INVITATIONAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT
caribbeanbusiness.comThere are several cultures in the world and can best be defined by their names more than the actual meaning of culture. The cultures can be European culture, the British culture, the American culture or the Eastern and the Western culture. In defining these cultures, we presuppose that members of these cultures have some characteristics that make them similar while they differ from the people who are in another culture. Culture by focusing on the ways the members of different cultures can perceive the world in a different way. All these cultures can make fundamental distinctions between `them� and `us� and it seems universal that the members will favor `us� over `them� for a wide range of purposes. Thus it is true that cultures will often show biases that are often seen as prejudice.
For example, a language of a cultural group can call the member who has the same culture as `human being� which carries the implication that the members from different cultures are deficient. Thus the ethnocentrism degree is a common feature among most cultures. Cultural differences thus carry with it a form of prejudice about others in various ways including stereotyping and they apply to members of different groups. These prejudices are used to make sense of actions and behaviors of members from different cultures. Sometimes the prejudices can escalate to open hostility and aggression towards members of different cultures. According to collectivism-individualism dimension, the theory of social identity helps to make various predictions. First collectivist cultures will have a lower level of prejudice between individuals because these cultures place emphasis on mutual co-operation and interdependence. Thus members are less likely to stigmatize against each other because they are interdependent with their in-group members. Second prejudices can be high against the out-group members who have a more individualistic culture (Cuddy, et al., 2009).
References
Cuddy, A, Fiske, T., Kwan, V, Glick, P., Desmoulins, S., Leyens, J.-P., Bond, M. H., et al. (2009). Stereotype content model across cultures similarities and some differences British Journal of Social Psychology,48(1), 1 33. doi:10.1348/014466608X314935
The frequent thought that people living in the United States have is that we are a nation that is no longer defined by social classes and that all citizens are in a much better off position that we were a century ago. Though the various social classes are acknowledged, people usually prefer to look beyond the inequalities that come with this social class. However, the reality is that social class have been historically and will continue to be a significant predictor of educational opportunities and social inequalities relating to employment, health and overall well-being of the nation. This essay will look into how the issues of social class have personally influenced and impacted my life. I will explore scholarly sources from Sarah Garland and Stephanie Mencimer which provide evidence that social class is a determiner in education and living standards of the people.
How have socioeconomic issues impacted your life, personally?
Introduction
A. socioeconomic "class."
I grew up in a rich family but not all that lavish or private rich. However once every month my parents would give us around 300 to 500 dollars to go on a shopping spree and do all that we wanted to do. I did not worry about anything as a kid. My parents did not like living a lavish life, but they saved much of their earnings for our education and other Trinidad & Tobago Business Magazine projects. My dad is in the banking profession, and my mom is still a lawyer. Growing up was fun, and we did as well as our neighbors who were very rich and flaunted their wealth in things like eight horses in a barn, a Jacuzzi and home pool in addition to huge mansions and a whole outdoor grill.
For us, we had to go to the community pool whenever we felt like swimming and hiking in the nearby hills my experience in my social class has impacted on how I handle money and also in the way I react to things. Whenever I look back at these childhood experiences, I examine them from an upper socioeconomic class. I was not good at budgeting cash since I knew I could be given enough by my parents at the end of the month. My memories for the community pool involve sliding into deep water and always grabbing change for various drinks and snacks that we bought. I would cycle to the pool to the clean and fresh community pool, and I loved it a lot. My mom would give cash anytime I went there. I went to the pool pretty much every day during summer and on weekends unless it was closed.
b. Impact to my life
Growing up in the upper class has enabled me to attend the best schools and my academic performance is not bad because of the after school programs I attend as well as having a private tutor. I also play table tennis and attend ballet classes. We also have a huge library which gives me access to a wide range of information sources that I can read anytime. My parents would help us read those books as young kids and are always there to assist us in our hectic schedules and access our anxiety levels. Therefore I always feel confident of having the necessary knowledge, skills, support and a social network that will make me succeed in life.
C. plans
My plans for the future include studying to the doctorate level. It is a plan which is possible because I have enough financial support from my parents as well as part time job that makes me afford my education. Also since I have been raised with the skills of how to succeed, I feel confident and well prepared cognitively, emotionally, and socially that I will succeed in my socioeconomic stratum. With the resources that my parents have invested I me as well as the time, we spend together encouraging me; I feel prepared to strive harder in my school and work life and get a job with high earning.
2. Summaries of articles:
A. Sarah Garland�s "When Class became more important to a Child�s Education than Race."
Sarah Garland is a staff writer for The Hechinger Report, has written much about the issues of crime. Education and race. In her article, When Class Became More Important to a Child�s Education than Race" she claims that the recourses owned by the affluent enable them to pour on their children educations. The author notes that these resources are also driving the widening gap of academic performance between the well to do children and the kids of everyone else�s. Also, Garland argues that the widening academic divide further means that kids who are either born rich or born poor are highly likely to remain that way even as they get into adulthood.
