The Cost of Education

"But class is still a powerful force in American life. Over the past three decades, it has come to play a greater, not lesser, role in important ways. At a time when education matters more than ever, success in school remains linked tightly to class." - Shadowy Lines that Still Divide

This statement from a New York Times article reflects the structure of class in America's current society. Education has become one of the biggest indicators of future success. Yet it is something only people of middle and upper classes desire. Individuals from working classes are stuck in a seemingly endless cycle that ends with them being stuck in the working class. Those who are rich and wealthy are able to send their kids to private schools instead of the public school system. These kids are prematurely exposed to the importance of obtaining a college education at a young age whereas the kids from lower class communities do not.

Often times, people from the lower class community attend a school that does not help them prepare for their future and does not care at all in the students' learning. Some of these kids graduate high school at a fifth grade reading level. Students from the lower class status are not exposed to the same opportunities that more affluent kids are exposed to. These kids do not know about internships or summer opportunities that can help them get into a good college that will help them move upwards in the social ladder. In the lecture regarding the "culture of poverty" thesis, it is believed that culture is passed on to the next generation, and so will these ideas that school is not important. But with the importance of obtaining a college degree and above to get a good job, lower class individual's inability to do well in school will result in them not going to college and in the end, not getting a good job. This is why the "culture of poverty" thesis exists.