4 ms·

I'll preface by saying that it certainly isn't relevant to the article, and I do find the phrasing to be a bit demeaning to bachelor's degrees. On the other ha

I'll preface by saying that it certainly isn't relevant to the article, and I do find the phrasing to be a bit demeaning to bachelor's degrees. On the other hand, even going for a bachelor's degree can be met with a lot of resistance in some family cultures. I've known families that ostracized a member for being the first to go to college instead of pursuing the union or the force. I can't speak to how widespread this is, but being the first to make it to college is in itself sometimes a real achievement. It might be a wild thought for those of us who were raised thinking a Bachelor's is just part of the natural progression.

xlm1717 11y ago
Conversely, in some minority groups it can be a great source of pride to be the first one in the family to go to college and get a bachelor's degree. I don't think it's likely for the writer of the article to know that Jennifer McLoud was the first in her family to graduate college without McLoud revealing it herself. Automatically assuming it's racist seems like a stretch and unnecessary.
- mc32 11y ago
  Agreed. Most of the time, perhaps all, I've heard this phrase, it's a source of pride. We have to remember, the US was vastly and primarily agricultural and largely didn't attend secondary education in numbers till after WWII with the gi bill and subsequent popularization of secondary education. The phrase is typically a way to show achievement in the face of slim odds, like from broken home, no tradition of emphasis on education, etc. The only "racist" element, if it can be called that is the presumption the secondary education is seen as modern sophisticated and good, which I think it is, to practical extents, but can see where some may disagree.
  - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
    One nit for your comment: In the US, "primary education" means grade school. "Secondary" means high school. "Post-secondary" is college. Through WWII, the majority of US children attended secondary education (high school) but not college.
    - mc32 11y ago
      True, it gets confusing, but tertiary to my mind means postgrad. But yeah, I meant college/university was rare before the post war period. And people thought and still consider it an achievement meriting praise.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
- yuchi 11y ago
  Thank you. It still looks strange to me. Amorymeltzer’s addition in his answer here really did a lot IMHO.
yuchi 11y ago
> […] for those of us who were raised thinking a Bachelor's is just part of the natural progression That’s probably my case. Thank you so much.

xlm1717 11y ago

Conversely, in some minority groups it can be a great source of pride to be the first one in the family to go to college and get a bachelor's degree. I don't think it's likely for the writer of the article to know that Jennifer McLoud was the first in her family to graduate college without McLoud revealing it herself. Automatically assuming it's racist seems like a stretch and unnecessary.

mc32 11y ago
Agreed. Most of the time, perhaps all, I've heard this phrase, it's a source of pride. We have to remember, the US was vastly and primarily agricultural and largely didn't attend secondary education in numbers till after WWII with the gi bill and subsequent popularization of secondary education. The phrase is typically a way to show achievement in the face of slim odds, like from broken home, no tradition of emphasis on education, etc. The only "racist" element, if it can be called that is the presumption the secondary education is seen as modern sophisticated and good, which I think it is, to practical extents, but can see where some may disagree.
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago
  One nit for your comment: In the US, "primary education" means grade school. "Secondary" means high school. "Post-secondary" is college. Through WWII, the majority of US children attended secondary education (high school) but not college.
  - mc32 11y ago
    True, it gets confusing, but tertiary to my mind means postgrad. But yeah, I meant college/university was rare before the post war period. And people thought and still consider it an achievement meriting praise.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
yuchi 11y ago
Thank you. It still looks strange to me. Amorymeltzer’s addition in his answer here really did a lot IMHO.

yuchi 11y ago

> […] for those of us who were raised thinking a Bachelor's is just part of the natural progression That’s probably my case. Thank you so much.