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Socio economic status and academic achievement
Socio economic status and academic achievement
The Relationship between Educational Achievement and Economic Status introduction
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Opportunity Still Abounds Despite Inequities In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203) However, the popular BBC serial-drama Downton Abbey (Broadcast in the U.S on PBS) a program where class permeates every episode, presents a different view. It manages show that opportunity along with the necessary boldness, talent, drive, and persistence can enable a person to rise above their station and better themselves; despite living in a system determined to hold them down. Downton Abbey focuses on the inner workings of an elegant British manor and the affairs of the family and staff who live there. The Crawley’s (the family who owns Downton Abbey) like other British nobles believe they are superior to the middle class Britons …show more content…
Edith Ewing Bouvier-Beal and her namesake “Little Edie” Bouvier-Beal live in a dilapidated mansion in the Hamptons in squalor. “Big Edie” rarely leaves her bed which is surrounded by trash and refuse. She even cooks using a hot plate from her bed. Little Edie reluctantly serves her mother, and feeds the multiple cats and wild animals such as raccoons that populate the filthy flea ridden house
According to Gregory Mantsios many American people believed that the classes in the United States were irrelevant, that we equally reside(ed) in a middle class nation, that we were all getting richer, and that everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life. But what many believed, was far from the truth. In reality the middle class of the United States receives a very small amount of the nation's wealth, and sixty percent of America's population receives less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth, while the top 1 percent of the American population receives 34 percent of the total national wealth. In the article Class in America ( 2009), written by Gregory Mantsios informs us that there are some huge differences that exist between the classes of America, especially the wealthy and the poor. After
Historians have viewed the idea of white dominance as a key element to the legacy of slavery. Losing this dominance with the concept of emancipation was mind boggling. However, the admission of California into the Union required it to enter as a free state according to the Compromise of 1850. Losing white dominance in the newly acquired regions in the West frightened Southern slave holders. Leading to the long trek of individuals from both the North and the South to ensure their version of destiny in the West.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
The main problems facing contemporary America stem from the fact that the rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer, and this is causing a growing gap between the social classes that have existed in this country. In her book, This Land is Their Land, Barbara Ehrenreich describes many of the problems she sees in contemporary America. Using a different approach to develop a novel, Ehrenreich takes a series of blog posts and compiles them to discuss topics that people are thinking about, but are hesitant to say openly. These stories are short, but they are packed with much interesting information, and they focus on this growing social problem.
The United States of America is known as the land of opportunity and dreams. People dream of migrating to this nation for a chance of a better a life. This belief has been around for many years, ever since the birth of the United States; therefore it’s a factor in which motivate many people migrate to the United States. Upton Sinclair, author of the Jungle, narrates the life of a Lithuanian family and there struggles with work, crime, family loss, and survival in the city of Packingtown. Sinclair expresses her disgust as well as the unbelievable truth of life in the United States involving politics, corruption, and daily struggle that many suffered through in the 19th and 20th century.
Allen supports her claims about hierarchies and power dynamics in her chapter “Social Class Matters.” She dives into the structures of society by examining power and social class in various contexts. In this chapter, she explains that people are categorized according to themes of class difference and struggle. Social class is associated with the relationship between power and the distribution of resources. Because this stratification system of social class is one of the biggest predictors of school achievement, social identity plays a large role in the social reproduction of inequality in the education system.
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
Willa Cather’s O Pioneers presents the land as symbolic and vital to the course of the plot. As a force of nature so powerful that it can crush the efforts of any settler in a fleeting moment. This display of supremacy presents itself in the opening lines of Cather's novel, in which she introduces the land as not only the setting but an active character within the story. When Cather’s states, “One January day, thirty years ago, the little town of Hanover, anchored on a windy Nebraska tableland, was trying not to be blown away,” she incarnates the spirit of the settlers within the land. As the novel progresses, the idea that one must be a force equal in strength to the land is apparent in the protagonist character of Alexandra Bergson. O Pioneers brings the works of Fredrick Jackson Turner and Solomon Butcher to life, through Alexandra and her affection for the land, Cather, gives a voice and a human persona to the expanding frontier, showcasing the lands innate ability to shape its own destiny.
