Reflection Paper on Classism

How can you describe yourself with respect to the socio-economic class? How do you feel about claiming this identity?? What did you learn from the perspectives of the people around you and the course lectures about your own identity?
I should describe myself as a worker responsible and hard-working citizen in order to achieve my socio-economic status as a middle class. I make sure that I perform my activities in my classroom, in my job and in the social environment. I feel that I identify with the people belonging to the middle-class socioeconomic group since, despite having all the necessary resources to make my life better, I do not have most of the luxurious items to improve the quality of my life. However, what I have is enough to cater for my basic needs and enough to provide me with savings and financial stability. The experiences of people doing the course readings indicate that the middle-class individuals are expected to be ready to undertake many tasks both in studies and in their work for improving their socioeconomic status (Henry, 2015).
In your family, what were the conversations around money like? Did you ever speak openly to others about your class status? What messages did you receive and how were you socialized to think about/feel toward wealthy people? Impoverished people? If you currently have or have had a job, have you ever discussed _x0093_how much you make_x0094_ with others? Why or why not?
Discussions around money were only focused on how the access to capital is essential in improving our lives. Most of the conversations revolved around why people need to make money, how they are to engage in activities generating the cash, and why people fail to become wealthy. During the conversations, people tried their best to hide their financial status and would not indicate the amount of money they have gained over time or the salaries they receive in their workplace. It is evident that people are insecure about their financial status and are afraid that laying out how much they earn may attract thieves (Clark, & Stowers, 2016). Similarly, other individuals may opt to hide their class status due to the fear of competition by other members.
The wealthy people tend to have a specific behavior that characterizes them from the impoverished people. These individuals are surrounded by friends belonging to their social class, and they are easily identified with their high-quality clothes, cars, and premises. The message received from the wealthy people is that majority of them socialize with the people of their caliber, and they spend their money in making sound investments to generate more cash for them. The unfortunate individuals, however, fail to invest and they use their finances in unbeneficial ways that render them unsatisfactory. I feel that the wealthy people will continue to become wealthy since most of them make sound decisions that enable them to invest and generate more funds for them. The impoverished people, on the other hand, use more than what they have, thus remaining with debts and hence negatively affecting their socioeconomic status.
I have had a job for six months, but it has not been difficult to discuss how much I make with other people. However, I select the people with whom I can talk about my salary with. I fell that it is important to consider my salary with individuals chosen because they can help me to get ideas on how to utilize the much I am paid for efficient development. Also, some people can assist in providing ideas on how to get more money than what I make, and I can only get these ideas if I discuss the amount I go with some people. The selection of these individuals is to ensure my security such that just a few individuals understand how much I make and have made suggestions on how to improve the finances.
In what ways does your socioeconomic class identity intersect with another one of your identities? (Sex, Gender, Religion, Ability, Sexual Orientation, Race, Ethnicity, etc.)?
As indicated earlier, I can suggest that I belong to the middle class in the socioeconomic unit, and this intersects with my ability to work hard and to become independent. Since I am not disabled in any form to limit my actions, I have worked hard to achieve both my social and economic status. I engage with most of the students and workmates in my place of work through physical interaction and communication as well as through the social media platforms. Similarly, I have engaged in strategies directed towards improving my financial stability through savings and investments that return a given amount of income.
Butler, (2014) notes that individuals who can work are expected to undertake their responsibility efficiently to increase the chances of economic growth. Economic growth is essential as it assists to have stability in the future. Similarly, social status is necessary for these individuals, and I believe proper networking with people is not only helpful in relieving stress, but also in obtaining growth opportunities such as jobs and psychological assistance. Therefore, I think that my socioeconomic class intersects with my ability to ensure I undertake all my responsibilities efficiently for proper future outcomes.
Please discuss how you think (or if you think) socioeconomic class plays a role in education. What did you learn from the readings about how classism plays out in K-12 schools and higher education? In terms of your personal experience, why are you in school? Why are you seeking an education? What do you hope are the end results of your education?
The socioeconomic class plays a vital role in education. Students whose sociogenic level is high have access to the best schools that provide them with all the necessary facilities for learning, and extra equipment to ensure their learning process is not only enjoyable but also of high quality. According to Christensen, and Gast, (2015), most of these students, however, do not consider their education to be vitally important since they have access to the funds and their social status is high. As such, most of these students do not see the need for learning or gaining knowledge in the schools.
On the other hand, most of the students whose socioeconomic status is within the middle class consider education as an essential venture in their life. These students have access to some of the best schools, and some of them obtain a scholarship to cater for the fees for the same. It is evident, however, that the performance of these students in class is impressive, but their socialization is high. Moreover, their economic status is at the middle level, and education is considered to be one of the approaches that can help them to succeed in life and become wealthy. Bletsas, and Michell, (2014) notes that most of the public schools are filled with students from within the middle class.
Finally, the students within the low socioeconomic class make up the least of the total students. While it is important to obtain knowledge, some of these individuals fail to receive enough funds to support their studying. However, for those who have the support, most of them are dangerous about the learning process and try their best to be among the top performers. This indicates that the socioeconomic classes affect the field of education and they impact the process of gaining knowledge for the different categories.
Classism plays an integral role in the K-12 schools in that the learners are affected by their social classes. The students in the K-12 institutions may feel motivated by the social levels of other students who are attributed to higher socioeconomic levels. These students, therefore, may perform better in classes to become wealthy and improve their socioeconomic levels. However, this is not the case for the higher education, where individuals have the liberty to drive and dress however they like. The high socioeconomic status may have a negative impact on the lifestyle of the students while in higher education, thus limiting their time to study and affecting their overall educational performance.
For me, I am in school to gain knowledge and to have an understanding of the various concepts that fascinate me. I opt to study not because it is a requirement in landing a good job, but also due to the knowledge I will gain and the networks I will form through socializing with individuals. I seek education to improve my competency in the job market and to improve my general knowledge of the concepts that are important and that fascinate me. By the end of my educational period, I hope to have gained enough experience that is sufficient to land me a good job and to have made enough friends with whom we can interact and support each other with decision making. References
Bletsas, A., & Michell, D. (2014). Classism on campus? Exploring and extending understandings of social class in the contemporary higher education debate. Welcome to the electronic edition of Universities in Transition: Foregrounding Social Contexts of Knowledge in the First Year Experience. The book opens with the bookmark panel and you will see the contents page. Click on this anytime to return to, 77. From http://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=560371#page=94
Butler, T. U. (2014). Development of scales to measure perceived experience with classism and class origin identity salience in counselor education, counseling, and psychology professoriates (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Alabama). From http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/content/u0015/0000001/0001759/u0015_0000001_0001759.pdf
Christensen, O., & Gast, K. (2015). Addressing Classism in Early Childhood Education: How Social-Class Sensitive Pedagogy and the Montessori Method Can Work Together. In Discussions on Sensitive Issues (pp. 113-135). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Clark, C., & Stowers, G. (2016). Speaking with Trunks, Dancing with the _x0093_Pink Elephants_x0094_: Troubling E-Racism, E-Classism, and E-Sexismin Teaching Multicultural Teacher Education. In Handbook of Research on Effective Communication, Leadership, and Conflict Resolution (pp. 78-97). IGI Global.
Henry, A. (2015). Clark A. Pomerleau. Califia Women: Feminist Education against Sexism, Classism, and Racism.