June 20th- Ways to be Gettin' On

 Chapter two gave us an overview of what life was like in Roadville and Trackton. Three things stood out to me from this chapter. First, was the continued description of the importance of Adult Education programs in these communities. In this chapter there were five separate references to Adult Education programs.
The next thing that stood out was that it was a common occurrence for people in both communities to begin having children in their teens.This seems to be a barrier that many women in the community face and it also may explain why the Adult Education programs in Roadville and Trackton seem to be filled predominately with women.
The last thing that stood out was the desire among the townspeople in both communities to get ahead and do better for themselves and the view that the best way to do this was through schooling and being a hard worker. Ironically, much of what the townspeople learned in school never prepared them for anything they would be doing at the mill and hard work didn't always provide for the life they longer for. It seemed that gettin' on was just an idea filled with empty promises. Education may have offered a way of gettin' on for some, but for others the barriers they faced that were innate within their cultures and communities were more than they could overcome. Some of these barriers included having children while still in high school, lack reliable transportation, and community cultures filled with jealousy and rivalries which ostracized those who found a way to better their financial situations.