know how important it is for independence. From about age 19, I became financially independent from my family. I didnt ask for or need money from them. This was something important to me, to do. It was one of the few areas I could exert control over.

My MSc year was a bit different. There were a few occasions I had to ask for money to stop me going into my overdraft. Back then I thought going into one's overdraft was a terrible terrible thing and must be avoided. Now I know its a tool for dealing with tight months.

I think having financial comfort makes a HUGE difference. My grandfather's side of the family is quite well off, and I think its no crazy correlation that they're all doctors or professors or other people at/have been at the top of their career. I was always able to do what I wanted - but I wish I'd been pushed more to do things.... like piano lessons, rather than me saying "no dont want lessons, just like playing" I should have been told that that was all well and good but lessons were important to develop this. I was pushed when I was horse riding, because I was competing, and I really stopped enjoying it when it was about achievement. I felt the same way about ice skating. Competition didn't motivate me at all.

However, my parents are completely different, both stopped education around age 14... neither have any university experience. Neither read books. Both are very practical people. My mum is amazing at DIY and can fix anything. My father was basically an engineer and understands how things are put together... also was... a nurse of sorts... due to circumstances which I may explain another time.

I hope I've inheirted the best of both worlds.

[ishkhara.livejournal.com]

Very interesting indeed. My parents don't really fall into the categories provided in that meme but I have always considered myself to have come from a privileged background because of their attitude to both education and provision for my brother and myself.

My father is a plumber/pipe-fitter and my mother has had various jobs, including head of the secretarial pool in an office, personal assistnat to the director of a fruit market and finally dinner lady (at my primary, so that she could be at home when I was). However they had a great attitude to saving and set up an account for me as soon as I was born, later investing the money in stocks and shares and finally pooling the cash into a Tessa so that I never wanted for anything growing up. The money from my life assurance policies, shares and the Tessa account were handed to me on my 16th birthday and I continued to invest. Thus, when it came to buying my first flat I didn't have to scrape for the deposit or worry about furnishings - I had a very tidy sum waiting for me.

When I was a child my dad used to take me to the mueums and galleries while my mum was at the hairdresser and they both read to me every day until I could read myself. They always encourage learning and did want me to go to university, although I hope they weren't dissapointed when I decided it wasn't for me. Bizarrely enough they were even criticised for teaching me too well when I started primary school. Which I started a full year early: uncommon at the time.

My parents worked hard to give me everything I have and I will always be grateful to them for giving me such a good start in life. :)

[xquiq.livejournal.com]

I've avoided the meme so far, as I find it a bit narrow.

It's interesting catching up with old school friends and seeing where they are now. Most of my school friends came from similar economic backgrounds, though within that there was a fairly broad social mix and very different priorities.

Anecdotally, what I've seen so far is that the children who were actively encouraged to succeed, to learn and to push themselves are the ones who have done well.

[random-redhead.livejournal.com]

we ate at table and discussed our days, had lots of books and were pretty knowledgeable about current affairs. but my generation is the first in my family to go to university. my Dad worked for IBM in the 60s. I work for less than the median. I wish I could go back and fix whatever it was I did wrong.