Socioeconomic Class

Solid skills in reading, writing and math are very important. However, much of what we know is learned outside of school. Experiences shape who we are and the knowledge we gain from those events can be helpful to success inside of school and inevitably one’s future. Through an examination of articles and personal experiences one can see the difference socioeconomic class makes on experiences with education.

In Sarah Garland’s “When Class Became More Important to a Child’s Education than Race,” Garland shows how two families’ children in separate socioeconomic classes have different opportunities available to them. Jessica Klaitman and her husband spend quite a bit of money on their children through private preschools, dance classes, museum

Their research states, “Millennials are also the first in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt, poverty and unemployment and lower levels of wealth and personal income than their two immediate predecessor generations” (Pew 154). The article also looks into the effects of that debt and lower income. Many students decide where and even if they want to attend college based on the cost. If one does decide to attend college it’s a costly decision; two-thirds of modern day graduates are in almost twice as much debt as students with same degrees twenty years before (Pew

For most, that single factor will determine where they go. “Some 77% of students, however, say that money played an important role in where they decided to apply to college, and one-third say that money was the single most important factor in determining where they enrolled” (Fottrell). I was fortunate to have been granted many academic based scholarships, which I attribute to not having to work during the school year so I could focus on my studies during the academic years. With those scholarships my decision was based more on criteria such as the programs offered and the feel of the campus. On the other hand, my best friend of fourteen years had planned to also attend K-State, we were even going to room together. However, she decided to attend Fort Hays University because the debt of attending Kansas State University was more than she was willing to pay off for many years after graduating. She loves it at Hays and I’m very happy for her. However, her situation makes me think of my own. Even before the scholarships, I knew I could attend wherever I wanted to within reason. As fortunate as I was, I still couldn’t afford to attend a sixty-thousand a year university. I had an advantage over some of my peers, I could choose what my college experience would be based more on how it fit me rather than how it fit my bank