CHAPTER+13+-+Class

Tim's Part

Class

Class is a category denoting socioeconomic status - economic position and rank is a social hierarchy. Class is not a system defined in the states but a global system. As long as we have people who have different access to health, wealth, power, and well-being. We have an open class system that allows for movement through class levels. If you work hard the belief is that you have the ability to move up or down the ladder of class.



Time has shown that the system is set up to make the majority believe it is possible to achieve that status change. They are told "work hard and you will make your million!" History shows us that this is both possible and improbable. There has to be a built in motivation for a class system to work, in our culture today it is capitalism. The pursuit of wealth or property is our systems fuel. If you work hard or smart you can make enough money to propel you in to a upper class position. Even in this system we see that there is a clear and growing division between those who have the money and those who do not. According to the text the rural south has the highest poverty rate. This is an important fact for us as educators in the south, we need to remember that we will be working in these schools.



We need to remember that we have a system that at least appears to have some mobility others come from a closed cast system. These systems are based on Heredity and there is no moving from where you were born in to. If you were born to a wast handler than you will never be anything but untouchable in this system. You will also see that as to our system the leaders are the priests. But other than that the structure is similar.

Part of the reason that these systems work is because of the believe in the system it self. The books goes in to this and defines it as Hegemony. The idea is that we believe the system is supposed to be like this.

These divisions in class will show them selves in your classroom, you may find your self with a student who is still living in a caste system as an Indian American. We don't like to talk about class but it is there but we see it everyday. we perpetuate the dream of success with reality tv, and then mock the chance of it with prime time shows glorifying the middle class. How will you take on issues of class in your classroom. Or how do you see class today.

I see that there is division, that we still see those who have the most wealth getting better opportunities. That the under privileged will always need to fight for their slice of the pie. But that is coming from my perspective, what is yours?