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Social Class Reflection Paper

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As social workers, oppression and privilege are subjects that we will face every day in our work with clients. It is our role to help our clients cope with their experiences and well as empower them to fight against oppression. However when working with clients in communities different then our own it is important to examine our own bias so that we can keep them in check when working with clients. One way we can understand and recognize our biases more is by looking back on our life.
I am a twenty-two-year-old Mexican American woman who has faced a variety of experiences when it comes to my culture, race, and social status. At this moment in my life I would consider my social class to be middle class but this was not always the case. …show more content…

My family immigrated to the United States in search of a better life and more opportunities. Although I am not fully aware of my great grandparents’ journey to the United States, I know that my grandfather experienced deportation several times on his journey. After arriving in the United States, my grandfather and my great grandparents were determined to thrive in the United States, each in their own ways.
A few years after my great grandparents immigrated to the United States, they opened a corner store on the South Side of Chicago. With their store, they not only provided for their family of six children but they also employed other Mexican immigrants. Eventually they were able to open more stores which helped even more. Since they lived in a neighborhood made up of many other Hispanic immigrants, they felt comfortable holding onto and expressing their Mexican Culture. My great-grandparents did not make many attempts to assimilate to the American Culture as they spoke mostly Spanish and very little English. Their children were raised with Spanish as their first language and they did not learn English until they entered school. Although my great-grandparents held on to their Mexican Culture, their children did not. Their children made many efforts to become Americanized with their cloths, speech, and customs. As a result of this, my cousins and I do not know Spanish and we do not

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