For this lesson we had a Part A and a Part B. For Part A, we had to read a handout associated with Social Economic Status (SES) and watch a video concerning "Wealth Inequality in America", and answer all the questions that followed. For Part B, we were also given a handout titled "He's so Weird". This was an interesting paper to read and to follow we had to answer questions about the handout and how we felt about it all.
EDUC 2120 - Lesson 3 – Class and SES
Part A
How is SES measured? Explain.
SES is usually determined by your income, occupation, education, the neighborhood you live in, and your political power. If a person is still living with parents, their SES is determined by their parents’ income, occupation, education, neighborhood, and political power. The SES is calculated by how well a family can meet their financial responsibilities, the level of education you, or your parents’ have, the safety and the upkeep of the neighborhood in which you live. The location of your neighborhood determines the school’s SES and by the SES of the families whose children attend the school.
Describe at least 2 negative effects of low SES.
If a person is classified as low SES it could possibly interfere with a child’s cognitive development. The families who are in the low SES range, their child is at a higher risk of being born with fetal alcohol syndrome, premature birth, and could develop lead poisoning. All of these problems could lead to issues that could affect their education later in life. Such as, language delays, attention problems, and learning disabilities. Another negative effect of low SES is higher rates of depression, low self-esteem, and juvenile delinquency. Low SES families are at a higher risk because they live in neighborhoods that are more likely to cause them distress. Physical punishment, domestic violence and serious crime could go on in their household/neighborhood causing the child to turn to the same types of things when they are older.
Describe some of the differences concerning education and student achievement levels in low SES families versus high SES families.
The difference between the high SES families and the low SES families is that low SES families tend to have fewer resources at their schools than the higher SES families do. Because the school not having enough resources to use throughout the school year, this causes the students to fall behind and not receive high grades. There are very few high school students that attend a low SES school that plan to attend college afterwards. Because of this, the graduation rate is low for the low SES schools.
Describe some options that are available for low SES families concerning education.
For low SES families who are concerned with their young children's education can send their children to preschool programs. Head Start is a program that has existed since the 1960s, hoping to reach out to low SES families giving their children a chance to be more prepared for school in the future. There are other programs to help with the longitudinal effects of a child's cognitive development, such as: the High/Scope Preschool in Michigan, Abecedarian Intervention program in North Carolina, and Child-Parent Center in Illinois. The low SES children who have attended these schools tended to have higher math and reading scores than the other low SES children who didn't attend. The children who attended one of these schools, are more likely to finish their high school career, rather than the other children who didn't attend.
Explain how socioeconomic status determines the economic conditions of persons.
Someone's SES is based on economics, opportunity, and means of influence. SES is based on a families income, the parents' level of education, the parents' occupation, and the community in which you live. People are either put into a low SES, moderate SES, or high SES, depending on how you live your life.
Can a person change their SES? If so, describe how. If not, describe why not.
I think if you’re looking from family history, a person wouldn’t be able to change their SES. If a person were to look at the lifestyle and the education level of what that person has done, I think yes, a person would be able to change their SES. To me, it doesn’t matter if you were born rich, poor, or middle class, it all depends on what YOU do. For example, if a person was born into a poor family, this doesn’t mean that this baby is still going to be poor in the future. Yes, you came from a poor family, but your family isn’t the one who makes your future, you are. You determine whether you’re going to change your lifestyle or not, not your history.
Concerning the YouTube video, describe what you learned.
I was amazed at how low the actual results were. I knew that money for poor versus rich were extremely different, but not that much. I wasn't expecting to see that the reality of the poor wasn't even listed on the charts, and one percent of the rich couldn't even be seen on the charts. When people were asked about the ideal chart for poor, middle, and upper, it was pretty even. When asked about what they think it was, the rich and wealthy had almost all, but you could still see that the poor was on the chart. The reality of it is that the poorest aren't even on the chart, one percent of the wealthy can't even be seen on the charts, and the eighty percent that is in between, only hold seven percent, and it has only gotten worse. I've learned that the reality of this country isn't at all what we think it is.
Summary
Learning about socioeconomic status made me realize that the families who categorize in the low SES don't have near as many as the opportunities as the high SES families do. Reading about low, moderate, and high SES families, it says that the SES comes from the parents, community in which you live, and the income your parents' make, but I believe that a child could grow up and change their SES if they wanted. They're not stuck in the SES that their parents put them in. Another thing, I believe that there are way more low and moderate SES families than high SES families just from watching the YouTube video. Because the numbers were so uneven, I believe there aren't as many high SES families like we might think there are.
Research Question
How does class affect one’s learning?
Reference(s):
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/class.html
Research Analysis
Class is a diversity issue that is rarely acknowledged. For lower class students, they come into a classroom with less confidence and a lower academic level than their peers that are from the middle and upper class. Although students from the lower class come into classrooms as well prepared as the others, they tend to be quieter and less engaged in the classroom activities or discussions due to their uncertainty of the material that is being covered. This affects their performance in the classrooms. Lower class college students have more difficulty discovering a major that addresses their interests. When finding a major that meets all their desired requirements, their grades often suffer because the students have to work, giving the students less time to study for their courses. Lower class students feel as if they are unwelcome in the classrooms and feel the need to hide their background. One thing that stands out with the lower class students is that they tend to be motivated more. They have seen what higher education can give them in life, so they want to work extra hard to be successful. Lower class students also have a very strong work ethic and have certain goals that they wanna reach in life, so they try to work even harder to get there.
