Educational Mobility

In this day in age, we all know how important it is to have a college education. People need to have a bachelor's degree to even have hopes of finding a semi-decent job. Education is the key to a secure future giving people the chance to climb to the next social class and make a decent income. However, many poor and working class students do not make it and are unable to receive a higher education.

I think these students are unable to make it because of monetary issues. Going to college is very expensive. Even students from the middle/upper middle class need to take out loans and hope for scholarships. But the immediate money made from a current job can be more enticing than having to pay for an education.

Most poor and working class students have to simultaneously work and go school. The bulk of schoolwork along with the exhaustion from a job can take its toll. It can sometimes get to a point where the student has to make a choice between working and getting an education. They usually choose to work. The student could be having to support themselves or help their family pay the bills. The small amount of money they make at that job is what they live off of and in time they can probably be promoted within that company. But often times it is too hard to handle life and education.

I think it would be hard for a poor/working class student to make it at Saint Joe's. Unless they are offered a very good scholarship, the cost of tuition is very high. It would also be hard to juggle schoolwork and a job, although it can be done. Another difficulty that may arise is going out with friends. That gets expensive, public transportation fees ad up and there is not a lot of free entertainment. There are other outlying factors to consider such as: if the student has his/her family's support and what their home situation is like. If they have to take care of younger siblings or children, it will be harder to make it. All in all, I think it would be difficult for a student of the lower class to make it here, but I think if he/she worked extremely hard and planned well, he/she could get that degree.

The American Dream

America has long been considered the 'land of opportunity." People come here in hopes of a better life believing that they will make it with hard work and perseverance. The research compiled in Class Matters helps to prove that long held position.

One woman, named Della Mae, grew up in the Appalachia region of Kentucky. She lived in a Holler, spent time in foster care, and was a member of the lower class. However, Della Mae worked hard in school and was lucky enough to have a family that encouraged her to go to college and then attend law school. As a result of her diligent school work, she is now a member of the upper middle class and a foster parent to her niece and nephew.

Another man named Tim, was in the middle class able to attend Brown University but only because he was offered a scholarship. He payed off his school debts through scholarships, loans, and fundraising. He then became a missionary at Brown University and says his "quarters as a ministry intern at Brown are actually more upscale than his home in St. Louis" (85). He is now putting himself through medical school hoping that he will make enough money in the future to comfortably support his future family.

Another man named Andy, although he does not have a college degree, was able to work his way up from stocking a supermarket warehouse to supermarket buyer. He started out at a low rung and worked his way up. He has a job, that people now want to see a degree for. He wears a tie to works and he is able to comfortably support his family. He has to work every third saturday and sometimes sundays, but he and his family are not in want of anything.

One more man named Jeff, also worked his way into the middle class. When growing up his family was on welfare and a job at a factory was his ticket to the middle class. The factory job allowed him to leave the working class and make enough money to live comfortably and securely.

A Greek immigrant moved to New York where he started out with only $100 dollars in his pocket. He started out painting closets in a greek restaurant. Through hard work, he learned the ins and outs of the restaurant business and now owns three of his own restaurants working his way to the middle class.

These above stories, along with others, show that the American Dream can be achieved. One can overcome adversity and work their way to a higher social class with hard work, perseverance, and a little luck.

Ethics in Discussing Class

As I was reading Chapter 8 of Class Matters, "Fifteen Years on the Bottom Rung" I started to wonder about the effects of the article.

It speaks about the working/class struggles of a mexican, illegal immigrant. The article does not hesitate to inform the reader about the man's illegal status or the ways in which he cheats the legal system to avoid a possible immigration inspection.

I know the reporter's job is to observe and tell the story, which the reporter does well, but he also notifies the world of the man's illegal immigrant status. I was wondering if there were any repercussions for the mexican interviewee after the article was published. Did immigration find him and deport him? Was it ethical for the reporter to tell a story that could have potential negative effects for one of his sources? What do you think?

With Money Comes Power

Until reading the sections on marrying into a different class and working your way up from the poor class in Class Matters, I had not realized that class had such a strong effect on people's relationships.

