(H) 383-394: Morris & Grimes, Moving Up

The socialization of people that come from a working-class background that “made something” of themselves. The American Dream is such a powerful philosophy; that America is filled with equal opportunities and that as long as you work hard enough one day you will fulfill The American Dream. This philosophy is why America is so great and why so many foreign people come to the U.S. Parents play a huge role into the socialization of their child; they will pass on some of their characteristics, values, and beliefs that are associated with their social class onto their child. People sometimes don’t understand that parents are the ones who create a child to have values and demonstrate that The American Dream exists. At an early age the child learns what “feels right” which will be accustomed to be his norms. Later in life when this child achieves upward mobility from the working-class he/she can experience “culture shock” as they uncover unknowns. This can be attributed to the individual not being exposed to “high” culture activities as a child. Most children that come from a working-class background do not experience “high” culture activities such as visiting museums, going on vacations, having books in their household, etc. Thus, when they move up in classes they might experience “culture shock” because they lack knowledge of such things. Children growing up in a working-class family also may encounter material deprivation due to economic capital. But the American Dream isn’t quite what it seems, the system wasn’t built to be equal, that’s only an illusion. The truth is that working-class children do not have the same opportunities that as middle or upper-class children; working-class resources are limited. Making it a harder road for a working-class child to achieve success. Working-class parents usually encourage their children to pursue an education so that they can land a good paying job. I worked side jobs because I wanted to go to college, I had all the support from my parents because we never really were financially stable due to many reasons. So, I worked and I saved money for when I was older. Yes, I would buy myself and family stuff but I had my spending limits because my parents and I are middle-class. The only issue with this is that working-class parents usually lack education themselves leading them to not be able to help their kids with school work. Some of us have to work harder than others because of the social class we were born into. Those born into poverty might start off at a 1 as to someone born into the middle-class might start at a 5. Now the child that started at 1 has to work extremely hard just to catch up to the position where the middle-class child was born. This is unfair, but it is reality. This is where their generation of kids come in and they try to reach a higher number on the scale which is equivalent to upward mobility. Upward mobility might take generations to be accomplished for someone in the working-class this is because things such as social capital hold them back. Their lack of social connections limits their opportunities to land high position jobs. Other things that will also affect their opportunities might be their race and gender. It is no secret that most working-class people are minorities making them vulnerable to discrimination against their race. Society is made where High- class and lower-class get help but middle-class goes through hardships or into lower class.