It is easy to be blind to how different peoples lives are from each other. We are so fixed in our habits that we forget to think about how every one of our actions is influential to other individuals. As I have practiced thinking like a sociologist over the course of four months, I have practiced looking at the world with a bigger lens rather than my narrow-minded viewpoint. C. Wright Mills coined the term “the sociological imagination,” which is the importance of viewing the world as a whole and how everyone plays a part in it. We can not just rely on ourselves and our own experiences to know what the world is all about. Being the second youngest of eleven children certainly doesn’t seem normal, but the area I grew up in, my household …show more content…
Wright Mills). Public issues, or things that have a much broader impact on society, such as the whole nation being in debt (C. Wright Mills), have never affected me personally because of my status within society, so I haven’t cared to look at those issues. Considering that St. Cloud is predominately white Catholics, one of these public issues in my hometown is the racism towards Somalians. In the past 10 years, the Somali population has grown significantly which has made racism more apparent in St. Cloud. As soon as the Somali population started to show more active roles in the community, the people of St. Cloud started to discriminate and insinuate that they were ruining the city. Once it was announced that the Muslim population would be building a new mosque, City Hall flooded with comments about how it would jam residential roads and foster terrorism (Du). My family is in the middle class, along with an estimated 33.9% of the population of St. Cloud (US Census Bureau). My social class has altered over the years as the situation in my household, such as children moving out and parents switching jobs, has changed. Eleven children in one household has played a significant role in whether my parents’ income was actually substantial. The average household in America has 2.63 people living in it (US Census Bureau).
Compared to California’s education demographics, San Leandro has a higher percentage of high school graduate, but a lower percentage of higher educational attainment compared to the entire nation (bachelor’s degree or higher). Using Thompson and Hickey’s model for social class in the United States (2005), my family would be considered working class. This is defined as “clerical, pink and blue collar workers with often low job security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000 [and] high school education” (Thompson et al., 2005). My mother currently works as a part-time waitress and is going to community college to receive an associate’s degree in accounting. My father has been working as a full-time cook at a Chinese restaurant in Oakland Chinatown for about 25 years. His highest level of educational attainment is high school. These racial and social class demographics are important in understanding my social location.
Despite the debates about social class, the United States is usually described as having four major social classes, the elite or upperclass, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class (Goldscmidt). Classes are generally differentiated by income, education, and occupation although other factors do have an effect. The upperclass consists of about 1% of the population making 750,000 dollars or more a year as investors, top executives, or heirs to large fortunes (Hughes and Jenkins). There tends to be no question about who is in the upperclass as they are pretty clearly isolated in their power and wealth. The middle class makes up about 40% of the population making anywhere from 40,000 to 749,999 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). The large disparity in income and wealth have led to a further division of this class into upper-middle class and middle class in some circles. The middle class usually work white collar jobs as professionals and managers, however some highly skilled blue collar workers are included. Those in the middle class have usually obtained higher education degrees and place a high value on individual responsibility for one’s class (Goldschmidt). The working class is composed of about 50% of the population earning 13,000 to 39,000 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). Some also divide this class into a working class and a
As the years have passed I was considered middle class, but with the top 1% earning more than half the money in the country we are considered
The article “Class in America” by Gregory Mantsios exploited the sad truth that is the American class system. Throughout the piece we are introduced to different myths about the economic spectrum that are later debunked by hard facts and evidence. On a day to day basis here at Monmouth University I am surrounded by fellow students who I would believe to be in the same social class as me. Growing up I never viewed myself as exceedingly wealthy or poor by any means but I knew my parents had to work hard for whatever income they could get. My family is what this article identifies as “middle class”, but after reading it should I begin to think of myself as less than that? According to the article, classes should not even be discussed because there
In percentage terms, 51% of adults lived in middle-income households, 29% in lower-income households and 20% in upper-income households (pewresearch.org 2016).
Both of my parents hold a steady job. Even though they do not receive huge paychecks, we get by enough to be happy. I would categorized our family as middle class. Being middle class is a privilege because it could be worse. We are just thankful that we are not out in the streets – we have a roof over our heads and dinner on the table. Because of our class, my parents are able to hold a position in the society. However, the social class
Of this group, about 1/3rd belongs to the upper-middle class. The annual income of person belonging to this group is $70-$75,000. The jobs that the typical upper-middle class person holds would have a prestige rating of 65 or higher. 2/3rd?s of the middle-class population is the lower-middle class. White-collared individuals make up the majority of this class, earning anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 a year. Lower-middle class Americans have a set standard of priorities. They take pride in the fact that they are financially stable, and promote hard work, and press on education. Without education, the members feel that they would not be where they are economically, and preach the importance to their children so that they, too, can live a lifestyle very similar to that of theirs (Norton).
