When Class Became More Important To A Child's Education Than Race Summary

Sarah Garland’s article titled, “When Class Became More Important To A Child’s Education Than Race” (2013) discusses the education gap between low income families and wealthy families. Garland begins her article with a statistic, stating, “In 1963, kids in the 10th percentile of income fell behind children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Today, that gap is closer to four years” (1). She continues her article by describing a relatively wealthy family living in Brooklyn, New York. The amount of classes the family has the children signed up for, along with the hefty costs of each class, seems excessive to Garland. Garland then expresses that, “[this family’s] considerable investment in their children is becoming the norm for families like theirs who are in the top tiers of the country’s income distribution” (1). Then, she restates her thesis, that there is a growing divide between academic outcomes of children brought up in wealthy families versus those brought up in mid

This family is considered a low-income family and lives a much different life than the wealthy family Garland described beforehand. Though this is an African American family and the wealthy family it is compared to is white, Garland believes that the difference in income is a larger factor than race in determining their children’s educational outcomes. The information divide is another reason Garland believes social classes are widening the educational gap between low income and high income families. The higher income families are able to gather in exclusive clubs and sign their children up for activities where other affluent parents gather. These families are able to provide each other with support and tips on parenting and educating their children. Low income families who cannot afford to provide their children with exclusive clubs and extravagant activities, do not have this support accessible to