Introduction
The poem “A Rose that Grew from Concrete” by the rapper and poet Tupac Shakur, while short, contains a multitude of themes for interpretation. In it, Shakur describes rose that disregarded nature’s harsh laws and grew from a crack in the concrete, learning to survive put of the sheer power of “keeping its dreams” (25). Using it as a metaphor for children growing up in the world dictated by adults, one can see how some people’s wish to succeed in life moves them to work on bettering themselves. However, the current school system – an environment in which children spend most of their time – does not prepare students for adulthood. According to Care et al., many countries do not have resources to adopt a holistic system that elevates students’ 21st-century skills (5). Thus, the issue arises of which subjects should be added to prepare children for successful adulthood. This essay argues that a combination of career-specific knowledge and home, communication, and finance education is the future of comprehensive learning.
Background Information
Tupac Shakur has seen different sides of the school system, as he and his family moved across the United States many times. The rapper attended several public schools in impoverished neighborhoods and the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts, a school focused on music, acting, dance, film, and theater (Watson). Moreover, his understanding of the world was impacted by his mother, Afeni Shakur, and other relatives, who were highly invested in the Black Panther Party (Watson). Shakur has seen that Black people did not have the same conditions as white people in the US, and the schools he attended have also shown him the difference in people’s financial freedom.
It is possible that this background had shaped Shakir’s vision of personal growth. The theme of struggling to overcome the predestined conditions for a person is visible in the poem. For instance, the lines “Proving Nature’s laws wrong it learned 2 walk / Without having feet” imply that the “rose” did not have any resources to learn how to walk except for its own conviction (Shakur 25). Similarly, many children live in a setting that does not have a support structure to prepare them for adulthood. In contrast, Shakur’s time at the Baltimore School for the Arts gave him much needed space to pursue his music-related interests and exposed him to theater and literature. This suggests that some classes could help a child to find their path in life.
Statement of the Problem
The problem surrounding the school system is that it fails to prepare children and adolescents for adult life. While children study various subjects at school, including math, physics, chemistry, literature, and others, the knowledge gained from lessons does not translate into real life. As a result, young people leave high school with experiences that do not correspond to the expectations for adulthood. For instance, Hurtado shares her personal experience with school, stating that exam and test preparation consumed her time and did not leave any opportunity to explore personal interests or consider potential career paths. More than that, the author feels that the current school curriculum does not include essential subjects that describe daily tasks such as managing money and caring for one’s household.
Adulthood is defined by a higher responsibility and independence, which increases when one enters college, starts living alone, and enters the workforce. According to Burrus et al., children whose setting has had negative factors affect their communication, financial situation, and education, are at risk of failing to integrate into adult life (S26). They may not have any resources to live comfortably or experience great stress from daily tasks. Burrus et al. note such aspects as economic stability and health depend on proper adolescent development (S27). As school is the main setting of childhood learning, it is vital to integrate new subjects into the curriculum in order to prepare young people for their future.
Another issue with the current educational system is that it is not standardized, aside from tests. Stone describes the school setting as a “nonsystem,” arguing that the US does not link education and the workforce on the national level (157). As a result, states decide what children learn in schools, and college becomes the only place to receive skills that lead to career attainment. This issue means that children do not gain any valuable information prior to choosing their college that, for many, determines their future occupation (Kirkland, 71). This lack of choice is highlighted in Hurtado’s experience, who finds that she was uncertain about choosing her specialization. This lack of preparedness stunted the author’s motivation and limited her ability to explore various options.
Solution
One of the solutions that are currently discussed in the US is career and technical education (CTE). CTE is a new type of curriculum that introduces specific skills to students, starting from middle school, and continuing throughout high school (Stone 155). Using this system, the school offers children up to 16 career clusters – areas of specialization that have their own sets of classes designed to prepare students for a specific path. Some of the clusters are health science, business, engineering, law, agriculture, and arts (Stone 157). As can be observed, this program’s main strength is the creation of a specific framework that schools in all states can implement. Furthermore, students get exposed to career-specific skills early and are allowed to explore various career options to understand what they like. However, this solution does not include skills outside of the workforce – home- and finance-related information.
Therefore, the proposed improvement for the solution is to integrate additional subjects – one for home management and personal economics and another one for personal and business communication. These two topics are vital for any adult, as people have to deal with daily tasks, such as taxes, nutrition, or budgeting. Communication is one of the most important 21st-century skills, and it is crucial for building professional networks and preserving meaningful relationships (Care et al. 9). The new strategy allows students to think about their career and personal life, understanding both the hardships and the best parts of adulthood. Moreover, it reduces the stress related to the lack of social and economic skills (Burrus et al. S29).
Counterargument and Response
The lack of standardized and skills-focused school education is not viewed as a problem by all stakeholders. In fact, some people believe that college as the only means of preparing for adult life is sufficient for young adults to become successful (Stone 159). According to this view, schools should remain a place for general learning, while college has to prepare the youth for a transition to independence. This opinion calls for the expansion of college entrants’ numbers.
Nonetheless, this position does not align with the reality in which many adolescents and young adults live in the US. As Stone states, only a small part of all students complete a college degree, implying that they do not acquire the necessary skills to integrate into the workforce (160). Blue-collar jobs, for example, do not require higher education, and the youth loses the opportunity to work on social or economic skills if they want to pursue this route. Moreover, Hurtado notes from her college experience, that she felt unprepared and saw a gap between her knowledge and what the college required her to understand.
Thus, the stark change from high school to higher education leads to stress and limits young people’s ability to explore their needs. In contrast, the proposed strategy provides much time for discovery, combats such issues as low confidence, and provides entry-level skills to people who may need or want to work right after graduation. Finally, the belief that college teaches all requires skills is incorrect, as its curriculum does not cover home-related subjects, while the solution outlined in the thesis does.
Conclusion
The short poem by Tupac Shakur reveals his personal experience growing up in the United States – a story that is familiar to many young people struggling to thrive due to financial, social, or other barriers. The educational system does not prepare adolescents for adult life, and the proposed solution offers a combination of skills for career and personal life development. The government needs to see that its nation’s future lies on the shoulders of the youngest generation. Children should not fear that “no one else even cared” about their path to success (Shakur 25).
Works Cited
Burrus, Barri B., et al. “Building Bridges to a Brighter Tomorrow: A Systematic Evidence Review of Interventions that Prepare Adolescents for Adulthood.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. S1, 2018, pp. S25-S31.
Care, Esther, et al. Skills for a Changing World: National Perspectives and the Global Movement. Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution, 2017.
Hurtado, Jacquelyn. “Schools Do Not Prepare Students for Adulthood.” PantherNOW. 2018, Web.
Kirkland, David E. “’The Rose that Grew from Concrete’: Postmodern Blackness and New English Education.” English Journal, vol, 95, no. 5, 2008, pp. 69-75.
Shakur, Tupac. The Rose that Grew from Concrete. Simon and Schuster, 2009.
Stone, James R., III. “Introduction to Pathways to a Productive Adulthood: The Role of CTE in the American High School.” Peabody Journal of Education, vol. 92, no. 2, 2017, pp. 155-165.
Watson, Elwood. “Tupac Shakur (1971-1996).” BlackPast, 2007, Web.