Throughout the history of mankind people have lived and died in the social class into which they were born. If they had been born poor than chances are they would have died poor and vice versa. Although not all circumstances follow this pattern, it is hard to deny the linkage between social class and the opportunities presented in one’s lifetime. Being brought up in the same surroundings can tend to influence generations, communities, and cultures with the expectation that it is unnatural to deviate from their social class. That is to say, that while we are not chained to the class in which we were born in, certain opportunities are undeniably tied to it. For one example, we can use the correlation between education and social class. Social class can affect academic achievement at a very young age and people in wealthier families are more likely to attend private institutions or private schools. Since in today’s society education plays a major role in determining a person’s success later in life you can argue that students who have access to the latest teaching strategies would benefit more as seen in the article, “Social Mobility among the Urban Poor, “This is the age of computers…And, I think that my kids will have a better life [than I did] because of opportunities today and the working …show more content…
These connections and relationships may speed up or even enhance their success rates later in life or as stated, “It’s not where you go, it’s the people, you got to know somebody to get you in.”(Pg. 171) Whether it is from a promotion in the work force to a job offer in an upstanding business, these connections can prove to be an advantage over the lower and middle class. While these people easily climb the social ladder through family ties others have to rely more on their skills and ingenuity rather than being related to their
As much as society tries to deny the fact that the family that one comes from determines their fate, in almost every case this very fact is true. Today, we see how infants who are born into wealthy families are treated differently than children who are born into drug and disease-stricken poverty. Higher classed people stand out in society on both a local and national level much more than the average middle class working family.
(p1) Broadly speaking, class is about economic and social inequality… (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together, and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate so that inequalities persist from generation to generation.
Preventing poverty and improving the school system can help prevent class reproduction, but Macleod argues that, "what is required is the creation of a truly open society--a society where the life chances of those at the bottom are not radically different from those at the top and where wealth is distributed more equitably" (260). Until structural inequality is eliminated, wealth is more evenly distributed, and discrimination between classes ends, social reproduction will be to well known by society.
Success. Society tends to correlate “success” with the obtainment of a higher education. But what leads to a higher education? What many are reluctant to admit is that the American dream has fallen. Class division has become nearly impossible to repair. From educations such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA to vocational, adult programs, and community, pertaining to one education solely relies on one’s social class. Social class surreptitiously defines your “success”, the hidden curriculum of what your socioeconomic education teaches you to stay with in that social class.
Class for the purpose of this paper is the concept that those who are better off are of what can be considered to be upper class and those that lack financial means are of the lower class. Mantsios says that there is an absence of discussion in reference to the distinctions of classes (697). In a study performed by Susan Ostrander, in regards to the term “upper class” one woman responded “‘I hate to use the word ‘class.’ We are responsible, fortunate people, old families, the people who have something’” (697). Yet it appears to be opposite that those who are in this lower class realize the plight they suffer. As one student from Fremont High School noted, “‘The owners of the sewing factories need laborers. Correct…It’s not going be their own kids… You’re ghetto,’ said Fortino unrelentingly to her. ‘So Sew!’”(Kozol 645). The student who knew that he was more than likely to be stuff in his place was willing to point out this fault of the system. This topic which more than likely the well-off woman would stray from rather because she had life easier than Fortino will in his lifetime.
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.
Social Class and Education”. It opens by discussing research conducted in the 1960’s in an effort to identify factors contributing to differences in the academic achievement of Whites and Blacks (Banks & Banks, 2013). Researchers hypothesized that the achievement gaps were mainly the result of disparities in school resources and characteristics, but found that there is a high correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status (SES) (Banks & Banks, 2013). Furthermore, attention is drawn to the class stratification which exists in our educational system and works to maintain inequality through exclusion strategies such as ability grouping and tracking (Banks & Banks, 2013). Evidence of the correlation between social class and education is presented with a glimpse into our higher education system. Despite the significant expansion in the number postsecondary institutions, and an increase in overall enrollment of low-income students, they are more likely to enroll in two-year, rather than four-year institutions, and privileged student attendance in highly selective institutions is increasing (Banks & Banks, 2013). The unintended consequence of the expansion of higher education institutions is an increase in class inequality, rather than a decrease, as more privileged students seek admittance to more selective institutions, locking less privileged students out (Banks & Banks, 2013). Greater access to the best universities helps privileged students maintain their class status, independent of their individual qualities. Consequently, privileged students have greater access to higher quality resources than do less privileged students attending less selective institutions, thereby inhibiting movement up the social class ladde...
Despite the typically imaged definition of socioeconomic class being based entirely on the wealth of the individual, there are many complex social factors at play as well. Not only does it stem from Max Weber’s concept of Socioeconomic class (wealth, status, and power), there is a mobility to it as well. Anyone can permanently or temporarily
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, has many social class conflicts presented in the book. The main thing that Steinbeck concentrates on is the fact that if a man had land he had a name, he had a purpose. Though some men in the 1930’s were living in poverty and having to struggle to provide for their family, they still had a place, their land kept them grounded, they didn’t feel like they were ultimately losing everything. Steinbeck tells a story about a family that got their land taken away from them and their struggle to continue on with their lives.
America is seen as the land of opportunity across the world, but many people wonder if it is true. The truth is America does have opportunities and with dedication anything is possible though the opportunities are limited. Usually limited for those who belong to a lower social class. The main reason the opportunities are limited are because of America’s social inequality. The social class of America is separated into multiple groups that struggle with each other due to the inequality of power and wealth on the daily basis within the country.
Social class often puts us in a group or community of people who share similar experiences such as, having a low income. People that come from upper class households, may have an advantage at
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
The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Many sociologists have tried to explore the link between social class and educational achievement, measuring the effects of one element upon the other. In order to maintain a definite correlation between the two, there are a number of views, explanations, social statistics and perspectives which must be taken into account. The initial idea would be to define the key terms which are associated with how "social class" affects "educational achievement." "Social class" is the identity of people, according to the work they do and the community in which they live in. "Educational achievement" is the tendency for some groups to do better or worse in terms of educational success.
Social class has a major influence over the success and experience of young people in education; evidence suggests social class affects educational achievement, treatment by teachers and whether a young person is accepted into higher education. “34.6 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs, compared to 62.0 per cent of all other pupils” (Attew, 2012). Pupils eligible for FSM are those whose families earn less than £16,000 a year (Shepherd, J. Sedghi, A. and Evans, L. 2012). Thus working-class young people are less likely to obtain good GCSE grades than middle-class and upper-class young people.
This theory identified the important role of education and training in establishing an individuals’ social class. Davis and Moore view a job position’s pay as a reward and motivational device for an individual. These rewards have to equally match the amount of training and education required to qualify for the position. Davis and Moore’s theory explains, “Rewards must be sufficient both to attract adequate numbers of individuals to occupy positions and to motivate adequate role performance. It is hypothesized that differences in rewards are necessary because positions are not all equally agreeable or equally important to the society, nor do they require the same talent or training” (Cullen and Novick 1424). Members in the high class have very well paying jobs that usually require a large amount of education and training before entering the workforce. This, in turn, is rewarded by the amount of money they can make when they obtain the proper qualifications to work in an intended field. The lower class individuals usually hold lower wage paying jobs that require little training and little education. These jobs are much easier to perform and therefore are awarded less capital to do. The middle class lies in the middle of the two. The jobs held in this class require a fair amount of schooling and training and earn a fair amount of