The Social Class System

The majority of Americans are generally aware that the lower class citizens in our country face many struggles because of their place in society. However, the degree to which these struggles affect lower class people’s lives is often underestimated. My eyes have been opened to the flaws in our society’s social class system, and these issues are something that the entire country needs to become aware of in order to correct the problems. The lower class people in America are falling further and further behind every day, and something needs to be done before the poverty engulfs our country. The information that was discussed during this course taught me more about the problems within the social class system, as well as the ways in which the lower …show more content…
However, many of the lower class citizens in America did not receive the quality primary education that would have allowed them to continue education at the next level. Lower class students were not taught to use critical thinking and reasoning, so they are typically unable to succeed in college. Without a college education, it is usually extremely difficult to find a well-paying job that would allow a person to provide for themselves and their family. As Makennah Eastman-Earl stated in one of the course discussion boards, having a college degree would allow people to have “the chance to make more money and get a higher paying job” (Eastman-Earl). This statement goes to show that the educational inequality that prevents an abundance of the lower class students in America from attending college could be the reason that so many Americans live in poverty. If people are unable to receive the type of education that would allow them to get well-paying jobs, how can we expect them to provide for themselves or their families? I think that it would be unreasonable for anyone expect the lower class citizens in the United States to fix things that are completely out of their control, such as the educational inequalities in our country. I have always felt this way, and I became even more passionate about it after I learned new information from the materials that we discussed during …show more content…
The toll that being in the lower class takes on a person’s body is often underestimated. However, Gregory Mantsios stated that living in poverty “has a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being as well” (Mantsios 292). There was one essay in particular that truly improved my understanding of what it is like to live in the lower class, as well as the ways that social class can affect health. Janny Scott’s essay discussed the ways in which three different heart attack victims were treated for a heart attack. One of the three people was a lower class woman, and her story helped me realize how a person’s social class can take a toll on their health. Ewa Gora’s quality of life diminished the day that she had her heart attack because she did not receive the medical care that she needed. Scott stated in the essay that “her heart attack seemed to have shaken loose a host of other problems” (Scott 45). She also had a difficult time paying for the medical care that she had received, which caused her to have to work even more in order to repay her debts. Ewa’s story opened my eyes to the ways that social class and the quality of care that a patient may receive go hand in hand. I hope that as I continue my education and eventually begin my career as a doctor I will treat every patient the same despite