The Stratification System Of America

In America there is an upper strata sought to climb; in capitalism there is the illusion of a vertical circulation that does not partake in any anarchical character thus there is a mechanism which controls the process of vertical circulation in America. This mechanism begins and is continually fueled by the American School system, which falls from the systemic influence of institutional racism, gender inequality, and an unequal distribution of wealth fueled by socioeconomic contingencies.

The school system is part of the stratification system of America thus it is a piece of social machinery which tests the abilities of the individuals, wish sifts them, selects, them, and decides their prospective social positions. This structure (educational system) is disposed to the reproduction of the structure of power relationships and symbolic relationships between classes, by contributing to the reproduction of the structure of distribution of cultural capital among these classes. Schools are not socially neutral institutions but reflect the experiences of the “dominant class”, for example children from this class enter school with key social and cultural cues, while working class and lower class students must acquire the knowledge and skills to negotiate their educational experience after they enter school. These students from the lower middle class can never achieve the natural familiarity of those born to these classes and are academically penalized on this basis. Social transmission of privilege is itself legitimized because differences in academic achievement are normally explained by differences in ability rather than by cultural resources transmitted by the family thus academic standards are not seen as handicapping lower class...

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...n but African American teachers seldom teach white children. This immense disparity highlights the lack of change that resulted from the 1954 Supreme Court’s desegregation decision. Not only is segregation still evident, the inequality that depletes the minorities chance of “merit” is substantial: “In the metropolitan Midwest, for example, the average Negro has 54 pupils per room-probably reflecting considerable frequency of double sessions-compared with 33 per room for whites.” While monitoring standardized testing it was proven that facilities with scientific labs had better test scores, while minorities (especially Native Americans) are in schools with fewer laboratories. While the integration process of schools can develop negative and hostile attitudes originally, analytically integration in the long run will prove to be beneficial for the minority as well.