Social Class Reflection

book after book. All titled Middle school, the worst years of my life, how I survived middle school, middle school get me out of here,and the list goes on . As I was nearing the end of fifth grade, I started seriously thinking about how middle school would be and got worried after hearing of so many stories of people's terrible middle school years. However, I have to admit it really hasn’t been all that bad these last three years and in fact, middle school may have been my favorite, compared to elementary school. With more freedom, more people, more homework, more activities, more teachers, more fun classes, more excitement, more everything quite frankly, I have been able to have . I am sure a lot of us have fun throughout these middle school while learning more about yourselves and the people around us each year. I am sure many of us have been able to say for sure that we have had many experiences that can prepare us for the future.

On September 1, 2012, I walked into my fifth grade teacher’s classroom for the first time in my life. Mrs.Cullen was standing in the front of the door with open arms ready to welcome her new fifth grade students. As I made my way to my desk and sat down next to Charlie Schutt and Quin Timmerman, I got the feeling that middle school would be a time of talking to some of my best friends and cruising through classes. As the school year progressed, and classroom seats changed, my thought of how Middle school would be changed as well. On the first day Mrs.Cullen explained our schedule, Homework detentions, and demerits. After about fifty questions, she sent us off to our first class, and the first step of our Middle School journey. The fifth grade

I remember the gut wrenching feeling looking at the bright computer screen on that Wednesday evening not seeing my name. The confidence I had a minute before was all taken away in an instant. I didn’t make the middle school cheerleading team. I know it seems like a first world problem, but I wanted more than anything to make that team and when I found out I did not make the cut I was devastated. I had worked so hard to put myself in the best position possible. I practiced motions, jumps, and even smiling until my cheeks went numb. Unfortunately, this did not do much in terms of getting put on the team.

I was competing for a spot with girls I had never even seen before, and even worse: I had no idea what they were capable of. Tryouts gave me the same rush of adrenaline I felt during my first performance. As much as I loved the feeling, I was terrified of it all at once. Once I made my first impression on the judges, it was time for the waiting game. It took a solid three weeks until I got my letter in the mail that held my future cheer sealed inside. To my delight once more, the contents of the letter were more than exciting. “Congratulations! You are invited to cheer on Saint Francis Junior Varsity Cheerleading!” stated the letter in big bold block letters. The season flew by faster than the speed of light, and before I knew it I was feeling the adrenaline rush again inside the sticky, hot gym. I put my spot on the squad in jeopardy by going for the varsity squad as a junior, which was something very risky because the seniors always got selected above a junior. Taking this risk was something I would have never done, as I used to always play it safe. An upperclassman I had confided in when I met her during my basketball season watched my tryout from outside the window looking into the gym, and she said I had killed it, and the letter I received that April reflected that. I was one of two juniors cheering on the football squad of all seniors.

Ten years ago, if someone had told me that I would be a cheerleader at the collegiate level, I would most likely have laughed in their face. Now as I sit here getting ready for practice, I laugh thinking of how I entered the world of cheerleading. Going into my freshman year of high school, my mother told me I had to try out for cheerleading. So, naturally, I cried. There was no way I would be a cheerleader. But as they say, mothers know best. Growing up, I participated in every sport imaginable; gymnastics, basketball, track, lacrosse, and even golf. Changing activities often became familiar for me, as I would get bored quite easily. After I had made the decision to take up cheerleading full time, I felt like I was downgrading. I felt

Middle school, that odd transitional period of grades 6, 7, and 8, is an awkward time for all. Like the overlooked middle child, middle school is granted naught in the way of remarkable characteristics (neither the care-free fun of elementary school or the expanded freedom and importance that defines high school). Such a proving ground of inelegance, though, provides a magnificent springboard, a crisp sable slate, just primed for self-reformation. Failure is a step in the process, and only notable failures can contrast themselves against an environment as imperfect as a middle school jazz band.

One of the experiences from this class that has increased my multicultural competence within socioeconomic status was attending Richard Wolff’s event. He received his PhD from Yale University in Economics and explained why we as Americans hold on to our capitalistic economy even though it has collapsed twice before and is known for being unstable. I realized that I have also never before been presented alternative ways of economics. The capitalist economy, for me, was a given, and I was glad to be made aware of other solutions and ways other people have used other forms of economy and the ways they were benefited by their way of doing organizing society.

