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THREAD: STOP telling working class young people that student debt isn't 'real debt'. It shows you know nothing of what that word means to someone whose come from a life on benefits. When you grow up in an environment where debt is a crippling reality, where
every penny is accounted for, where the sofas are regularly checked for coins, where bailiffs bash on the door to shouts of "don't open the door" by parents, where you are exchanging dodgy cheques for cash, where a school trip can cause mayhem as you desperately work out what
can be swapped so that they can afford to go...this seeps into our bones, its in our makeup. The word 'debt' is horrific and makes us feel panicked, worried. 'debt' to the working classes is living with a huge axe over our heads. So to say that its not 'real' is utter bull.
'you don't pay it off until..' shhhh. You don't get it. That it's the thought of that huge debt for no guarantee that stops lots of wc even engaging with the prospect of HE. And there is deep shame attached as well so you probably don't even know, cant even tell. so...
if you want more wc kids at HE, you know REALLY want them, then change your language. Recognise that debt is a huge, major factor. Offer practical, clear guidance about the debt and what that means. Change what you say and how you say it. Debt is debt.
