Social Class, Religion, Gender And Many Others

Not many people realize the importance of education and how big it’s impact one one’s life. After reading “College Equals Success” by Latunya Jackson makes discover that we only can obtain education in school. I have been to two schools before I enrolled in Whatcom Community College. I have always wondered what makes them differ from each other and somehow, it has been a mysterious question that I can’t find an apparent answer to. Eventually, after I have spent some time thinking, I have found that both primary and secondary schools that I have been to, are pretty much unalike in terms of, where I was living in, whom I was living with, and .

Our achievement ideology is based on the idea that the U.S. is full of opportunity and anyone can accomplish success in our society if they work hard enough. Many grow up thinking education is the ladder that will allow for this social mobility and all you have to do is be willing to work hard enough to earn it. But what about children who grow up thinking differently? Why do some strive for high paying careers while others refuse school and are seemingly ok with staying working class? MacLeod challenges the notion that America is the land of opportunity with research he conducted while in college. He uses the research of several reproduction theorists to show that schools not only are not great equalizers, as most think, but

Children who grow up in a poor area go to school where there are 50 kids in one class and individual attention is never given, and children of high class families will go to schools that have smaller class sizes and individual attention. Even when a poor child goes to a better schoolteachers will question if the work done is their own and also only expect hard work from the rich kids. “if you are a child of low income parents, the chances are good that you will receive limited and often careless attention from adults in your high school.” Theodore Sizer “Horace’s Compromise,” “If you are the child of upper-middle income parents, the chances are good that you will receive substantial and careful attention.” (203) These quotes from another author showcase that school in America is often times based on the social standing of the parents.

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

Newman states, “the most powerful institutional agent of socialization after the family, is education” (Newman 67). The public education system is tasked with not educating, but also socializing and defining student’s sense of self as they mature through

For my entire life of schooling, both my parents and I would agree that I constantly complained about the educational systems in which I was enrolled. But when I actually take the time to think about everything I have been through, I realize that I have indeed had an excellent education. My schooling was full of opportunities and experiences, all of which contributed to the person I am today; adequate education has been an indispensable facet of my being. Sadly, not everyone has had this same privilege. And now as a college student, I am becoming even more aware of this sad fact. Looking around me in such a diverse city as Chicago, I find myself being more and more grateful. When I read Jonathan Kozol's Fremont High School, this these

The school is the secondary agent of socialisation that children introduced to throughout growing up. School socialises children in many different ways. Children in this period of socialisation (The School) learn to become a productive member of the society, formal set of skills and knowledge such as writing, reading and maths, and strength their socials abilities by interacting with colleagues and schoolteachers. But mainly children learn that in society everyone’s equal regardless of how special they’re in their families. (Barkan 2012, p. 127)

Education has been the subject of some of the most heated discussions in American history. It is a key point in political platforms. It has been subject to countless attempts at reform, most recently No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Ardent supporters of institutional schools say that schools provide access to quality education that will allow the youth of our country to gain necessary skills to succeed in life. Critics take a far more cynical view. The book Rereading America poses the question, “Does education empower us? Or does it stifle personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds?” The authors of this question miss a key distinction between education and schooling that leaves the answer far from clear-cut. While education empowers, the one-size-fits-all compulsory delivery system is stifling personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds.

"I am an American," says over 308,745,538 people in the United States this year ("2010 Census Data.") These people originate from everywhere; America is a "melting pot" of culture, and that can unfortunately cause social inequalities to arise through the Matrix of Domination, a theory that mirrors the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, as coauthor of Race, Class, & Gender, an Anthology Patricia Hill Collins claims (Andersen, and Collins xi-xiii.) These two terms give label to the commonplace phenomena of race, class, and gender work within a system of social relationships. The understanding of people from other

Growing up in the inner city of Los Angeles taught me many things; make sure you’re inside before the street lights come on, never wear all red or blue, and make sure you get a good education so that one day you can leave the inner city behind. I was fortunate enough to have both a mother and a father who stressed the importance of excelling academically because attending an inner city, LA county, public school did not instill a love of academics in myself or my peers. Our teachers had checked out, the curriculum was not inspiring or relatable, and everyday there was yet another fight happening during recess. As time went on I witnessed my classmates and I take completely different paths. The strong support system I had at home proved effective. As I went on to go to college, many of my peers dropped out, the dismal state of our public school system had clearly failed them. During my undergraduate studies, the stories of my old classmates did not leave my mind.

After doing a self-assessment on my background I believe in time I have changed my views on certain aspects of the diverse society in which we all live in. I strongly believe my background, the way I was brought up and my experiences influence majorly on my values and beliefs as well as my interaction in a diverse society. I have many different attitudes towards races, ethnicity, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation and abilities and these are explored below.

W., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Baumert, J., & Köller, O. (2007). The big-fish-little-pond effect: Persistent negative effects of selective high schools on self-concept after graduation. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 631. doi: 10.3102/0002831207306728

“You are a product of your environment.” W Clement Stone emphasized this, stating that we are made who we are from what whe experience. I grew up with different cultures, one being Mexican, the other American. Along with this, my parents had opposing social, political and religious beliefs. Due to a cultural contrast and a mix, I am able to recognize disparities which paved the way for my passion in social activism, and religious independence.

Race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexual orientation, ability, and gender have all impacted my life in ways beyond my total comprehension. However, I can begin to identify some of the notable interactions and effects and discuss the ways in which they might present themselves in my teaching practices. I am a White, European American, Christian, and heterosexual female without a medically ascribed disability. I can say that ultimately (and unfortunately) my cultural and physical identity is considered normative within the United States and has placed me on a path of privilege and power. Throughout my life, though, I have been fortunate to encounter other cultural groups in very meaningful ways. My international, religious, and family experiences have shaped my worldview most notably.

How you do in school, your social ability, and your awareness of others are all guided by how you identify. Identification in one’s gender, race, religion, social class, and ethnicity are all driving forces behind your future self. Identity is a crucial part of who you are, and in recent studies and experimentation researchers have been trying to identify new, untested factors that influence behavior in people. Although, in the past there hasn’t been a strong focus on the positive and negative effects of race and ethnicity, the conversation is now shifting to align itself with the current times. With America becoming increasingly more ethnically and racially diverse, we must take the time to see how certain factors, specifically race and ethnicity, impact a person’s development and behavior.