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How a Rural Society
Discouraged Change
by Marilyn Hodgson
Tuck
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Most of us who got a higher education had only
indirect connections to the farm. We were advantaged teenagers in a
disadvantaged small town. |
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"Statistics show that, compared with urban areas, rural regions have
a smaller percentage of people over 20 years old with higher education and a
greater percentage with less than a grade nine education. "
(This
Magazine, vol. 24, no. 7, March-April, 1991).
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Today we consider education a
social right. Why then did the attainment of high school graduation elude a
disproportionate number of rural teenagers from 1950 to 1960? In these ten
years, only eight of approximately 150 in my hometown educated themselves
beyond the small rural high school they attended. I was one of three girls.
There are a number of reasons for the low ratio of those who
went on to university or business college compared to those who stayed "down on
the farm". The outstanding factor was that most of us who got a higher
education had only indirect connections to the farm.
Three were from the home of a prominent businessman and
community leader, two were from the reeve's family, one was the son of the
local newspaper editor, another of a merchant store owner, and only one was
just plain brilliant. We all had one thing in common however; every one of us
was an advantaged teenager living in a disadvantaged small town. 
As in most villages, certain streets were out-of bounds and not
one of the "group of eight" went near these. This division confirmed the rigid
social class structure of the rural community, and also supports the theory
that "education is to a great extent influenced by family background" and "it's
not what you know, but who you know".
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Comment une société
rurale a desservi le changement
par Marilyn Hodgson Tuck
Une analyse de la situation dans les années
cinquante et soixante montre pourquoi une société rurale avait un
pourcentage plus faible de plus de vingt ans qui détenait un
diplôme universitaire et un nombre plus élevé de personnes
qui avaient arrêté leur scolarité avant la neuvième
année qu'une société urbaine.
La raison principale de ce phénomène est
que la plupart des jeunes qui finissaient leurs études secondaires, et
les quelques-uns qui allaient à l'université, n'avaient aucun
lien direct avec la vie à la campagne, avec l'agriculture par exemple.
Nous appartenions à l'élite du village.
Il y avait d'autres raisons, bien entendu, dont le poids
qu'exerçait le système des valeurs traditionnelles, l'effet des
terres et des biens, le manque de stimulation culturelle et financière,
l'absence d'appâts économiques et un découragement actif.
Qui dit éducation, dit changement. Et tout
changement peut sembler menaçant dans une société rurale
qui vit bien grâce à ses terres. Mais la situation change et les
problèmes qui font obstacle à l'éducation dans les
collectivités rurales doivent être surmontés. |
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