It is easy to say that this class has given me a lot of tools that I will use throughout my practice. However, there are three distinct concepts that I plan on carrying at the forefront of my mind when working with clients and communities: intersexuality, what it means to be an ally and how society constructs key minorities. I want to look at each of these separately and look at how I will use these in my practice.

As freshman year rolled around, so did tryout season. I soon became very nervous that I was not good enough for the sport. Yeah I had the tumbling part of it down, but what about the rest? What about the stunts, and the jumps, and most importantly, the encouragement and leadership aspect of cheer? I didn’t know if i could do it. I started panicking and practiced every place I could: at home, at the gym, in school, everywhere. All of my friends knew tryouts were coming up and how nervous I was becoming. They would always say things like, “You’re doing great,” or “That was really good.” I soon realized that their encouraging words were what was going to get me through the stress-filled tryout process. As the date for tryouts got closer and closer, I started to believe in myself and my ability to make the team. When the day finally arrived all my friends were there to support me. I tried out and the judges made their decision. I had made the team. I was a varsity cheerleader and I couldn’t have been more excited. I ran straight to my friends to thank them for all their love and support. It was right then and there that I had realized I wanted to encourage people the way they had encouraged me. I wanted to make people

Going to high school for the first time, I couldn’t decide if I should try out for the cheerleading team or wait a year. Since I had time and had been on the other squads, I decided “why not?” I had nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Tryouts were not as hard as I thought, but I just knew I had to be on the squads. The tryout consisted of learning the routine they made up. Making up your own routine, doing splits, and making a chant, Yet although these things were not that hard, I still was not sure whether I would make the team or not. The time came for the judges to make their decision on who made the squad. Totaling the votes, they handed the results to the coach. She gave her speech that all coaches give. E were all good, but only few could

There is no way to deny that a social class system exists that divides people by general popularity. Once children begin school, they begin to separate into these divisions. The top of the social ladder, often considered to be people who are cool, are stereotyped to be beautiful and happy. Although in some cases this may be true, it is not always that way. Misconceptions about popularity lead to a greater divide amongst the social classes, and cause those in the lower social levels to be considered as or to feel as if they are inferior. Articles like one written by Christian McBride, entitled Be Cool, published in This I Believe II, continue to develop the false ideology that one must be popular in order to live a full, happy life.

The first year, the time to prove myself had arrived. Classes, rooms, teachers, and some students were unfamiliar. Eventually, minutes melted into hours, hours to days, and days to weeks. It didn’t take long before my schedule was routine, something of second nature. Humor and happiness were found in the form of my advisory family, where school was transformed into something more than going through the same motions of day to day activity. By the closing point of sixth grade, I was having a hard time letting go of what I’d adapted to. “What’s wrong?” my dad asked when I was getting into the car after being picked up early on the last day. I explained how distressed I was that my first year of middle school exceeded my expectations, and that it had to come to an end. Although his outlook viewed my reason for sorrow as trivial, I didn’t.

It is no secret that the world we inhabit today is divided amongst social classes. However, while the boundaries between those classes have become blurred over time concerning personal relationships, the same cannot be said about the society in which our principal characters exist in Pamela; Or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). Readers encounter Pamela, Mr. B, and Lady Davers in a world where the elite only associate with other elite, and furthermore even expect to be granted certain privileges over those beneath them. The actions of these three characters perfectly reflect the attitudes of the era in which this novel is set. It is their respective social classes that lead to the behaviors of the characters, from the physical and emotional

Starting out coming into a new school at a young age, going into a borderline opportunity school, which a opportunity school is just half jail half school. Cops patrolling the school every few days making it hard to do anything. And with the kids crowding the school making any information given spread like a plague across all the classes, both literally and figuratively. The social class at South Central is hellish, painfully real yet just imaginary to the teachers. Everything told, expressed, or said from the “well-off” kids were followed by many and repulsed by few. Mostly followed from sheer fear from prior kids who revolted and were “dealt” with. The social class was a ongoing war between the few numbered well off kids, the ones who were rich using money as their only source of defense; Versus the excruciating large amount of the “bottom tier” kids, the kids who were poor, charismatic, and yet tightly bonded with each other.

At first I didn't know what to expect from this class. Honestly, I thought it was mostly going to be a boring class, just learning about what families and different types of families in Canada are. However, after that first class, I felt completely different about it.