As kids, the question is always asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Depending on the interest of their parents, the children’s answers vary greatly. If they come from a family of lawyers, the child would most likely say they would want to be a lawyer. If they come from a family where no one has graduated from high school, the child would most likely say that they would want to be a truck driver. The background and the status of the parents would determine the aspirations of children’s future. Social stratification determines a child’s outlook on their future career and education. A study done by Jay MacLeod explored the ambitions of a group of young boys. MacLeod explains that society proclaims that any child can grow up to be president, yet the inequality in the education system begs to differ. MacLeod states the there is a strong relationship between aspirations and occupational outcomes. Macleod further explains that “because aspirations mediate what an individual desires and what society can offer, the hopes of these boys are linked inextricably with their assessment of the opportunities available to them” (MacLeod). The inequality of the opportunities to them is what stumps most of the children’s ambitions. Over the past two decades, the economic gap has widened. This gap definitely affects children’s futures greatly. “The advantages and disadvantages that people inherit from their parent’s, the resources that their friends can share with them, the quantity and quality of their schooling, and even the historical era into which they are born boost some up and hold others down” (Fischer). Most of all though, the one thing contributing to the inequality the children face is in their education system. Their edu... ... middle of paper ... ...Et all. Why Inequality? Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill. MacLeod, J. Social Immobility in the Land of Opportunity. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill. Keister, L.A. Wealth in America: Trends in Wealth Inequality. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill. Levy, F. A Half Century of Incomes. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill. Turner, R. H. Sponsored and Contest Mobility and the School System. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill. Weber, M. Class, Status, Party. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States. (2005). New York: McGraw-Hill.
In a country like the United States of America, with a history of every individual having an equal opportunity to reach their dreams, it becomes harder and harder to grasp the reality that equal opportunity is diminishing as the years go on. The book Our Kids by Robert Putnam illustrates this reality and compares life during the 1950’s and today’s society and how it has gradually gotten to a point of inequality. In particular, he goes into two touching stories, one that shows the changes in the communities we live in and another that illustrates the change of family structure. In the end he shows how both stories contribute to the American dream slipping away from our hands.
In today’s world what mostly limits children’s opportunities lies on their parents income. According to 2011 research study by Stanford sociologist Sean Reardon, the test score gap between the children of the poor and the children of the wealthy has expanded by as much of 40 percent and is now more than 50 percent larger than the black-white achievement gap. According
Besides race, the scholar also reveals how childhoods are unequal based on social class. Drawing from the American society, there are several social classes. For each class, there are unique pathways of lives followed and these usually influence both the educational and work outcomes. To ...
Many are expected to aspire to being a professional football or basketball player, not to being a senator or a college professor. Their sense of self is molded by the social expectations
The American Dream, the national promise of equal opportunity and the endless possibilities of economic mobility, has and is still deeply inculcated in American culture. However, there is less economic mobility in the United States than originally thought as proven by many studies of economists, and therefore refutes the basic ideas of the American Dream. Class, one of the major causes to the decrease in economic mobility, remains a sensitive subject in America. This sensitivity stems from popular culture ideals of not debating or discussing class as well as the many myths Americans and foreigners are trapped into believing. Variations in the American life-styles, a component of the ideas of class presented by Mantsios, is another factor to the reduction of economic mobility. This variation is mainly a result of the diversity in the United States and its heterogeneous society. Race, a social construct, is also a major source to economic mobility. Through the help of the media, society has shaped Americans into associating success and wealth with Caucasians, and failure and poverty with minorities. Another major cause to the decline in economic mobility is parental influence, the idea of a child following or straying away from their parent or guardian’s footsteps. Education, America’s token to success, also determines an individual’s economic mobility. In American culture, it is believed that by furthering or completing education automatically guarantees individuals endless opportunities to a job, increased income and upward mobility. In conclusion, class, race, parental influence and education are all interrelated factors to economic mobility.
