Honestly, I do not think it matters as much today as it did years ago; or at least a lot less than it did years ago. Reading in my textbook, I was able to place myself right smack dab in the middle class group, but why should it matter?
Nowadays, it does not matter what class you are from. There are kids that grow up in the upper class, and get out on there own, and do horribly (unless they have a trust fund); there are also children that come from the lower class groups who go on to make it big in life (like our current President Of The United States). There are children you see on the news, who are borderline homeless, and go on to win full ride scholarships and become CEO's. Just because you are stuck with a "label" of Lower or Upper or even Middle Class, does not mean that is where you will be stuck for the rest of your life.
Growing up, most of my earlier childhood, we were poor, very much in the lower class. Today I am considered middle class. Not because of my upbringing, but because I was smart enough to go to school and push myself to become something in life. I would rather be lower class, and learn to appreciate the things in life by having to earn them, rather than be the child of a CEO, say of BP or Exxon-Mobile, have everything given to me, and not know what hard work is really all about.
I checked out the PBS site, People like us, and looked around. Even played the game to decorate a living room and what you pick supposedly shows what "Class" you are, or would be. I thought it was humorous, although tongue in cheek to say the least with some of the comments. Talk about stereotypical. Possessions should not dictate who we are or how we are looked at.
A study done in 1997 by Bynner, followed 9,000 people all born in 1970, to see who was coping the best with transitioning into adulthood (they were 26 at the time of the results), and it showed that those children with fathers in a professional field of work did better in transitioning. Yeah, no kidding! They probably had many things handed to them- if they had a hard time in the real world, mommy and daddy were there to help. If these children did not have a father figure in their lives, more than likely, their mother had to work full time, and they did not have a chance to be children; if anything, I would think it made them stronger.
Children of poverty are NOT doomed, in my opinion. They are only doomed if they make the wrong decisions in life, like crime, drugs, or becoming high school drop outs because they do not have a good mentor in their lives. Many children of poverty go on to be very successful in life, they just need to have the drive to succeed. I should know, I am living proof.
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