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Classism as an Obstacle

Prompt
At elite law schools like Yale and Harvard Law, 60% of the incoming students tend to
come from the top 10% of the socioeconomic spectrum (Fisher). In the article, Richard
Sherman informs us how Poor students are the real victims of social class and college
discrimination. The fact that with the lower income students attend poorly at prestigious
colleges are discriminated with a given grant of half of what typical states require and
tenth of private schools. Students with poor incomes have to work vigorously by having
the rest of the money only to be relied on scholarships and loans. Compare and contrast
what negative and positive effects rich income and poor income families have, when it
comes to education. Which effect overpowers the other based on the family income?
Provide examples from personal experiences and resources.

3/4 Ms. Garcia 9/11 Mr. Stoll


Allan Garza
10/27/14

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People know when morals are challenged or infringed on. The fact on how much
society has changed its view on discrimination indicates a future with rare amounts of
discrimination, but yet still having characteristics still in the present shows how
discrimination is ubiquitous. Discrimination is something the world will always have, but
the thing that matters is how people cope and deal with it when presented. If there is one
thing, discrimination has taught society, it is perpetual. Prejudice is seen in the present,
there is discrimination against everything, something as simple as the income could
impact and damage an individuals future. Classism, the discrimination of how much
income a family makes or an individuals social class status, controls a persons
education, further following his/hers future. The preference of the rich exemplifies how
the wealthy has a higher percentage rate to success and being successful compared to the
poor through education. Education is the fundamental foundation of an individuals
future, and classism is just an obstacle to it that we can learn to over come. Classism
deprives or excels an individual to thrive outside of what society labels as their class and
ability to a superior future, through the topic of money and education.
The class a person is labeled as limits or excels his/hers education. The richer an
individual is, society seem to depict the person to have a good education or simply being
successful. Society controls and indoctrinates how humans think or should think. College
is a prime example of classism and the way society thinks, since colleges have to decide
who or who not to accept, leads to favoritism or discrimination. With the blindness of
accepting or declining random people, personal information such as family income labels
an individual and defines that person, becoming a foundation of first impressions. The
identity of where people stand in income impacts how an individual does in education,

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controlling his/hers future, During the 2012-13 school year, the wealthiest districts spent
an average of $35,690 per student, according to a New York State United Teachers
analysis. The poorest schools spent an average of $19,823 (Hupfl). The rich have
significant advantages to the poor, further proving that the richer an individual will be,
the more successful. Adding more of an investment to the ones who will be more
successful leads to certainty to a bright future. Money deprives or benefits an individual
from their equal ability to thrive. Money seems to be the fundamental importance to
success. If colleges choose the people that stand out in their environment with the power
of education, the environment is to blame for better of for worse. Classism doesnt just
impact a persons future it also impacts their environment, being the schools and the
neighborhoods image, The analysis also found the wealthiest districts had 49% of
students reaching proficiency levels in standardized English exams in April while 45%
were found proficient in math. In the poorest 10%, 21% of students were proficient on
the English exams, 18% in math (Ibid). While the wealthy districts did significantly
better than the poorer districts, shows how social class can also indent the schools where
the education is presented. Classism empowers the right to have an equal chance into a
better future, by the power of education. Money is known to be an identification to
someone; it is a stereotype further proving that social class discrimination is an
assumption into the dark, only knowing the slightest of information through the first
impressions. There is a distinct division between the rich and the poor and with the rich
having the favoritisms, They have more experienced teachers and a much lower studentteacher ratio. They have more modern facilities, more up-to-date computer and science
equipment, and more up-to-date textbooks (Dreier). Advantages to the rich empower the

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poor with more money and more opportunities then to excel to a person of have a better
future, never having a complete balance and equality for all through the foundation of
education.
An individual is given more or less opportunities to excel through the help of the
amount of money they are accessed to. The division between the poor and the rich
becomes a reflection of the past, Wiseman explains how The income inequality between
the upper one percent of earners in the U.S. and the lower 99 percent has been the widest
since the great depression of the late 1920s (qtd. in Blumenfeld). People are too blind to
see that history is repeating itself into the present; the present resembles a time of The
Great Depression, one of the worst economy crashes of all time. The juxtaposition
between the rich and the poor is obvious, and then the middle class was introduced. The
middle class is amidst both the upper and lower class. The middle class even breaks to
lower and upper middle class, exemplifying how society even looks down upon
themselves, it cannot be as simple as lower, middle, and upper, now its lower, lower
middle, middle, upper middle, and upper class. The wider range of classes depicts how
society either chooses to looked down or highly upon themselves, The number of people
who consider themselves middle class has fallen almost a fifth, from 53 percent in 2008
to 44 percent in JanuaryFebruary 2008, 25 percent of people referred to themselves as
lower-middle class or poor; now that number is 40 percent (Williams). Because of the
usage of the middle class, it creates a clear division of what is the poor and what is the
rich, the cause of why someone is in there class is to the topic of education. Education,
once again controls the future, its no wonder why the rich get more advantages and poor
gets less advantages. Lower class families have less to offer to their kids due to the

