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Darlene WilsonDarlene Wilson is a 37-year old mother and grandmother.
She and her husband maintain a household that includes three
generations: her married daughter, son-in-law, and their two children; her
unmarried teenage daughter who also has an infant; and her youngest child, a son
who is still in elementary school. Darlene
is therefore both a mother and grandmother to school age children.
Providing for this extended family household is a tremendous financial
challenge.
Darlene left school after the ninth grade with very poor skills and
struggled with schoolwork from a young age. English,
spellin’, history and stuff like that, I made C’s, D’s, and F’s.
I can’t spell that good. I’m
not a very good reader at all. I
had to have help with readin’. Of
course, my grades was bad and so that just tells me I didn’t do too good.
And my oldest daughter and my son, they’re in special ed too.
They’re the same way, they ain’t that good at readin’ either, and
spellin’. I don’t know what it
is but it’s just a problem that we always had. Darlene clearly did not enjoy school
and was eager to leave. She married
young and had children right away. Her family
responsibilities added to Darlene’s desire to quit school.
She related, “I just had kids and got married and never did go back.
I didn’t really like goin’ to school, and havin’ my kids, I had to
be home with them. I figured that
was my place.”
Darlene went to work shortly after her first child was born and worked in
a variety of minimum wage jobs.
The first place I went to work at
is at the motel. I worked there
three and a half years. And I quit
there and came to a pizza place, then cleaning at the electric company. Then I quit and went to the plastic factory, worked there two
and a half years. Quit there ‘cause
my kids started havin’ their babies so I figured I better come back closer to
home to help with theirs. As Darlene’s comments indicate, her family obligations
are not limited to financial support but also involve extensive time and
emotional commitments. Darlene
attended GED classes briefly several years earlier when her youngest child was
in Head Start but was discouraged by her extremely low skill level and didn’t
feel she would be able to pass the GED.
I just had the feelin’ I couldn’t
do it. I couldn’t read good
enough. So I figured, “Well, why
try when I’m just wastin’ my time,” knowin’ that I couldn’t do it. I figured maybe I could get a better job if I had my GED.
Some people says most jobs anymore that you have to have a GED and I was
goin’ to try to get me a better job. But
then I just figured, “Well, I ain’t goin’ to be able to do it so why not
just keep the job I got ‘cause I don’t have to have a GED.”
So I just never did do it, I just quit.
Darlene carefully assessed both the value of the GED and her likelihood
of obtaining it given her skill level and made her decision based on these
factors. Darlene didn’t believe she would be able to pass the GED
exam and therefore reasoned that attending classes would be a poor investment of
her limited time and energy. Many
respondents who could have benefited from literacy tutoring were discouraged
from beginning adult education classes because they saw the GED as the
ultimate--but unrealistic--goal of adult education programs.
At the time of her interview, Darlene worked 28-40 hours each week for
minimum wages. Darlene’s family
obligations were extensive and she felt attending GED classes would interfere
with the time she needed to spend with her children and grandchildren.
I wouldn’t be able to spend no time with the family after I get off
work and then go to them classes, you know.
That’s goin’ to take up all the time.
I don’t think I could do both of ‘em.
It takes me and him both to work to pay our bills.
Plus, kids goin’ to school, it just takes money.
I can’t afford to quit a job when I got these bills to pay and no
insurance or nothin’ else, no medical card or nothin’.
Forced to choose between GED classes and paid work,
Darlene--like many study participants--of necessity made work her first
priority.
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