The Importance Of Social Classes In America

1. Class is characterized as the difference between groups of people who are ranked on a social or economic status. The book describes the word “class” being used less often among the poor but rather refer to their race, ethnic group, or geographical location to identify with. There are three basic tiers to the social classes. There is the upper-class, middle- class, and lower-class. Classes are divided up by the amount of yearly income. There was a study done by Susan Ostrander that tested women on whether they considered themselves apart of the upper class or not. One participant responded and said, “I hate [the term] upper class. It is so non-upper class to use it. I just call it ‘all of us,’ those who are wellborn” (p. 150). Often, Americans use
the terms “the wealthy” and “the poor” instead of labeling by class rankings.
Then myths are created to define what specifically is wealth and poverty. America is looked at as a wealthy country but only 1 percent of the American population holds 34 percent of the total national wealth (p. 151). This is a very small percentage of the American population. There are more people living in poverty in America than there are wealthy, middle class people. One in eight people in this country live below the official poverty line (p. 150). It is difficult to say that we live in a classless nation because there is explicit difference between the poor and the rich. About one-third of the American population lives at one extreme or the other. The gap between the rich and poor is tremendously growing, according to the book (152).
Wealth is often lumped
together with the upper-class and middle class. Wealth is defined as “the total extent at a given moment, of an individual’s accumulated assets and access to resources, and it refers to the net values of assets less debt help at one time” (P. 170). Wealth is more of an economic status than it is a social status, like class. Wealth is related to class because the wealthier people are higher in class. Substantial wealth often brings income, power, and independence. Because of this definition, there are divisions among people depending on personal income and assets. Often, there is family money that is passed down generation after generation. This trend continues throughout families which allows the family to stay substantially wealthy. People who are born into a poor family will more times than not, stay in the same trend of poverty that they have been facing for generations instead of changing their social norm in their specific social class. Wealth and class run hand in hand with one another. There will never be a person who is non-wealthy but ranked as an upper-class citizen. According to the book, there is an American trend of the lower class dressing to look like the upper-class so the lower class is overlooked and blend in with the middle or upper class. We, as Americans live in essentially, a middle- class nation. Most Americans have reached a substantial amount of wealth that allow them to live comfortable lives. We are a consumer society. For a nation to thrive and remain a consumer society, there must be plenty of people who have wealth and majority at least middle-class.
This phenomenon is seen in the notion of social capital. The division of social classes and wealth greatly affect the political system because we live in such a culturally diverse nation. We live by a system of which social networks are central, transactions are marked by reciprocity, trust, and cooperation, and market agents produce goods and services not mainly for themselves, but for a common good. This is how the American government works but as teachers, we must accommodate for the ones who are lower in the system. Children are expected to attend schools with hundreds of other students, mostly all expected to learn the same and not recognize the social differences. There are some children who are attending schools who wear the same shirt on their back for the entire week straight, no showers, and struggling outside of school and then there are other children who live luxurious lives. The school systems are one of the best settings to display the difference between classes and wealth of the children. We interact with people of every class level and variations of wealth daily. It is impossible to assume everyone is the same here in America because even though we are a middle-class nation, there are less fortunate people than others.
It is often assumed that all students have the same resources that are needed to complete assignments outside of the classroom but this is not the case. There are many students who do not have access to computers, cell phones, wireless internet, and other resources. It is not fair to assume all children have access to all technologies or needed resources because there are students who cannot access the needed materials outside of the classroom. As mentioned before, all classrooms are diverse. As a teacher, I would offer plenty of time in the classroom so that the student is presented with the opportunity to complete various assignments with the needed resources in class. I would also ask the students if they would be able to access the required resources and if not, I would make other arrangements so that I can help the student succeed. I would also offer time after school to the students who cannot access the resources at home. If none of these options are working well in the classroom, I would avoid assigning assignments that require additional resources from home. There are endless options on how to offer resources to the students who not have them but these are the initial actions I would take as a teacher.