Impacts of class

"The Great Equalizer"

Many sociologists believe that education is the "Great Equalizer" which means the more people have access to a quality education, the more equal society gets (Sweeney, 2017). In actuality, each student's social class can really impact whether they thrive in middle and high school and move on to college or dropout of high school and work dead-end jobs and, in worse cases, go to prison. Social class impacts students inside and outside the classroom and as future teachers we need to understand what social class is, in what ways it impacts kids' education, and in what ways we can help lower socioeconomic students. Below are our three learning targets and focus of today's lesson:

Three Learning Targets:

Define social class and socioeconomic status.

Explain the impact of social class in education.

Identify ways to help low socioeconomic students.

“What is Social Class and Socioeconomic status?”

Social class is recognized as differences in income, wealth, socioeconomic status, education, and lifestyle, from a social, economic, and cultural standpoint (Hill, 2017). There are five levels of social classes, including upper class, middle class, working class, the working poor, and an underclass. Socioeconomic status is defined as the location of a group or individual on the socioeconomic scale (APA, n.d.). Some factors that influence socioeconomic status would be:

where you live
what kind of education you have
how many years you were in school
where you work
what your income is
in some societies, what your religious background is.

Our social background or the way that we present ourselves tend to affect how a person will be treated by future teachers, police, friends, employers, sexual partners, and many others in society (Hill, 2017).

“What are some ways that social class affects students in the classroom?”

The unfortunate truth is that lower socioeconomic status students go through the most hardships. One source explains that a child's readiness for kindergarten is directly influenced by the child’s social class. Students from the working class going further down the socioeconomic scale put students far behind students from the middle and upper classes because the parents from those classes are typically home more often and try to get their children prepared for kindergarten. The lower-class parents are not typically home to watch their kids as much as the higher-class parents, which can stunt the kid's development in the initial stages of learning (Garcia, 2015). The American Psychological Association also agrees with the previous statement that children from lower socioeconomic communities develop academic skills slower than children from higher socioeconomic communities. They also bring up those kids from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who have trouble reading when they enter kindergarten, which brings a bigger gap between the higher and lower socioeconomic classes when it comes to literacy before the child formal schooling begins (APA, n.d.). A child's home life can really affect their motivation at school and they can then be labeled as unmotivated or “they have attitude problems.” Children that come from houses that experience mental and physical abuse, a parent in jail, or parents that just are not home that much will have higher risks of later-life depression, adolescent pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor academic performance.

“What are some ways that we can help kids from lower socioeconomic backgrounds thrive?”

Firstly, the most important aspect is the students' home life. I would say having parent-teacher conferences can be of great benefit because most kids that have trouble at school usually stem from home-life. If you can better understand the students' home life, then you can better adapt lessons to incorporate things that will motivate them. One source talked about developing a special relationship with students. I said that teachers are in a special position where they understand a child’s hopes, aspirations, and impediments, but they do not use this to their advantage. When a teacher focuses on strengthening their connection with their students, both parties develop trust and respect for each other. Once the foundation is strong, students will improve to meet the teachers' expectations (Lynch, 2016). Another way to help students in the classroom is to create a positive classroom culture. As a teacher, you want to make everyone feel comfortable in class and want the other students to be respectful to other students as well (Harmon, 2019).

Reflection & Conclusion

Although social class and socioeconomic status have one of the most direct impacts on today’s students, it has nothing to do with things that start at school, but what goes on at home. As a result, many students do not feel motivated to go to college, drop out of school early, become depressed, and abuse alcohol and drugs. Teachers need to take this call to action to help these students from falling through the cracks and help them reach their potential. We as teachers need to build strong relationships with students and parents from these households. Some parents in low-class households might be busy and will not have time to help their kids with schooling at home but building a strong relationship with the students' parents will help them understand what kind of help that student needs to succeed in school (Morrow, 2018). Be creative when producing lesson plans so that students will be excited to learn and include everyone in the class in discussions. Every student wants you to care about them and wants them to be included. Lastly you want to challenge your students by giving them assignments that require them to not only remember the material, but help apply their knowledge so they will use higher order thinking (Hayes, 2019).

Test your knowledge

Which is not a factor associated with socioeconomic status?

A. Where you work?

B. What you wear?

C. Where you live?

D. What level of education you have?

Which choice is the correct order for the social classes, going from lowest to highest?

A. underclass-upper class-middle class-working poor-working class

B. upper class-middle class-working class-working poor-underclass

C. underclass-working poor-working class-middle class-upper class

D. working poor-underclass-working class-middle class-upper class

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Apa Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://dictionary.apa.org/social-class

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Apa Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://dictionary.apa.org/socioeconomic-status

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Education and socioeconomic status factsheet. American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education

García, E., & Weiss, E. (2015, June 17). Early education gaps by social class and race start U.S. children out on unequal footing: A summary of the major findings in inequalities at the Starting Gate. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.epi.org/publication/early-education-gaps-by-social-class-and-race-start-u-s-children-out-on-unequal-footing-a-summary-of-the-major-findings-in-inequalities-at-the-starting-gate/#:%7E:text=In%20line%20with%20prior%20research,substantial%20obstacles%20to%20school%20success.

Harmon, W. (2019, July 29). 5 concrete ways to help students living in poverty. The Art of Education University. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://theartofeducation.edu/2018/09/11/5-concrete-ways-to-help-students-living-in-poverty/

Hayes, J. (n.d.). 5 ways teachers can address socioeconomic gaps in the classroom. blog. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://blog.socialstudies.com/5-ways-teachers-can-address-the-poverty-gap-in-the-classroom

Hill, D. (2017). Social class and education. In Considering class: Theory, culture and the media in the 21st Century (pp. 31-50). Brill.

Lynch, M., & 10. (2018, September 19). 4 expert tips to help low-income students enjoy unparalleled success. The Edvocate. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/4-expert-tips-to-help-low-income-students-enjoy-unparalleled-success/

Morrow, J. (2018, August 30). Helping low income students succeed. CE Credits Online. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.cecreditsonline.org/blogs/news/helping-low-income-students-succeed

Sweeney, Nicole.(2017, September 18). “The Impacts of Social Class: Crash Course Sociology #25.” YouTube, YouTube, Retrieved February 22, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a21mndoORE .

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