The Class You Are Born Into : The Class You Are Born Into

The article states, “42 percent of American men raised in the bottom fifth of incomes stay there as adults. That shows a level of persistent disadvantage much higher than in Denmark (25 percent) along with Britain (30 percent)”. This statistic explains that 42% American men born in the lower class stays in that class when they are adults but in Denmark that percent is 25%. Another statistic is that 8% of American men born in the lower class rose to the upper class and 14% of Danish men rose from lower to upper. According to the article, the reason why we stay in the class we are born into is because the resources that are needed to move up is too expensive for a lower, as well as, middle (sometimes) class family. So, the families that are in the upper class have a more economic flexibility to send their children to private schools or great colleges whereas the lower/middle class don’t. This stymies their children from getting the same education as the children with upper-class parents. No or poor education can lead to having either no job or a low-paying one.

In the study Lareau conducted, it can be see that working class and poor families differ slightly in that being poor means less resources and a means of a greater struggle for the child. The similarities found explain why being lower class has it benefits in some areas then if you were middle or upper class. Now Lareau is not telling people to raise their children one way or that being rich is better because even the rich have many disadvantages their children encounter. Lareau emphasizes, “Overall, daily life for working-class and poor children is slower paced, less pressured, and less structured than for their middle- and

This article says, “Too many of America’s most disadvantaged children grow up without the skills needed to thrive in the twenty-first century. Whether in educational attainment between income groups or racial/ethnic groups or across geographic locations—inequality persists.” This creates long-term problems within that community. Meaning people who start out with disadvantages, usually don’t have the skills that the upper class more privileged kids do which help them eventually get jobs and maintain this middle to upper class community. The disadvantages people receive bad jobs and

When we as human beings are born into this world, there are things that we have control over, and other things that we have no say in. We control what we do with our lives, what schools to attend, what activities to be a part of, and who we marry, for example. This seems to be quite fair, and for the most part, we take it for granted. While we do have these kinds of freedoms, there are other aspects of life that we have no control over. One thing that we are born into, is our social class. No matter who you are, there is a social class that you fall into, and you really have no say in it. The one social class that seems to be the most populated is the middle, or working class. These people usually classify

Throughout time one of the most obvious class markers has been education and it still remains so. People who belong to the higher classes view education as a higher priority and have more access to the best school in the country. When stuck in lower classes people must attend schools where books, computers, and education are not found at the same level. An article in the Atantic Times mentions that “ Kids who belong to lower social classes fell behind children in the upper classes by about a year or so.” Today, that gap is close to four years.” For those in the upper class their kids are placed in an abundance of classes from an early age such as foreign language, art, and many sports. Children who are in lower classes have no way of getting a head start when compared to children in higher classes Sarah Garland also mentions how “ When children have plenty of time to build social skills and bigger vocabularies in short term reduce their chances of

Wealthier families lead their children to “learn a sense of ‘entitlement’”(Gladwell 105). Wealthier families are wealthier, they can do more for their child as far as money is concerned. Who we are can be based on where we’re from. Growing up with the same set of morals and same conditions as those around us can lead to a generalisation of us all. If your mother grew up with no strong parent figure, she could carry on the same neglect while raising you and so on.

The different wage gap and social class is yet another aspect that will hinder the ability for good people be able to achieve what they want to do in life. Part of the reason that poverty is such a problem is the fact that it relates back to racism and the fact that only certain people and certain genders are able to hold jobs in business and communities. There is a huge pay gap between different races compared to the white income level. The mean black income is 60% less than the white pay. This causes a numerous amount of different problems that hold other races back. It makes it harder for them to raise a family and change their life. One of the ways that they could change their life is if they were to move to a different area and try to

