This refers to how “mountain populations” are unable to take advantage of opportunities for improvement and modernization. They still think like they did many years ago, with the conception that education is not important and that living life is all they should focus on. Elam then cites that “education is necessary to understand and find the solution to social problems” (Elam 13). I can completely agree with what Elam said, because an education helps you understand the basic principles of life, teaches you many life skills, as well as skills that will help you in your future career. With education, the social problems of poverty can be eliminated over time, because people will be better informed about how and why an education actually helps. It is easy to see that the simple solution to poverty is for everyone to obtain an education above the secondary level. Many people in Kentucky still don't understand this concept, but they need more information on how it can help them in the long run. Getting an education now may not help you immediately but in the long run it will help generations and yes the generation will be better informed on how to stay above the poverty line and gain more respectable knowledge and more respectable.