There is a cross class couple with Cate coming from money and Dan coming from the working class. Before going to counseling for cross-class couples, their relationship was somewhat strained.

Stereotypically, the man is the one making more money and supporting his wife. The couple's relationship defies the norms. I thought it interesting that Cate, being the one with more money, holds more power in the relationship. I wouldn't have thought that money and power are correlational in a relationship but apparently it is more common than one would think.

But, it makes sense. Out in the real world the people with the most power seem to be the people with the most money. It would make sense that the analogy still applies on a smaller scale.

However, I do not think that should always be the case. It should work out in which ever way is best for the couple to be equal partners in the relationship.

On the Rise

For class, we have started to read the book Class Matters, written by correspondents of The New York Times. The book discusses class distinctions and the way people feel about certain social classes as well as what they associate with them.

As I was reading, although it is not very far along in the book, one quote that really struck me was that "More Americans than twenty years ago believe it possible to start out poor, work hard, and become rich. They say hard work and good education are more important to getting ahead than connections or a wealthy background" (pg. 5).

This statement really struck me because it is something my dad strongly believes in. He believes that hard work and a good education lead to getting a good job. Being an Italian immigrant, my father did not grow up being part of the upper class. His father was a simple brick layer who spoke poor, broken english. My grandparents wanted my father to go into a trade, but my father believes in education and decided to go to college instead. It proved to be a good choice.

He worked his way up from working class and made his way into the middle class. Getting a higher education gave him more opportunity than he would have had, had he simply gone into a trade. He knows that a good education will lead to a good job and is living proof that hard work and education can help one overcome class boundaries.

Obama's Social Media Diet

I found it very interesting to find out that Obama is the first president to be completely tapped into the internet. He communicates through email and reads blogs.

I think it's great that he looks for bloggers and people with opinions about his policies. With feedback like that it can help him learn what America thinks he is doing well with and what he can improve on. Communicating with the people of the country helps him to become a better, more effective president. Also, keeping a large media diet allows him to know what is going on with all aspects of the country. He can see everything from what economy magazines are saying to newspapers to bloggers. It gives him a better idea on the state of the country and how he can work to improve it.

Read the article to find out What Obama Reads

A Comment about Comments

The New York Times website has changed the way their reader comment system works. "Readers can now recommend comments by other readers and sort them using a variety of tabs: newest first, oldest first, reader recommendations, editor's selections, and replies (from an editor or author of a post)."

But one change that has not come along with the rest is that the comments are still being moderated. It is understandable that the New York Times would want to prevent vulgar or inappropriate comments from being posted but they are also preventing good counterarguments and feedback from being posted. One reader claims, "There have been numerous times when I'll leave a comment which makes at least one point that no one else has made without any insults or vulgarity whatsoever and hours, even days go by without it being approved. Even if it gets approved by that time, no one will see it, and you've effectively censored the whole argument."

If you are going to use a comment system, allow the readers to comment. It is a way for the readers to offer their opinions as well as feedback. Another reader suggests using a "hide" system while another suggests flagging inappropriate comments and deleting them. I think those are all good suggestions. Censor or remove the comments that are vulgar or inappropriate but allow the readers to post their opinions and comments, otherwise what's the point of a reader comment system?

Bias is everywhere

According to the article How to Detect Bias in the News, there are numerous ways people can detect bias in a newspaper, including placement of stories and the headlines. I think this article stretches it a little too far. Going by the standards in the article absolutely everything is biased. Even if something is not intended to be. Simply choosing whether a story is used or not can be considered bias.

However, most of the bias situations found in the article seem to fall under a more subjective category. What one person could think is a good story another may not. The same goes for what stories will go on the front page. It all depends on the person.

According to the article, bias is everywhere. It suggests that bias can be found in any part of a news article or newspaper. This is true, however the article seems to be daring people to find bias within news; the smallest little detail that could possibly be taken out of context. A person must meticulously look through the paper for the first sign of potential bias that he/she sees. It seems a little extreme to me.

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