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November
30, 2001 Education Unlimited My name is Anita
Johnson. As a child in school the teacher would ask us what we want to be
when we grow up. I don’t
believe that any of us responded to that question by saying, we want to be
on welfare as a career choice.
My mother and father graduated from high school but because they
both were raised in the south with more of the demand to work and pick
cotton than the motivation to achieve more than just a high school
education. They both moved to California, got jobs, and began their days
of hard labor. Although, it paid good money it was just enough for the two
of them to survive.
In 1996 I moved to Atlanta with my boyfriend. My mission was to go
back to school part time and work full time, but I became pregnant and
there was no way to support myself.
I decided to move back home with my mom to get the support I
needed. I still had that goal
of going back to school and working, but I could not work because my
pregnancy was difficult and I was advised to apply for welfare until I
could get situated with work and/or school. I hesitated to apply for
welfare because I couldn’t see myself ever having to be on it and
remembered what my mom had said about it, that “welfare is not something you
should depend on, its’ temporary help and definitely not a way of
life.” For the longest time, I did not fully understand how my educational goal would be affected, when I signed the welfare to work plan in 1998. I would have never known that I would endure such stress and pressure because I wanted to get a certificate and or degree. All I wanted was to go to school and get an education so that I could get the skills and knowledge that I needed to get a higher-wage paying job, and to lift my family off of welfare and out of poverty for good. My daughter and I are
both attending Laney College and my aspirations for a better life are
growing stronger for myself, but even stronger for her. My major is
Computer Systems Analyst. I specifically chose this major because it is
one of the top four demand occupations that requires a B.A. degree which
will lead me to a higher-wage paying job that will pay more than $10 an
hour. As of August this year, I have been sanctioned, which means that I
no longer receive a cash grant for myself. I had to stop going to school
and look for a job. As a single mom and full-time student, I knew very
well that if I stop trying to educate myself that I would end up stuck in
a dead end low-wage job. It
is critical for low-income moms and dads like myself to be able to
continue their education and graduate off of welfare for good. My desire to pursue an education
did not stop despite time limits on welfare. The struggle now is how am I
going to get my education under welfare reform. There is enough stress
just being a poor parent and working part time just to make ends meet. Add
time limits to those stresses and its even more difficult, yet there is no
time limit on being in poverty. Based on my experience on welfare, I think
TANF Reauthorization should focus on poverty reduction rather than
caseload reduction. Pushing poor parents like myself into dead end
low-wage jobs will not get us off of welfare for good. Getting my degree
is a necessary for me; I am not only in school for myself, but also for my
daughter. Therefore, I urge you to eliminate time limits on welfare
benefits, so that we can get the skills needed to get jobs that can
support our families without welfare. We need to be given the opportunity
to earn degrees and to become educated, employed and economically secure.
I also, urge you to count education as a welfare-to-work
activity. Anita Johnson2905 Bona #3
Oakland, CA 94601 |
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