Despite this, there continue to be incidents where middle class people are devastated when unable to achieve the so-called American Dream. Of course, the social expectations of a society are generally set by the previous generation and cause the newer generation to feel guilt when they cannot meet them. In order to avoid this feeling of guilt and insufficiency, people are willing to give up their unique hopes and goals; thus creating a people that are cohesively identical. Students in today’s universities are amazingly bright and creative, yet change their majors to those society has placed honor on, such as medicine, law, and engineering. The amount of innovation and invention
Income inequality in the United States, as of 2007, has reached levels not seen since 1928. In 1928, the top one percent received nearly 24% of all income within the United States (Volscho & Kelly, 2012). This percentage fell to nearly nine percent in 1975, but has risen to 23.5% as of 2007 (Volscho & Kelly, 2012). Meanwhile, in 2007 (see
Frank, Robert H. “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore.” They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter
...ation for the career of their choice. As Gatto so eloquently points out in his article, “We have been taught (that is, schooled) in this country to think of ‘success’ as synonymous with, or at least dependent on ‘schooling’…” (Gatto 150). If he is correct, and success is reliant on our schooling, only the few elite students even have a chance at becoming successful. And that is truly unfair because every student in our country’s education system deserves the chance to be able to become something great.
Today, living the American Dream is not just a matter of working hard. A higher education is becoming a necessity to have if one wishes to rise above his or her station. Egan mentions that years prior, a degree was not necessary to having a comfortable life, but nowadays without a degree, it is nearly impossible to earn a wage that can support all the ideals of the American Dream (106). Because of this, a person born into a family with money has a much better chance of continuing to live a comfortable life, while a person who is born into poverty or the lower class might not have the means to receive an education and is therefore left out of the American
Essentially, Americans would have equal opportunity to prosper through education and hard work. However, in a study published by the National Center for Education Statistics, Americans were shown to have less equal opportunity than any other country elsewhere in the West (Krugman 567). Ultimately, the results of the study revealed that, “it would be closer to the truth, though not the whole truth, to say that in modern America, class—inherited class—usually trumps talent” (Krugman 566). Consequently, the effects of low upward social mobility, or the ability for individuals to move upward in social status, can be detrimental. Specifically, American children born to low-income families are more likely to have health problems that derail their life chances due to lack of insurance (Krugman
Everyone knows about the various stereotypes and social stigmas that come with socioeconomic status whether they will choose to admit it or not. Society has come to assume that a child who comes from a family of low socioeconomic status, that they will not do as well as a child who comes from a family of a greater socioeconomic status. Unfortunately these assumptions are so ingrained in our brains that we start to follow the self-fulfilling prophecy. When a child from a noticeably low socioeconomic status walks into a classroom, it is not uncommon for the teacher to automatically assume that the child will not perform well in class, and in turn either grades the child more harshly or does not give the child as much attention as the other children from high socioeconomic status families. Do these children not perform well in class because of the self-fulfilling prophecy or is there something that happens during the critical period that causes the child to fall behind?
The means of justifying these inequalities are important for the entire world. Education played and will always play a big role in everyone’s lives. Equality in education will eventually guarantee every person a better position in society. Educational inequality is the difference in learning effectiveness and results as faced by students with varying backgrounds. The effects of educational inequality are not only left within the circles of education, but also remain further to have an impact on other life aspects. All over the world, there have been unending calls to reform education at each level. With various causes that are very much connected to society, history and culture, the educational inequality has apparently been one of the most difficult challenges to address. Regardless of the challenges faced in removing educational inequality, education has continued to be a very important part of society with a big expectation of moving it forward. In the current-day America, very many disadvantaged children have continued to grow up missing key skills. Discrimination has continued to persevere in educational achievement between racial issues. Above all, low performance levels among these disadvantaged children have over the years been responsible for the long-term issues, especially in such an society with higher levels of skills and a failing incomes offered to those people that are less-skilled.
Having a family of low socioeconomic status inevitably leaves me to reside in a low-income neighborhood which makes it more likely for me to witness the tragedies, adversities and hardships that people go through [not excluding myself]. Being conscious of this kind of environment, and these kinds of events, creates a pressure on me for having the aim to achieve social mobility in order to escape the aforementioned environment so that my own children could witness one less abominable aspect of life. Moreover, my family’s low socioeconomic status does not authorize me the privilege of being raised with the concerted cultivation method that kids of high socioeconomic status are more prone to being raised in. My family did not have the financial resources that granted us access to extra classes or lessons of instrumental classes, swimming practices, karate practices, or any other extracurricular activities that people of high socioeconomic status would be able to afford. This invisible fence that prevents me from these extracurricular activities enables me to having more appreciation towards the hobbies and talents that other people have. Plus, the fact that my family’s low socioeconomic status acts as a barrier from enjoying expensive luxuries in life creates a yearning [in me] to enjoy them later on in my life, in addition to acting as the fuel to my wish of achieving social mobility in anticipation of providing my own children with the luxurious vacations, gadgets, beachhouse, new cars that I could not
"Growing Income Inequality and the Education Gap." Economist's View. N.p., 8 May 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.