During my time spent in this class, my definition of class has been widely expanded upon. Initially, my closed perspective would have defined classes as rigid categorizations defined by a specific household income; however, I have come to realize that the differences between socioeconomic classes are impossible to definitively quantify, and I have learned valuable information about how the class cycle reinforces itself. As family structures and forms of providing income vary greatly on a case by case basis, many individuals would identify themselves as a different socioeconomic class independent of their financial status. This is especially true of the middle class, the group with the most variable range of members. Instead, class can be viewed as a reflection of one’s overall identity, shaped by their environment and past experiences.
Growing up, I came from an upper middle class family in North Atlanta, where I attended a Georgia public school. This gave me a firsthand perspective of how society can work to reinforce social classes and give unequal opportunity to individuals from differing backgrounds. In Georgia, public schools are funded by the taxes in their surrounding districted neighborhoods. Historically, redlining has influenced the proportions of affluence in different neighborhoods. Unfortunately, this has created enormous discrepancies between public schools all from the same county. While better funded schools like my own received higher quality instructors, new technology, expensive facilities and programs, and preparation for higher education, inner city schools lacked the funding to purchase adequate technology and infrastructure. This was always directly reflected in the standardized test scores of students from different neighborhoods. While some of these schools struggle getting students to graduate, others have a greater than 90% success rate at sending students to college. Even after being accepted to a college, students from different backgrounds discover new challenges with the skyrocketing price of education. Affluent students are able to get degrees from expensive institutions while other students are forced to take out loans or consider other options. These disparities are apparent, and without an effective way to level out the playing field, the cycle will continue to repeat.