This book shows the saddening truth of why the poor typically stay poor and the many, many obstacles that must be overcome just to “get ahead”. As mentioned above, the families in this book were largely affected by social, economic, and cultural barriers. Barriers of all three structural blocks, can include, but are not limited to, low wages, safe housing, education, job training, language barriers, and religious beliefs. Early in the book, Shipler writes about corrupt public administration, such as banks, check cashing facilities, and tax preparers. These are a few examples of structural economic barriers that families encountered.
Civil society can refer to a body of citizens who participate in collective activity through associations. Within his article Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital, neo-Tockquevillean Robert Putnam argues that civil society is vital for the perpetuation of democracy. His primary evidence relies on the level of political participation citizens engage in through association. Through the case study of the United States of America, he notes that when Americans are not able to carry out their duties as citizens, whether it be through voting or attending political rallies, the system of representative democracy is impacted (291). Furthermore, according to Putnam, civil society is good for democracy as the level of trust in the government increases with greater civic participation.
However, wealthier parents more likely to involved in their kid live to teach them the way to talk to others, help them have the change to learn and participate in different activities and show them how they can involve in their environment. For this reason, students with low-income or middle classes usually didn't have the time to interact, communicate and connect with their parents. As a result, if the students have any stressful toward their grade and schools and they
Children that come from lower class families usually feel more insecure about themselves and their families, resulting in more social and behavioral deviance. (Gladwell). This difference in parenting is what allows the world to become so diverse.
Children in America’s Schools tells the public that children that live in inner city/ urban areas do not have high goals for themselves. In a scene from the documentary, Jonathan Kozol interviews children from these impoverished communities on their views of their school and education in general. Some of the children responded by saying they do not see themselves as having a future and question the importance of being in school. Children who live in impoverished communities deal with crime on a regular basis, and believe that they will not amount to much. However, Children in America’s Schools also provides the public with positive views on teachers.
In Alex Kotlowitz’s book, There Are No Children Here, he explains the challenges and hardships a family faces growing up in the Henry Horner projects through social construct. Throughout the book, the social constructs are based off social class, discrimination, poverty, and social location. Due to where ones family is raised or comes from, their location influences ones decisions, in which may cause them to lead a life of crime. My beliefs, after completing the book, were reaffirmed. Those living in a social class below poverty, have a harder time “making it” then someone who lives on a nicer side of town.
In his novel, The Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell makes note of this several times. When discussing that practice was all that was necessary to reach to the top of their field, referring to it as the 10,000th hour of practice, Gladwell acknowledge that “You can’t be poor, because if you half to hold down a part-time job to make ends meet, there won’t be enough time in the day to practice enough” (Gladwell 42). Gladwell observes the different parenting style from rich parents to poor parents contributes to the struggle that children face. While low-income children were more independent,and discipline, they were never imbued with the sense self-importance necessary to thrive in modern society (Gladwell 104). In his autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright retells at several times how the poverty he was brought up in and the strict discipline and parenting he faced left him reluctant to challenge authority.
The author of the section I chose to discuss in this journal name is Cynthia Crosson-Tower. This portion of the chapter describes how a child’s environment can guide and mold their path and journey in life(Crosson-Tower, 2017). One interesting thing she wrote was that a kid that has been faced poverty in any portion of their life triples the chance that they will remain underprivileged up to the age 30 contrary to kids not underprivileged. The author adds that the lengthier of the time a kid experience such underprivileged life the greater the risk they will experience in their adulthood. Another point the writer mentions is that money is not the only concern, things such as being worried about their necessities being achieved.
Gloria Watkins is the author of the essay Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor however, when she wrote this essay she used the pen name Bell Hooks and that is how she will be addressed. Hooks’ essay is her assessment on the light in how the upper class society sees the lower class or “poor” society. The multiple prejudices that the upper class people have towards the “poor” is one of the leading topics for Hooks’ essay. In her essay, Hooks uses some suggestions from a fellow scholar named Cornel West.
Overall, poverty class barriers show up everywhere. The Gallagher family in “Shameless” is a good example of this because they are very poor and most of the siblings end up dropping out of high school or not amounting to much within their lives. They are never truly able to get away from having this status, and it is truly sad because they represent actual families in the real world struggling with this everyday. Money is the true root of all evil, whether you have it or don’t have it there are still issues that show up in your
I was amazed to read that in the affluent school, some of the children mention they will rather not be rich. Rich meant that they could not work and they will rather work since they liked working. In the executive school, I was bothered by the comment that a teacher stated. A teacher associated low-income children with discipline problems. I think that teacher generalized an observation he
2015). My claim is to provide an explanation on how poverty affects American students and their education. One out of every 18th person in the U.S. still lives under the poverty line (Bishwa A. 2012). A big reason why many Americans are dropping down to the lower class is due to divorce, and getting laid off, as factories upgrade their competition, and stock prices by relocating jobs overseas. So how does low income affect their children's?
Discussion about Social class and poverty in America According to the textbook of Introduction to sociology, a social class is defined as a social ranking according to the economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. Sociologist Daniel Rossides describes five social class: the upper class, the upper-middle class, the lower middle class, the working class and the lower class. Social class is decided by achieved and ascribed characteristics, and we can change our class by achieved work. Social class has powerful impacts on a person’s life.
Kids in low income families tend to go to low quality schools and are not able to go to college. This causes the workforce as a whole to be less productive. Now here is the real mind-bender. “As income inequality grows, more and more resources are concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest. So, the idea goes, the wealthiest are better able to steer policies in directions that protect inequality at the expense of growth.”
Just got the next message. I am so happy your kids confirmed this strong bond you have with them. I knew this about Ellie - that she’s holding back. I in case you’re not already aware of this, I can tell you that she feels safer expecting less of from herself than aiming high. And it has a lot to do with her brother who seems to be able to draw a lot of focus on his achievements.
