There are plenty of low income households that emphasize reading. Guess how I know.
Spoilers Russell T. Davies' Second Turn as Doctor Who Showrunner
Where I grew up in the mid 1980s, within a 20 mile radius or so there were steel works, and closer still coal mines and sources of employment involving manual/unskilled labour. The kids who hailed from those areas and backgrounds (the boys anyway) I think were hoping or expecting work that didn't require too much thinking. There was also a lot of peer pressure amongst them not to do anything considered high brow such as like reading novels for pleasure, listen to classical music or enjoy paintings. It was considered 'cool to be thick'. Ironically enough not long into the 1990s de-industrialisation had set in with coal mines and steel works closing like they were going out of fashion (which I suppose they were in a sense), leaving people who'd underperformed at school up the creak without a paddle.
For non-Brits 'thick' in this context means stupid or dumb in the intellectual and academic sense. 'Thick as two short planks' also 'Thick as sh*t'.
For non-Brits 'thick' in this context means stupid or dumb in the intellectual and academic sense. 'Thick as two short planks' also 'Thick as sh*t'.
I'm in my 60's and did not experience that.
I experienced the same thing in the US in the 90s. Working class kids took pride in being dumb. Blew my mind. So my childhood was interesting. I learned very quickly not to wear my intelligence and fandom on my sleeve.
Of course, once you get to university, then you find yourself way behind all of your classmates because they went to better schooling. They also have much better vocab and networking skills. So then you have to work your way through that mess.
Then, you start working, and you're behind again since you have to figure out stuff that the more well to do students learned at home. Throw in office politics, and you want to save and retire ASAP.
It's an upward battle of suck.
However, the one silver lining is that you learn before your peers not to care what others think much earlier in life.
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With the comprehensive I went to in the late 80s, the feeder primaries covered an eclectic mix with people from families that straddled the line between working & middle-class to people who's fathers were coal miners, as were their fathers and father-in-laws, all the way back. It was mainly boys from this latter background that were the 'cool to be thick brigade'. By the way the feeder primary I went to was itself eclectic in the backgrounds of its pupils. Also my paternal grandfather was a coal miner but my father read a lot as a child and went into engineering, so maybe it was a unique set of circumstances that lead to my experience. Oh and I certainly didn't do myself any favours socially with my interests.
They would sometimes take your book and play keep-away.
Yeah.
Well known for making you bleed that.
A cracking podcast with Steven Moffet and Dr Who royalty that is the legend Peter Purves.
I wish I could explain my experience as a reader growing up. This is close but doesn't polish every facet.
In primary school, kids would look at me funny, but it wasn't too bad. In a system where your borrower card kept by the library would have for the average student half-filled one side, I was filling two whole cards. Both sides. In a year.
High school was the real problem. A lot of SF/F. Reading at every opportunity, even in class. Constantly bullied. Once a bully senses weakness, they go in hard. I had no idea how to retaliate. I had to curb my enthusiasms in public. The pill hard to swallow? Long after school, fellow students used to say, "Oh yer, I read that. Used to watch a lot of Dr Who too." But they never, ever shared at the time. Does my head in.
Also possibly made worse because I used to write the stuff as well. Best way I can describe it now is "exiled Earthman with his own ship explores a teeming galaxy that no one on Earth has any idea about. Conan in spaaaace!" Keep in mind this was years before the original Starman comics. At least I had a couple of fans that clamoured for the next installment.
Sidenote: my major bully was a horrible bloke. Tried to let that go, but it's hard. Three years ago, I found out his brother, in a country with restricted hand guns, shot him dead. "Every man's death diminishes me," the famous British statesman said, and I'm inclined to agree. But there are exceptions to everything I guess. And then I feel sad I cannot forgive.
Life. Complicated fucker, isn't it?
In primary school, kids would look at me funny, but it wasn't too bad. In a system where your borrower card kept by the library would have for the average student half-filled one side, I was filling two whole cards. Both sides. In a year.
High school was the real problem. A lot of SF/F. Reading at every opportunity, even in class. Constantly bullied. Once a bully senses weakness, they go in hard. I had no idea how to retaliate. I had to curb my enthusiasms in public. The pill hard to swallow? Long after school, fellow students used to say, "Oh yer, I read that. Used to watch a lot of Dr Who too." But they never, ever shared at the time. Does my head in.
Also possibly made worse because I used to write the stuff as well. Best way I can describe it now is "exiled Earthman with his own ship explores a teeming galaxy that no one on Earth has any idea about. Conan in spaaaace!" Keep in mind this was years before the original Starman comics. At least I had a couple of fans that clamoured for the next installment.
Sidenote: my major bully was a horrible bloke. Tried to let that go, but it's hard. Three years ago, I found out his brother, in a country with restricted hand guns, shot him dead. "Every man's death diminishes me," the famous British statesman said, and I'm inclined to agree. But there are exceptions to everything I guess. And then I feel sad I cannot forgive.
Life. Complicated fucker, isn't it?
I was never made fun of for reading. That sounds strange to me. I got bullied and beat up a lot for other things. I really dont think about it anymore. I just cant hold a grudge for that long. Too many things in the present I need to handle. So I try to just be positive if I can.
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Don't fear. Kids can't read these days and cheat their way through school. I now have to give in person tests to people that I interview. It's that bad. And most fail.
The downside is that there will be fans that can't read Doctor Who material while the show is paused because they're too dumb.
Something something Chinese Room something.
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