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Hollowing Out The Middle: The Rural Brain Drain And What It Means For America (2009)

by Patrick J. Carr(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0807041718 (ISBN13: 9780807041710)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Beacon Press (MA)

review 1: This book is a very interesting look at the decline of small towns in the Midwest. As someone who grew up in rural small town USA it is easy to relate to the studies and results the authors found. I would enjoy if they would do a follow up study now several years later and see what the results are. I think that while some of the items addressed in the book are still relevant, I also believe there are other pressing matters such as lack of technical infrastructure and public transportation that keep young families in the city instead of in small towns.
review 2: The entire country is becoming more and more polarized to the seacoasts and the big cities. This is not the figment of our collective imagination. "Hollowing out the Middle" is a book that explores th... moree plight of the small towns in America's Heartland.Written by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas, "Hollowing out the Middle" discusses a phenomenon called 'Rural Brain Drain' where the Achievers, the best and brightest of a given class, are groomed by their teachers to leave home, never to return. The others are Stayers and Seekers. Stayers are mostly ignored, though the future of the small town actually rests with them. The Seekers are self-motivated to flee the crushing grip of small town sameness, many of them join the Military. (There is a class of 'Returners', but most of them are Achievers who don't make it in the big world.)What I liked about this book is their honest assessment that this sorting process plays out in high school. That validation should make many of us sigh with relief. We weren't hallucinating, high school WAS rigged! The whole community operates in the favor of the 'Achiever' class, grooming them to leave home. As these people do leave and never return, they take all those resources with them, weakening the community left behind.For a town like my home town the result is clear – the Achievers leave – the Stayers stay – completely unprepared to handle the problems of their home town. So things get worse because the people who stay behind are brainwashed into believing 'they will never amount to anything.' They are not educated to take on the roles most needed in their communities. There are no 'Stayer' doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers or politicians. The Stayer students are left to rot – the compost heap that provides the next generation of High School students. less

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