Hollowing out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America

Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America Citation: Harmon, H. (2010) Book Review "Hollowing out the middle: The rural brain drain and what it means for America." Journal of Research in Rural Education 25(3). Retrieved from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/25-3.pdf Hollowing out the Middle represents what should be a critically influential study for guiding education reform in rural America. Using survey data from 275 former high school students, in-depth interviews with more than 100 young adults across the nation who attended the high school in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coupled with intensive community-level fieldwork, the husband-wife team of sociology professors, Patrick Carr and Maria Kefalas chronicle the "coming-of-age" experiences of youth who formerly attended high school in "Ellis," Iowa. In the process they uncover how a high school and its community inadvertently contribute to the brain drain and "hollowing out" of a small town in America's heartland. According to Carr and Kefalas, the paths students take are not random, but fairly predictable as "Achievers," "Stayers," "Seekers," and "Returners." Achievers are the high achieving, most-likely-to-succeed youth who are destined for highly regarded colleges-the "best and brightest" kids of Ellis. They spent their adolescence being cultivated by well-intended adults within the school and community who never gave them a chance to settle for the easy route. Singled out for futures that would take them far from the countryside, Achievers receive special treatment. They realize that "earning good grades, displaying good behavior, and being praised...grant special privileges and access to adults who can help them break free of small town life" (p. 31). Stayers, however, are raised to value work, develop responsibility, become independent, and usually marry at a young age. These former students of Ellis High School rationalize it as unwise to spend hard-earned money, or to go seriously in debt, to acquire a higher education when so few local jobs or benefits are available as the reward for the investment in a post-secondary degree. Thus, living in the places where they were raised is reasonable. They like the town, enjoy living in a place where their children can grow up and play freely, and prefer being surrounded by like-minded people. Stayers could not really imagine living anywhere else. Carr and Kefalas note however, that "Stayers are blind to the reality of blue-collar work in a postindustrial economy, forged in their unwavering belief in the work ethic" (p. 66), and as a consequence place themselves in positions of limited economic mobility and frequently at significant economic risk. In Ellis, the Seekers tend to be average students with little interest in remaining in their small town as adults. They come from families of modest means and grow up "into a sort of unselfconscious patriotism" (p. 93), influenced by a culture that highly honors military veterans and includes a large number of them. Seekers aren't encouraged as enthusiastically by their teachers as are Achievers. Their class rank at Ellis High School is above the Stayers, but below the Achievers. Hungry to experience life some place else, restless and impatient in their wishes, Seekers have an eagerness for the unknown pushing them to see the world beyond Ellis. Many Seekers thus become prime targets of military recruiters, who view Ellis High School as a "feeder school." Seekers may join the military as the only viable way to both see the world and afford additional education. "Now that the military markets itself as a cross between an employment service and a scholarship program" (p.104), enlisting into the military is a practical means to an end for many Seekers of Ellis High School, with hopes of college and a good job later in life. Last, the Returners, are comprised of two categories: Boomerangs and High-Fliers. …