by Nicholas Kristof
Kristof argues that moving up in social class, no matter how hard you work, is no easy task in America.
Kristof uses examples from various studies from different countries to prove his point that if you are born in lower class, you are more than likely to stay in lower class. He explains that America might not be all that its cracked up to be, by proving that Canada and Europe's success rate in young people who work to have more status is significantly higher than America's, and they don't brag about their opportunities as much as America does.
He also argues his point using personal stories, explaining the life of his friend Rick, who raised himself and his sibling from a young age. Rick had a lot of talent, but didn't have a lot of money, and because of that the author feels as though he wasn't able to make it as much in life as he could have if he had been born into different circumstances.
He explains that there are outliers, just as every other social argument that you can make. There are people who were born into poverty who have made it big in the world and, with a lot of hard work, sweat and tears, have made it above that upper class line. However, he basically says that they are the poster children for America, they are the few who get pushed on you to "prove" that you can make it no matter where you come from. But making in big without being born into the right circumstances is highly unlikely, even though possible.
Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
How can we, as future educators, help this to become better? How can we teach our students and inspire them to work more to be able to make it out of that lower class bracket? Or can we even do that when the at-home circumstances are too pressing? What kind of impact can we have on the lives of the students to maybe make their futures a bit brighter?
