Social Class

If there is one thing that influences success more than anything that everyone carries from the first day of kindergarten, it must be social class. Family’s social class is generally measured by parent’s education, income, and type of profession. And it is the most significant factor in determining a children education path. Children with more educated parents and higher income are more likely to perform well at schools, pursue higher education, have healthier lives, and live longer; while poorer children are more likely to die sooner, be uninsured, and suffer health problems. The social class we are born into could determine our health, our life expectancy, and our opportunities to succeed in life. “My children have no extra books, no magazines, no extra pencils, or crayons, or paper and the most important of all, they do not have health.” The quote from the article “What Is Poverty?” written by Jo Goodwin Parker shows how lower class parents think about their kids that go to school. Thinking about their level of education and what they really want to do with their lives must be luxury for them, because they face a matter of simple survival in daily lives. The social class of one’s family either helps children succeed or limits their opportunities.
“We may believe that anyone can succeed through hard work and determination, but the facts say otherwise.” This quote is from “Confronting Inequality” written by Paul Krugman. This line indicates that in reality, the hard work and will power are not strong enough to overcome the pre-existing family social class. I was actually the one who was innocent enough to believe that life is pretty fair and everyone can achieve their dream and potential as long as they work harder than other people. But one day, looking at the grade ranking in the school, I was surprised when I figured out that all of the top ten students lived in the same richest neighborhood around school and they had good family backgrounds. It was the first...