Middle class college students come to class more prepared and aware of what will be going on in the classrooms. They know their basics and believe that they will succeed in their classes, but may need extra help outside of the classroom. Like lower class, middle class also has to support themselves by working, but not as much as the lower class students. Middle class students see this as an advantage and a disadvantage for them.
Upper class students tend to come to class the most prepared, ready to be successful, and with the most confidence. These students will often speak up in class more than the others, and take risks because of where they come from. Upper class students have experienced a wide variety of different careers and education. Like middle class, these students come to class ready to learn. However, upper class students try to hide their background because they are afraid that because of where they come from, it will make them look like they are insensitive to others' feelings and issues.
Research Summary
Researching this topic I discovered that no matter what class you are, or someone else is, there are advantages and disadvantages to all of them. I don't think teachers pay attention to class as much as they should in the classrooms. Like it mentions above, class is a diversity issue that is rarely acknowledged. For the lower class, they seem to have the most trouble with schooling. With this being, I think that if teachers were to acknowledge the students who seem to be struggling the most and approach them about it, the student would feel as if they are worthy of being in that class, and feel like they could exceed the class with the other students. Middle and upper classes are more confident in their school work and don't think they need as much assistance as the lower class. I'm not saying lower class isn't smart enough to get the work done, they just haven't had as much experience and help in the past, as the others did.
Part B
The author uses a strong metaphor, describing high school students as “wild beasts roaming the plains,” hunting each other. How would you describe your high school experience?
I, personally, didn’t enjoy my high school experience because it was just girls out to get other girls. There were talks about who did this and who did that over the weekend, and I just didn’t care about all the drama and stuff. I just kept to myself and my little group of friends in high school. But if I had to describe my high school experience as a metaphor or a simile, I would say it was as interesting as watching paint dry.
The author says she has “been a victim of harsh words and stinging insults.” Why do you think she would help inflict the same kind of harm on another person? Why would the author feel worse as the “hunter” instead of the “hunted”?
I think she would do this to another person because she was once picked on, she wanted to be the “hunter” instead of the “hunted”. She is tired of being the one who always gets insulted, so she thought it was someone else’s turn. Because she did this, she and her friends felt bad afterwards. I think she felt worse being the “hunter” because she saw the look on Ethan’s face after the horrible thing she and her friends did, and it immediately took her back to the place and time when someone did the same thing to her. Doing this to Ethan made her feel awful because she knows what it feels like to be left out, and to not fit in with others.
Name the superficial reasons that caused the clique to socially isolate Ethan. Are the reasons fair? Is there something Ethan could have done differently?
The clique isolated Ethan because they said “he’s so weird”. They described his appearance as long, greasy curls and volcanic acne, and they said it didn’t fit in with “their group”. These reasons they put against Ethan are not fair at all. Ethan can’t help his outward appearance. He couldn’t have done anything different to “fit in” with their clique, if all they didn’t like was his outward appearance. If I were Ethan I wouldn’t want to be a part of their group of friends anyways.
Have you ever witnessed a classmate or peer publicly rejected? How did the person react? How did you react?
I cannot recall a moment that I’ve ever seen someone being rejected by someone else publicly. Although if I had to have seen something like that, I know I would feel bad for the person that got rejected. If I were to hear people laughing, I would stand up for the person because that's just the kind of person I am.
Why do you think the “Huggy Bears” felt sad after the prank? Why didn’t they discuss what happened?
I’m guessing Ethan was a smiling guy all the time, but when they made this prank, they all saw that smile disappear. Seeing this smile disappear off of Ethan’s face made them realize what harm they had done to their friend’s feelings. They thought it would be a simple, corny joke, but when they saw his reaction, they knew how serious the situation was to him. I don’t think they discussed the prank because they all knew that they had done something wrong and was ashamed because they hurt their friend’s feelings and lowered his self-esteem.
Do you think the incident led to Ethan’s difficulties with social anxiety and depression?
I think it could have led up to his difficulties. Because of one little prank, his self-esteem and confidence hit rock bottom. People don’t realize what seems just like a little prank to them, could be a huge deal to the other person. Ethan could have been already going through difficulties and problems with his appearance, and didn’t think his new friends would care, but now that they played a prank on him, that seemed harmless to them, put him on the edge. Now Ethan is afraid to talk to any other girls, socialize in groups, and have any self-confidence, all because what seemed like a little prank, turned into a huge deal.
When someone is hurt as badly as Ethan, is it important to apologize or to try to make amends? What makes an apology meaningful?
I think it’s important to try to make amends with the person that you hurt. If a person were to make amends with a person, they would do much more than just a simple "sorry". A person that truly wants to make things right between the two of you, will admit that they were wrong and would make up for the loss time that you two had. Someone who truly means "sorry" will do anything to earn your trust back.