My “bubble” score on this survey was 28 which means that I am more separated from part of the U.S culture because of my low score. Charles Murray expected me to be a first-generation and second-generation, higher-middle class individual with middle-class parents and that I make it a hobby to get out a lot. I find this information mostly correct because I do believe my family is in the middle-class and I make a point to get out, even if it does not happen as often as it should. My parents worked hard when they were younger to get where they are today and give us the name we deserve. I would classify my family in the middle class because of what we can do and afford. Typically, I do not go out much, but when I can, I take advantage of this moment.
As we know, the first thing to distinct a person’s class is his or her income. As Reeve’s observed, he found that the three different classes inside the middle class, upper class, middle “half”, and bottom “half”. He said that according to the recent research, “incomes in the upper middle class are rising relative to the rest of the distribution” (Reeve, 2015). The Great Recession that happened during 2007 to 2009 brought plenty of families down and almost destroyed them, people said the middle class was affected the most. However, not many people know that there are classes in side a class; the upper middle class revered from the Great Recession pretty soon and kept increasing their wealth while the rest of the middle
I am in the middle-class of American society; however, I grew up in the lower- class reared by a single teenaged mother, who barely graduated high school. Growing up we always lived with some family member that was barely making it themselves. Everyone we lived with had some government issued income or a low paying job. Over the years my mother worked various minimum waged jobs. We also, used various government programs and organizations such as food stamps, clothes and food banks and free lunch programs when she didn’t have enough income to meet our needs.
Forty-five percent of Americans are middle class. Thirty percent of Americans are working class. Fifth-teen percent of Americans are poor” (Butler-Sweet, September 7). With that being said how many Americans can say that they can live comfortably? Roughly around 50 to 55 percent can! Class can also tell a lot about what kind of community you grew up on. Take Fairfield, Connecticut for instants; around sixty-two percent are middle class to upper middle class. They have safe neighborhoods, public safety, access to healthy food and top-notch education. Then not too far from Sacred Heart University, there is Bridgeport. In a WTNH News 8 video, High Poverty Rate in Bridgeport, they stated that twenty-eight thousand citizens the percentage of children living in poverty is forty-eight percent as in the year 2012. One in three kids living in the city is below the poverty line, thirty-nine percent of kids!
In Sociology 101 we have learned a great deal about how interconnected social issues are. Poor education and poverty can often be connected to create a cycle of poverty that brings down the next generation. Racial inequality can often lead to poor job opportunities. Using the sociological imagination, I will also attempt to connect events in my life to larger social problems and look at my life through the sociological perspective. I am going to look at how my privileged upbringing in a middle class family that also happens to be in Howard County.
In the United States there is three social classes. There is a lower class nation, middle class, and the upper class nation. The lower class is the working class the “blue collar” , the middle class is the “white collar” jobs and the upper class is the independently wealthy class. In the united states there is more people that fit into the middle class than into any of the other two social classes. In the article Middle Class In America by the U.S. Department of Commerce states that, “Middle class families are defined by their aspirations more than their
At the time of my birth my sister was 19 years old and attending Longwood College and my brother was 25 years old and married to his wife Sarah. As essentially an only child, the closest thing I have to siblings around my age are my cousins, on my maternal side I have 7 cousins, all within 4-5 years of me, with 4 currently living within an hour drive. Early interactions and involvement with my cousins were deeply impactful in helping me work in groups and reach a solution and most importantly, teaching me how to resolve bitter arguments with my peers. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory is easily applicable in this situation, as these social interactions with my cousins and family heavily contributed to my development. During elementary school, my breaks were always highlighted by trips to New York to visit my Grandparents and have fun on their farmland with my cousins. While I was raised as an only child my father had the experience of raising two children and used that experience to give my mother advice and help while also using the techniques that he saw worked and didn’t work. Perhaps the biggest contributing factor to my parent’s frameworks for my development was their experience in
My family has for the most part straddled the line between working and middle class. While most of my family members moved up in their careers as time went by, tragedies have struck (such as my grandfather’s early demise) that sent them tumbling down and the occasional triumph or stroke of luck has improved their financial situation and allowed them to bounce back. Of course money isn’t the only thing that has helped or hindered my family; their skin color has allowed them to maintain a place of privilege in society. I have only ever experienced the good life that my parents have been able to afford for themselves, but from working retail for over a decade I have been able to see how other people live and how hard it can be to make ends meet when that job is not just something you do while you’re in college.