The Effects of Social Classes on American's Education
Karly Frame
November 18, 2013
English 111-B2B
Social Classes FD Paper #2
The Effects of Social Classes on American’s Education For many American’s, a child being born is a time for wonderful celebrations. Grandparents are usually excited about the experiences they can spend with their new grandchild and parents are often overjoyed with their new abundance of responsibilities. However, those new responsibilities that any parent is facing will certainly differ depending on their social, or economical, status. A mother who lives under poverty level may be more inclined to make sure that she can get additional welfare assistance in order to provide her baby with necessities, while a mother who is thought of as being middle-class may be more inclined to begin looking at which neighborhood will allow her baby to be enrolled in a better rated school system for when the time comes. Although American’s are often heard talking about people that they know who have “made it” and were able to break free from the social status that they were born into, the reality is that most people are not able to live out that dream. Unfortunately children whose parents are at poverty level are succumbed to the ties that may forever bind them to the class that their parents unknowingly established for them. Jonathan Kozol talks about the observations and conversations that he had with students and teachers while visiting Freemont High School. Kozol explains that Freemont High School is a dilapidated facility where “the average ninth grade student reads at fourth or fifth grade level” (705). Kozol then went on about a conversation that he was having with a group of students when one in particular, Mireya, began complaining that she did not want to be forced to take classes that she felt would have no impact on her education or future. Mireya made her point very clear when she said, “I did not need sewing either. I knew how to sew. My mother is a seamstress in a factory. I’m
November 18, 2013
English 111-B2B
Social Classes FD Paper #2
The Effects of Social Classes on American’s Education For many American’s, a child being born is a time for wonderful celebrations. Grandparents are usually excited about the experiences they can spend with their new grandchild and parents are often overjoyed with their new abundance of responsibilities. However, those new responsibilities that any parent is facing will certainly differ depending on their social, or economical, status. A mother who lives under poverty level may be more inclined to make sure that she can get additional welfare assistance in order to provide her baby with necessities, while a mother who is thought of as being middle-class may be more inclined to begin looking at which neighborhood will allow her baby to be enrolled in a better rated school system for when the time comes. Although American’s are often heard talking about people that they know who have “made it” and were able to break free from the social status that they were born into, the reality is that most people are not able to live out that dream. Unfortunately children whose parents are at poverty level are succumbed to the ties that may forever bind them to the class that their parents unknowingly established for them. Jonathan Kozol talks about the observations and conversations that he had with students and teachers while visiting Freemont High School. Kozol explains that Freemont High School is a dilapidated facility where “the average ninth grade student reads at fourth or fifth grade level” (705). Kozol then went on about a conversation that he was having with a group of students when one in particular, Mireya, began complaining that she did not want to be forced to take classes that she felt would have no impact on her education or future. Mireya made her point very clear when she said, “I did not need sewing either. I knew how to sew. My mother is a seamstress in a factory. I’m
Cited: Kozol, Jonathan. “Freemont High School.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin. New York: NY, 2013. 705, 709-710. Print. Leonhardt, David., ed. “The College Dropout Boom.” The New York Times. 24 May 2005. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Partanen, Anu. “Finland’s School Success What American Keep Ignoring.” The Norton Guide to Writing with Readings. Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin. New York: NY, 2013. 969 – 972, 975. Print.