Let us begin from the assumption that the question refers to a student living in the United States. The first step in answering the question is to determine what class one’s family belongs in. Identifying one’s social class can be challenging because class includes many, and often contradictory, factors. While income is still a major consideration in determining class, level of education achieved and the prestige attached to particular occupations are also significant factors that, in turn, influence other decisions, such as choice of residence.
A considerable amount of research has shown that in the United States, many people are as uncomfortable talking about class as they are talking about race. As the composition of the labor force has changed, with the decline in traditional blue-collar industrial jobs and skilled trades in the United States, fewer Americans identify as working class. In numerous surveys, most Americans identify as middle class, even when their income falls far below the threshold established by economists.
Traditional markers of class other than income have also changed; fewer Americans can afford to buy homes in certain kinds of neighborhoods. Consumer choices of less costly items, ranging from clothing to personal electronics, have increased in importance as indicators of class; consumption of status items, however, is often achieved through credit card debt.
Education is one area of society that often brings younger people into contact with people their age in different social classes. Many school districts have lotteries or similar systems designed to increase low-income families’ access to quality schools in middle and upper middle–class neighborhoods. Within the school, however, students may continue to socialize primarily with others of similar backgrounds. In addition, this increased diversification of the public schools has increased enrollments in private schools to which working-class families have far less access. Because student socializing often takes places through sports or cultural activities, family income and social class also influences students' ability to participate and thus to get to know students from other backgrounds outside the classroom.
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Imperial_Middle.html?id=MLHzyjZu7kEC&source=kp_book_description
https://books.google.com/books?id=wAcXAwAAQBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
How would you describe the socioeconomic class in which you grew up? What attitudes did you and your family have toward others from another socio-economic class?
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