America's forgotten working class
Upbringing, neighborhoods and community can negatively affect academic success. For example, many working class people are discriminated by economists and they are described as people who lack a college degree. These people are victims of discrimination not because of their race but because of their low standard of living (Vance, 2016). Due to their low level of education, the level of income is low and parents are unable to raise their children effectively due to financial problems. Children from these families suffer from health and safety issues and social challenges. In school, they are discriminated compared with upper-income kids. They are isolated and the isolation leads to high rate of drop out. When they enter in the community, they become vulnerable to risky behaviors such as drug abuse (Vance, 2016). There is lack of a nurturing environment in the community and the children live a poor life which affects cognitive and psychological development. Many children are unable to beat the odds due to lack of mentorship and social capital. In the community, working class children do not have the opportunity to access resources and the high level of poverty develops the developmental challenges to these children. In neighborhood, children face social inequality and as a result they develop emotional and behavioral problems which hinder academic success (Vance, 2016). Working class families including children are forget as in America it is believed that a degree is the key to success and only learned people can get good jobs and enjoy many opportunities. Lack of neighborhood initiates is a big challenge to working class families as these families continue to struggle with poverty (Vance, 2016). Generally, there is a wide gap between working class and upper class. Working class people receive low wages and their children are discriminated in school and in the community due to their poor living style. They are not recognized and they end up being incarcerated due to criminal behaviors.
Reference
Vance J.D. (2016). America's forgotten working class
Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/j_d_vance_the_struggles_of_america_s_forgotten_working_class