In Chapter 7, Loewen claims that current American class structure has not been well represented in high school history text books and after reading this chapter I agree with him. Class structure is something I have not thought a lot about until this moment. I come from a middle-class family that has always had to work hard for everything. Which had lead me to actually believe the fairy tale that America is “The Land of Opportunity” where everyone is equal and has just as good of a chance to make it here as anyone else. In all of my previous history courses I can remember only a few cases where the class system has been discussed and in those moments, it was always talked about as a past event that has since been remedied. Meanwhile, many in the lower class continue to struggle to earn money and as a result cannot afford a better life with nicer homes and better schools for there children. As a result of this children of lower class families are at a distinct disadvantage compared to middle and higher class children. The saying the rich get richer and the poor get poorer comes to mind.
In The Promised Land, Nicholas Lehmann follows the stories of black migrants, politicians, and bureaucrats through the Great Migration, and attempts to explain the decline of northern cities, the constant liberty struggle of blacks across America, and government response to the issues surrounding the Great Migration. This work signalled a drastic change from the structured approach of Thomas Sugrue’s, The Origins Of The Urban Crisis, which observes the effects of institutions and human agency on postwar Detroit and its marginalized peoples. Both Sugrue and Lemann had (albeit slightly different) holistic views of the political climate of postwar cities, which helped provide context for prejudices towards blacks and the poor, and subsequently
Stephen W. Sears’ Landscape Turned Red is an account of political and military plans. Especially General Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign as well as the Battle of Antietam. Sears frames his work around the pending support of Great Britain and France to the Confederate cause due to cotton. Landscape Turned Red covers the battle of Antietam. It offers a vivid account of both armies, the soldiers and officers, and the bloody campaign. It analyzes the impact of Antietam on the Civil War as a whole. Sears' use of diaries, dispatches, and letters recreate the Battle of Antietam. You experience the battle not only from its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate. Sears attempts to examine the tactical moves of both Lee and General George McClellan. He also talks about the foolish decisions that troubled both the Federal and Confederate forces. Sears' use of traits, political pursuits, and tactical preferences, explain the thoughts of many. Some of these include President Lincoln, General Halleck and General McClellan, and their subordinates. Stephen Ward Sears is an American historian specializing in the American Civil War. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and an attendant to a journalism seminar at Radcliffe-Harvard. As an author he has concentrated on the military history of the American Civil War. Such as the battles and leaders of the Army of the Potomac. He was an editor for the Educational Department at American Heritage Publishing Company. American Heritage Publishing two of his ten books.
Gregory Mantsios advocates more on the struggle to proceed from one class to another in his essay-“Class in America”. Mantsios states that, “Class standing has a significant impact on our chances for survival....
Torkildsen (2011) stated that the nature and definition of 'social class' is generally regarded as being problematic, as class not only relates to income or occupation but also upbringing and family background. "social class is often regarded as grouping on the basis of occupation, which is 'socioeconomic class' rather than social class" (Torkildsen, 2011 p.49). divine
As time has passed by, class inequality has lost its utmost importance (Scase, 1992). Even though it may not seem vital it is still prominent in today’s society and everyone’s lives. The term Class if taken as a form of identity which is stuck onto every individual as a signpost, there is no way of getting rid of it nor escaping it. The class is not as vital anymore because there are more opportunities available so it’s much easier for social mobility to happen in the 21st century. In the past people were victims of circumstances and stood no chance to move up the class ladder; they were born into a class they would die in. Now social mobility has become easier so moving up the class system is not as difficult as it was before, which is why the importance of class is diminishing. A recent example that can be seen of Sadiq Khan, his father was a bus driver in Pakistan and now he is the Mayor of London. The concept of Class has no ‘correct’ definition but it’s known as an inequality
Immigrants traveled hundreds of miles from their homes, only with what possessions they could carry, in order to obtain the rights and chase the promise that America had to offer. Mary Antin illustrates in The Promised Land how if given the chance, immigrants will represent the promises and virtues of American society. Antin shows that public education, freedom from religious persecution, and freedom of expression as a citizen are aspects of life Americans may take for granted but immigrants certainly do not.