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restrictions and limitations of education and money, while the upper class have more to
invest in,
That wealthy parents invest more time and money than ever before in their
children (in weekend sports, ballet, music lessons, math tutors, and in overall
involvement in their childrens schools), while lower-income families, which are
now more likely than ever to be headed by a single parent, are increasingly
stretched for time and resources (Tavernise).
The advantages are given to rich at birth; parents have more money so they invest in their
children so they can as well be successful, creating a wider gap in the rich and poor.
While the poor family have so many restrictions to invest in their children due to the lack
of money. The disadvantages of the poor and the advantages of the rich do not stop in just
education, but further to anything that may help or risk your future.
Social class discrimination goes outside of education further limiting a certain
individual right to excel. Stereotypes are focused to a specific group of people, then
putting the label that all of the targeted group of people fall under that same stereotype.
Work plays no role in the how much money an individual gets, stereotypes overcast that,
A McDonald's employee must work the equivalent of 930 years to match the salary that
the CEO makes in a single year (Blumenfeld). The stereotype where the lower class
work in jobs for fast food restaurants and the upper class work for huge companys tend
to stay that way. The lower division of classes works harder not to gain money, but
simply just by getting by. The assumption where a person works in a certain job almost
always tend to be that same class range, its rare and very uncommon to see a fast food
restaurant workers being the bosses of huge companys and vice versa. The basic and

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little info of income restricts you further than education, Tenants who attempt to legally
use a subsidy frequently hear comments like, I dont rent to people like you. Some
landlords advertise No section 8 or will refuse an application for tenancy, regardless of
the tenants rental and credit history, simply because of their lawful source of income
(Source). First impressions is a basic foundation of discrimination, people dismantle
the very little information given to them in beliefs that, that identifies the person.
Renters who receive a verifiable source of legal income, such as social security,
child support, SSIand section 8 vouchers (or any other governmental or non-profit
subsidy) should not be automatically assumed to be unacceptable or undesirable
renters. Stereotypes about recipients of either temporary or long-term assistance
are unfair grounds to determine an applicants suitability as a renter: every renter
should be given an equal opportunity to apply (Ibid)
Classism deprives a person from getting an apartment, limiting and restricting an
individual from exceling for a better future. The picture of a bright future is a job that
pays enough for bills and the wants, a house in a neighborhood that has good income, a
degree from a good college, and a family. Classism depicts and tears apart every single
one of those things, through the topic of money, disadvantages are present in the topic of
discrimination, and to solve this people need to create advantages.
Through the excessive amount of discrimination and perceived as lesser citizens,
some argue there is slight advantages or relief from the continuous hatred. Colleges
notice all sides of the people that are applying,
Paying for college is the ultimate example of price discrimination. Through the
financial aid application process, colleges learn exactly how much each student

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can afford to pay and tailor their tuition accordingly. And as colleges have gotten
better at this process, they have been asking the relatively wealthy to pay higher
sticker prices so that the less fortunate can receive increased financial aid
(Williams).
People notice the disadvantages and create advantages within them. The concept of
change is present in the awareness of some colleges. Colleges are raising awareness,
slowly becoming aware of classism being simply wrong. Though when people help one
side of the discrimination it usually is like the balance beam scale, it favors one side so it
creates favoritism and an uncontrollable shift of equality. Colleges now notice the
disadvantages that some individual face and come up with solutions,
In fact, much of the increase in sticker prices merely reflects an improvement in
the ability of schools to price discriminate, or charge different prices to different
students for the same educational services. This is a positive development, as
price discrimination makes higher education affordable for a larger number of
individuals (Ibid).
In this situation, colleges are helping the less fortunate but the wealthier side of people
have to pay more for the same exact education, making it like the balance beam scale,
incredibly strenuous to have complete balance. Though, change is present, the
disadvantages are even presented when they try to be advantages for a certain group;
equality is such a challenge to balance. Though it seems fair to certain people, colleges
are infringing the right to equal education to the people who have more wealth. The topic
of money seems to be the fuel or drive of colleges, becoming similar to big corporations,
and big companies, Colleges are following a pricing strategy employed by airlines, car

