Madelyn Kidder Soc 1305 Professor Johnson February 20, 2024 The Effects of Social Class on my life In today’s society, while class is not as prevalent as it used to be it is still very common. Many individuals use their class to make decisions that will best benefit themselves and their family members. After reading the 2003 article, “M8 Class in the United States Not only alive but reproducing” by Diana Kendall, I was able to see several ways in which class affected the lives of others. While I can relate to some of the topics used in this article, others are more foreign to me. From my experience, social class is still a large factor in the United States that played a role in my life through growing up in a so-called “bubble”, not receiving secondary education from a private school, and lastly through attending a private university. Class played a large role in my life growing up in the so called “Boerne Bubble.” According to the article, a bubble is an area in which people want to raise a family in (Kendall, page 6). Many people come to Boerne, Texas looking to start a family. Boerne is known for higher-priced homes, good-quality schools, and a lack of housing inventory, which has essentially created the so-called bubble. Boerne draws in people that have very similar values and customs, and because of this, I grew up in an area that didn’t have a lot of diversity. Boerne “provides the family with comfort, safety, and isolation from those of other social classes (Kendall, page 6).” It’s an area where people feel like they can raise their families in a sheltered environment. Social class has allowed me to become the person that I am today. It was safe, it was secure, and it was a loving environment with like-minded individuals. It was a luxury that I know is not affordable to everyone. Madelyn Kidder Soc 1305 Professor Johnson February 20, 2024 Another way class has affected my life was through receiving a secondary education through a public school. Growing up in Boerne, there were several private schools in the area, but my parents had specifically chosen for me to attend public schools. Through attending a public school, I got to experience all different types and classes of individuals who weren’t in the same socioeconomic class as me. My high school contained socioeconomic classes of the very top and very bottom tiers of class and everything in between. I was exposed to different socioeconomic tiers and could relate to people of all socioeconomic classes. This was something my parents wanted me to be exposed to that private schools don’t necessarily offer. While I did not attend a private school, my public school did offer numerous “opportunities that might be available to children in college preparatory schools (Kendall, page 9).” Though families feel as if private schools better prepare their children for the future, my experience with a public school was great. Public school has allowed me to interact with individuals of all socioeconomic classes, which better equipped me for the real world outside of high school, as well as helped prepare me for the private university that I am currently attending. The last major way class has affected my life is through attending a private university. Through my family’s class, I’ve been blessed to be able to attend Baylor University. Unfortunately, many individuals that have a lower socioeconomic class have a harder time going to private universities as they demand higher price tags. While these universities require a great amount of money to be paid in order to attend, people are also paying for the values and community that you can’t find at a state school. By attending a private university, young adults can “further their formal education but also establish in-group ties with other members of their Madelyn Kidder Soc 1305 Professor Johnson February 20, 2024 own class (Kendall, page 9)”. Social class has allowed me to attend such a prestigious university where I am able to attain a higher quality of education. I am very fortunate as many dream of the opportunity to go to a private university but are unable to. Class can provide many benefits that unfortunately isn’t available to all. Socioeconomic class is still very prominent in the United States today. Whether we want it to or not, a person’s socioeconomic class ultimately makes many decisions for them. Class decides how much and how far a person can go with their education, where they may live, and many other important decisions in life. Some major ways I’ve seen class throughout my life would be living with the “Boerne Bubble”, going to a public high school, and attending a private university. Money is one of those things that provides privileges and better opportunities to people. While it is not fair to those of a lower socioeconomic class, money provides a better chance for success in life. Madelyn Kidder Soc 1305 Professor Johnson February 20, 2024 Sources Kendall, Diana. “Class in the United States: Not Only Alive but Reproducing.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Elsevier. Science Direct. 1 November 2004. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0276562405000077.
