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Social classes and their influence on society
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Analysis on the Outsiders and "Turning 14 in Cincinnati" by Sten Lu One of the most significant claim that we (my group) have discussed yesterday in class is "Life is easier for the upper class". I heavily disagree with this claim as others may do too. One moment that proved this clearly was when Ponyboy was talking to Cherry. The upper-class people may suffer though different problems as lower class people do.
In James W. Loewen’s “The Land of Opportunity,” he states that social class affects the way children are raised. He discusses the inequality in today’s society and how the textbooks in high school do not give any social class information. The students in today’s time are not taught everything they should be taught. He states that your family’s wealth is what makes up your future. Loewen discusses that people with more money can study for the SATs more productively and get a better score than someone who has less money.
The study showed that children from middle-class families were more likely to attend a nice school, participate in extracurricular activities, and be better educated. However, children from working-class and poor families typically had to find ways to entertain themselves. The findings from the research supported Lareau’s original thesis that social class had a greater impact on children than race because the middle-class families that were studied had different racial backgrounds. Lareau explained this in Unequal Childhoods (2011) by stating that “Class, in some instances, is more important than race” (Lareau p. 256). Another finding from the study builds upon this idea and elaborates on the two ways that children can be
Social class matters and in fact it is a big marker on the identity of a child. In Where We Stand: Class Matters, bell books states, “Three important things I learned in school: 1) money matters, 2) status goods matters, 3) where you live matters” (p.10). Here we see that systems of power work against working class children by constantly questioning their values, and talents causing them to be torn between two worlds. It is only after attending school that children see the difference between themselves and their peers. For instance in the story Juice struggles with reading.
In the working class schools, the student’s attitudes reflected what the teachers felt about their job. The teachers lacked passion for their job and did not want to be there anymore than the students. The principal not knowing the history of the school plays a role on why the school was poorly maintained. The middle class school had more parents involved than working class school. This can be the result of the parents socioeconomic status since middle class parents have better paying jobs allowing them more participation in their child’s school.
Lower-class families frequently do not have the educational background to equip their children with the needed social skills to pursue success. He states, “his mother permits that casual incivility because she wants him to learn to assert himself with people in positions of authority… this kind of interaction simply doesn’t happen with lower class children (106-107)”. Wealthy and middle class parents are more often able to introduce social and analytical skills into their child’s life, which cannot be learned in a classroom. This enables the skill to interact with authority figure capable of making unintended opportunities occur. In the school environment social classes are irrelevant because they are all presented with the same education that allows them to learn at the same pace.
She conducted in depth observations of 12 families. In her book called Unequal Childhoods, she explains that middle class families raise their children differently than working class families. Although Annette Lareau believes that middle and upper class children are more likely to be successful, reality shows that success is more complicated than that. The middle class kids may have an advantage later in life, but that does not necessarily mean they will be happier.
The class of someone also affects certain opportunities such as job and school choices. Even in schools, social classes cause discrimination. Many kids from lower classes get picked on and bullied because they don’t have as nice of clothes or gadgets that the children from higher classes do. This becomes our culture in a
Something they both shared, was when they were typically married. Most women were married at age twenty-five, and it was only a couple years older for the men, at age twenty-seven to twenty-eight. Mothers usually had six children in their lifetime, which was partly due to their early marriages (Mitchell 142). One difference between the classes, was that children and infants in poorer families were often more likely to die than than those born into wealthier families. A main reason was that people in the upper class had better living conditions than the lower.
1. Some research methods sociologist have used in determining relative poverty for families would be social stratification such as the caste and class system. For example, in both documentaries which displayed the everyday lives of impoverished youth, these systems would consider them as the bottom tier or as known as the "working class." In both the United States and Great Britain the enourmous amount of "poor families," is expected to rise in the future as stated in the British documentary, and could be assumed for the U.S. as well. Moreover, "The British mix of caste elements and meritocracy has produced a highly stratified society with some opportunity to move upward or downward, much the same as exists in the United States" (Chapter 9, Page
This is partially true because there are pros and cons. In the middle class, children have access to many resources and are exposed to different races and cultures and their use of language. There is a con because with so much organization, there is no time to “be a kid”. The use of language can be dangerous because they can manpliuate people into getting what they want. Another con is not being close to their family and they take advantage of the resources such as a washer or food.
The lower class works for their living and spends what money they have on things they need. Whereas the upper class, usually has a higher education and better paying jobs than the other classes in America. Thus, heritage plays a big part in reasons of social classes.
The tenth episode of The Wire was about how they got an extension on the wire tap from Judge Phelan. Once leaving the office, McNulty finds out that the judge is not on the re-election ticket. Orlando was caught for trying to buy cocaine from an undercover officer. He gives Avon’s name in hoping that the police would let him go. Once the police looked of Avon, they realized that McNulty was looking for him.
Social classes are a form of social stratification that refers to the existence of structured inequalities between individuals and groups in society. A social class is a group of people of comparable status, power and wealth which are usually classified as upper class, middle class, and lower class. For each class, there are some specific opportunities available that influence their social life. We can understand about the particularity of the chances through unequal distribution of these opportunities between individuals in social classes. In here belonging to a social class seems to be an obstacle for some individuals to obtain equal opportunity, unlike upper class people.
It is considered here the unbalanced power, occupation, race, teaching in schools, etc. In this topic, I will more likely emphasize the social classes which causes inequality to the society and poverty. Social classes are set or groups of people in the society in which category they belong such as upper class, middle class and lower class. What made social inequality exist? One reason is the poverty that comprises of the lower class.