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dealerships and other businesses. Customers who are able and willing to pay more are
charged more. Anyone who has studied microeconomics principles knows both revenue
and profitability increase as do the total number of customers served (Price). Price
discrimination is set to the people who have those who are able to pay more, making
sense since it might be a penny compared to the less fortunate. Though it is debatable that
there are some advantages depending on the perspectives, the disadvantages still cover
the slight advantages as if it was scab of negativity.
Discrimination can be exposed in the simplest of thing, money, gender, or even
the color of a persons skin. Racism exemplifies why no matter the discrimination, it will
always be ubiquitous but can also be suppressed and manipulated into a society where it
turns into a everyday belief into being morally wrong. Society is the brain of all humans.
People are lead to think a certain way because of society norms or abnormalities, Most
universities spend much less time worrying about socioeconomic diversity than racial
and ethnic diversity, said Richard Vedder, a University of Ohio economist (qtd. in
Fisher). People now living in a society where racism is wrong, but also living in a society
where it lacks the awareness of classism compared to racism. People are too blind to see
the class discrimination because society believes that racism to be more of a worrying
priority, leaving classism to be a lesser priority. Discrimination is discrimination, no
matter how little or abstract it can be. If people can change societys ways in the 60s and
70s of racism why cant they do it again? Society controls the way people think as
individuals, manipulating peoples way to think about a certain way of a topic. Society
adapts to what the majority of people think. The majority is considered to be everyone in
societys eyes, it is a challenge but possible to change they way the majority of people

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think, [People] have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s, in which race was
more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears
more determinative of educational success than race (Tavernise). The repetition of
history is obvious; people learn from the mistakes and break away from repeating.
Classism presents its self a repetition of racism, following the same footsteps,
discrimination of certain group, society ignoring the problem, and in the future changing
our views on the topic. People are too focus on racism just because it is established as
disgusting to society, but classism isnt as well know as racism that is why it is not as
much as a problem as racism. The day where society depicts classism, as serious
discrimination is the day people will see equality. The focus of racism overpowers
classism. Discrimination has an arbitrary shift; the problem is how it shifts. Society
controls how it shifts through the norms in the eyes of society. Classism is a very low
profile discrimination compared to racism. Racism limited the future of African
Americans in the 1950 or 60s through the restrictions and limitations African Americans
face. People then soon noticed racism morally wrong ways and switch around in 40 to 50
years to the present, progress can be slow but the important thing is if it leading to the
state of being oblivion. Colleges are aware that racism is wrong, but since classism is
relatively unknown, it enables the usage of it to be token advantage of, The pervasive
problem in admissions offices is class-ism, not racism theyre biased against lowincome students (Fisher). The discrimination low-income students faced through
colleges is because of societies way of thinking of what can be more offensive, hence
racism and what they can get by with, hence classism. Classism and racism are the same;

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it is both discrimination against a group of people, though racism is more abnormal to
societys eyes.
Money and education deprives or benefits an individual the equality of a better
future. The upper class has advantages with the help of money, while the lower class
faces disadvantages with the lack of money, leading to a tougher chance to thriving
beyond their class due to the restrictions of money. Learning from the past such as
racism, can help prevent and limit the discrimination of classism due to being so similar.
Though, the disadvantages still over cast the slight, minimalist advantages as if it was a
scab of negativity. The concept of change and awareness is essential to break the
discrimination. Education is the foundation of a successful future; society labels someone
to be fortunate and wealthy by education and income. Classism discrimination resembles
the balance beam scale; it is impossible to have complete balance. With the weight of the
advantages and disadvantages to the upper class compared to the lower class causes an
extreme amount of unbalance making the upper class thrive and the lower class to cease
by the weight of the disadvantages restricting them. Based on the past such as racism,
overcoming obstacles labels as discrimination, takes time and progress. The art about
conquering the obstacles is that society always adapts and evolves to go around it no
matter how abstract it moves, classism is just another obstacle.

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Works Cited
Ashley Hupfl, Gannett Albany (N.Y.) Bureau. "Study: Rich N.Y. Schools Spend 80%
More than Poor." USA Today. Gannett, 02 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Blumenfeld, Warren J. "Economic Inequality: When Is Enough Enough?" The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Dreier, Peter. "America's Classist Education System." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 July 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Fisher, Daniel. "Poor Students Are The Real Victims Of College Discrimination." Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 02 May 12. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
"Price Discrimination, Financial Aid, and Higher Education - ProfessorBainbridge.com."
'ProfessorBainbridge.com' N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
"Source of Income Discrimination." - Tenants Union of Washington
State. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Tavernise, Sabrina. "Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Williams, Geoff. "What It Means to Be Middle Class Today - US News." US News RSS.
N.p., 24 Apr. 14. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

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