Socioeconomic Status is where a particular person or group of people stand in regards to social class. The main measurement that determines one's socioeconomic status is level of education, occupation and income. Although it may not be considered a factor in child development, socioeconomic status can actually play a huge role in determining what kind of adolescent a child develops into. It can influence a child’s morals, self-esteem, grades and many more aspects of a child's life. Socioeconomic status can play a role in determining where a person resides, the occupation they end up getting, their education and their income as well. So, although one’s socioeconomic status is technically made up of these aspects, one can be born into a low socioeconomic status which could result in them continuing to have one throughout their life. It is a cycle that one must break in order to change the outcome. Low socioeconomic status can result in child poverty. Child poverty over the years has risen and fallen but has remained consistently apparent in America. Child poverty can have detrimental effects on developing children and adolescents. It may influence the way they are raised, taught, cared for and many more aspects of the child's life which are important for successful development. Low socioeconomic status can determine how well children and adolescents develop and the type of person they develop into, including

Langan grew up in conditions of extreme poverty with barely suitable clothing to wear and living with an abusive father. While he eventually made to college because of his natural talents it abruptly ended because of his mother’s failure of his fill out required financial paperwork eventually leading him to the decision of dropping out of school. In Langan’s case achievement ended up being more about his mother’s in ability to understand paperwork and his bad decision of dropping out, than the talents he possessed. This is the case with many other children raised in poverty due to the effects that poverty has on decision making. Children raised in poverty rarely choose to behave differently, but they are faced daily with overwhelming challenges that affluent children never have to confront, and their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that undermine good school performance. In many cases poverty chooses the path for an individual making other opportunities limited, leading to less desirable options. The conditions of poverty are pragmatic one action makes certain future actions more or less possible. For example dropping out of high school after only a ninth grade education made going to college almost completely impossible for

Imagine a world where ones social status won’t determine the outcome of their educational enrichment, a child’s health care prosperities, or even career opportunities. Through years of capitalist modification, society has determined levels of social stratification. What if there was a way to decrease the judgement of welfare participants, decrease welfare payments and increase our economic stand point without removing benefits from needy families?

Some people are born into stable families, so they have m ore opportunities than those that are born into poverty. No matter how people feel toward the choices that the parents made, we can't hold this against the child.

Every person has a different idea of self worth. Worth has been linked to success and materials in this capitalistic and materialistic world. The United States wrote in its declaration of independence how each citizen has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and this saying has lasted throughout the generations. Class divisions have been set to distinguish between the lowest, the middle, and the ultra wealthy. These classes leave a lasting effect on the people and their idea of worth. To grow old in a nation where your life is deemed to be low class can negatively affect mental health and how people see themselves. Being born into a certain class will automatically place you beneath a percent and above others. What

This week in class the focus has been on generational poverty. There are a lot of key factors that lead to poverty. Poverty does not exist because people want it to. Poverty is a way of life for those who don’t know another way and feel that they don’t have a way out. Every day in society people turn their heads or frown up their nose at people who they see living in poverty because they think they are better than them and will not lift a hand to help them out. The big question is why do we do this? In most cases, the poverty line or clash of the classes are based on wealth and there is certainly a variation in the wealth among the population. But classism exists from the beginning of education to death.

Giving children what they want is not necessarily what they need. Children who lead privileged lives miss out on the values life teaches, and becoming independent, not relying on one.

Supporting this statement Cohen explains the following “The best chance for children from poorer families to move up comes from expanding higher education system. But children from higher social classes are much likely to make through that system and emerge into a privilege class in adulthood” (Cohen 2015: 144) this problem of wealth inequality is connected to the conflict theory. The conflict theory states that Society is divided because inequalities in wealth, power and prestige, only benefiting some people. Privileged individuals are the ones who make a living out the power and prestige that they have in society, the power and prestige come from the social capital that only the rich have. “Belonging to a group, such as family or an exclusive club, makes it possible for people to draw from the resources held by all of its members” (Cohen 2015: 117) Let’s look at this way, rich people have the availability to stay rich because they know people who can help them either get a good job or because they simply have the money to put their kids in good schools and