Maybe I'll be a researcher or a professor. Kids like Ashley can do anything. Many of the parents of today's kids themselves didn't take much science or math. When I was growing up, you could make enough money in a factory to support a family. You can't do that now.
Jobs today require a heavy science and math background.
But the minority parent may say to the child who's having trouble in algebra, 'That's all right. Don't worry about it. Then the student doesn't take any more math after that course. The parent and the child don't realize a door has just closed on a lot of career opportunities. Vickers adds that caring teachers sometimes give kids their very best advice but base it on limited perceptions or dated information.