The Tragedy of the Poor by Alan Quinones

            Adam Smith wrote, "The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations." When people live in poverty not only to they have a completely lower quality of life than others who do not live in poverty, but their aspirations and goals are very small and almost meaningless compared to others. We have all had aspirations and goals in life since we were children, but how did we come to have those? Not only were we encouraged by our parents and life experiences, but we were also influenced by what we participated in as adolescents growing up. As we grow, extracurricular activities are crucial for positive development. Santrock wrote, " High-quality extracurricular activities that are likely to promote positive adolescent development have competent, supportive adult mentors, opportunities for increasing school connectedness, and opportunities for improving skills ( Santrock 354)." He is basically saying that the quality of the extra- curricular activities matter because they will promote positive development and growth as the adolescents grow. What this means for those adolescents in poverty is that they will not have the same opportunities as those who are in better schools and communities because they do not have the same funding. This funding will be determined by the economic state of the neighborhood in which they are in. The lower income the area is, the lower amount of money they will receive, or they may not even receive any money for these programs at all. Many times they will attempt to gather government funding which is very difficult to do because of the lack of, and the process as well.  

            When the funding in these low income and poverty filled areas do not get to the school and community centers to create these after school programs and extracurricular activities, not only to these adolescents not get the same opportunity to development in a more positive manner, but they may also turn to negative ways to keep themselves busy. In an article discussing community violence, Kennedy states, "Time spent with

older peers and time spent in public outdoor places was associated with greater exposure to community violence. Moreover, such unstructured, outdoor time with peers is linked to behavioral and academic problems for low-income adolescents in dangerous neighborhoods (Kennedy 665)"  This proves that the time not being spent in a productive manner will now be spent doing illegal activities which now leads to even more issues and problems for the youth in poverty. For example, when the youth is not spending their time in productive ways they turn to other means of entertainment which is not always the best. This includes committing crimes such as using drugs, vandalism, and burglary. This then leads to them having a criminal record with just creates even more issues. This is a horrible cycle that we see on an everyday basis in these neighborhoods, and many times these adolescents do not see a way out of that lifestyle since it is all they have to rely on Not only do these extra-curricular activities help the adolescents development and have positive experience but they also help them academically like we discussed in class.

            Adolescents also academically benefit from the extra-curricular activities because many times these programs have some sort of assistance with math and science (Santrock 355). Personally, I have seen that these courses are the most difficult for students, and getting assistance after school can be an immense help. The issue with this after school help is that it may require teachers to stay after school, and this requires them to get paid more in some occasions. If the school is in an area  in which this type of funding is not available then it highly unlikely that the students may receive the help even though they really need it and they also know they would benefit immensely from it. They benefit by not only being able to better their grades in that one class, but it may even change their outlook on academics in general. They may go from having a negative perspective on it to having a positive outlook and even wanting to go to college. Many times this kids have rough lives, but all it takes is that one teacher that really cares for them to change them completely and without these academic programs those chances are becoming slimmer and slimmer. They have to realize that yes we may be spending more on these after school programs but what can come out of them greatly out ways the economic point of it.

            Overall, adolescents in these communities with a lot of poverty will not receive the same opportunity as others who are not in the same economic situation as them. It is known that extracurricular activities not only help them develop in a more positive way, but it also assists them economically. Without this help, they are falling more and more behind, and are more prone to fall into a negative lifestyle in which the cycle will keep repeating itself.  This issue will only be addressed correctly when the poverty gets addressed, and we live in a society in which we refuse to address it, or continue to address in methods that do not work . This entire issue can also lead into a discussion about inequalities since we know this mostly affects Latinos and Blacks since they are the ones how live in these neighborhoods the majority of the time.

Works Cited

Kennedy, Traci M., and Rosario Ceballo. "Latino Adolescents' Community Violence       Exposure: After-School Activities And Familismo As Risk And Protective        Factors." Social Development 22.4 (2013): 663-682. Academic Search Complete.    Web. 19 Nov.2014.

Santrock, John W. Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill Education,Print.