Garland exemplifies that the speech that Martin Luther King Jr. Gave almost half a century ago is still relevant in present day education. In this speech, Luther King pointed out that the black kids lagged behind in their academic performance as compared to their white peers/. This Garland notes that poverty was and is still the major obstacle and social class is the main barrier as well as a gateway to opportunities in America.
B. Stephanie Mencimer�s "What If Everything You Knew about Poverty was wrong?"
Mencimer in the article, what if everything we knew about poverty was wrong?" presents the findings from Mother Jones Magazine which tells a story about sociologists from the University of John Hopkins, Kathryn Edin. Edin is a prominent researcher on poverty, and she has studied poverty in the country�s most impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods. Mencimer states the ten myths on poverty that we have usually assumed to be true. First Mencimer indicates the true nature of low-income fathers. First is that they have to time visits their children at least once a day. Also, Mencimer points out the key findings of Edin concerning the true life experiences of single mothers living in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus through Mencimer we get to understand the true picture of what the poor experience in their day to day life.
C. Walter Williams (2014). Dependency, Not Poverty. Retrieved from website
Walter in this article states that there is nothing like material poverty in the United States. He provides a few facts about the people labeled by the Census Bureau as poor. These facts according to Walter were from a study done by Rachel Sheffield and Dr. Robert Rector called "Understanding Poverty in the United States: the surprising facts about the Poor in America. This study according to Walter showed the findings that 80% of poor households have air conditioning; almost three quarters afford a truck or car. 31 percent have more than two cars or trucks. Walter also indicates that the study indicates that two-thirds afford satellite or cable TV and half of them have one or even more computers. The study also shows that 42% of them own their private homes. This study according to Walter also showed that the poor Americans afford more living space as compared to other typical non-poor people in the UK, France or Sweden. The author, therefore, concludes that what we have in the U.S is not poverty but dependency as well as poverty of the spirit. Walter indicates that this comes about when people make unwise discussions and choiceness and are forced to lead pathological lives abetted and aided by the welfare state. Walter goes on to argue that no one is to blame if one begins out in life poor because the way one starts out is his fault. Also, he says that if the person decides to stay poor, then that will be his life to blame. Thus he argues that there is no need of rocket science mathematics to be applied in avoiding long-term poverty. There is the need for one to graduate from high school. Step two is to get married before giving birth to kids and remain married. The third step according to the author is to do any job even though it a minimum wage job. The final step is to avoid engaging in criminal behavior. He goes on to give statistics that married couples earning minimum wage can make a combined income of $30,000 which is above the Census Bureau line of poverty for a familial as being $15,500 for a family of two.
Synthesis of articles:
From the articles, we learn that the socioeconomic status of a person determines good education and better job employment in the United States. Also, the socioeconomic status has an essential factor in determining when a child is brought up. There are also some aspects of poverty that we assume to be true, yet this is not the case as we see in Edin�s study. Through Edin�s work, we get a real picture of what the poor are going through in their day to day lives. Through King�s speech Garland shows that the country is still far from fulfilling the dream. She indicates that the issue of race is no longer an aspect that limits the opportunities for children but mainly their parent�s earnings and income as being the most influential. Walter�s articles go beyond the point of view of these two authors by first refuting the fact that there is no real poverty in America. All that Americans have to do is to graduate from high schools, get married first before giving birth to kids, and remain married. And finally, both couples get jobs even if the jobs are of minimum wages. That way they will get themselves out of the poverty line.
4 Conclusions:
The process has opened my eyes on the true picture of poverty and the issue of socio-economic class in this country. These factors do impact on us in various ways. They determine the way we think and use the money, the kind of education we receive and the opportunities we get in live. Being born in the upper social class means privileges of better education, better kind�s o jobs, and better social networks. Children born in poverty will lack enough resources to make them perform well in school, and this means low scores for their education. Thus they get to become adults with low income and poor wages.
My views towards socio-economic issues have changed. Socio-economic classes in our society mean inequalities which we have to address. There is the need to help fathers in the poor state of living have a means of earning better so that they can fend for their families. Rather than simply judging them to be irresponsible, lazy, are the ones involved in violent crimes or are not interested in raising their kids as we see in Edin�s study.
References
Walter W (2014). Dependency, Not Poverty.
Garland, S. (2013) when Class became more important to a Child�s Education than Race.
Mencimer, S (2014). What If Everything You Knew about Poverty Was Wrong?