Educational opportunities vary widely depending on social class, race, and culture. First of all, there are obvious differences in opportunity between a low class citizen and an upper class citizen. According to Emma Garcia and Elaine Weiss, “research has established that growing up in poverty tends to put children behind.” This is because, the upper class citizen has parents with experience with college and does commonly have financial problems about paying for college while the lower class citizen's parents may not have been to college and do not have the money needed to afford various school supplies (Trueman). The lack of necessary materials for education was deemed a type of deprivation in 1960, the same year that sociologists stated that the lack of school materials for a particular student is connected to the student’s achievement (Trueman). Lower class people have little excess money, and their financial difficulties can cause them to be unable to afford the essential school supplies that other classes can easily obtain (Trueman). The potentially expensive school supplies such as books, computers, and internet availability are often a struggle to obtain for the lower class (Trueman). Also, the poorer classes may not have enough money to afford a well balanced, nutritional meal each day, which has been proven to improve concentration, memory, behavior, and test scores (“3 Ways”).
Not only does the purchasing of school supplies and well balanced meals affect one’s education, but social class affect somebody before they even first step foot in the classroom. Because of the financial struggles of the lower class, lower class parents rarely are able to afford educational video games or books for their toddlers, starting students from differing backgrounds on different playing fields (Garcia, Weiss). Finally, different racial and social class groups usually live in separate areas which have been proven to offer varying levels of academic opportunity and courses (Anne E. Casey Foundation). According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “because of race and class segregation and its relationship to local school revenues, students in high-poverty racially segregated schools are not exposed to high-quality curricula, highly qualified teachers, or important social networks as often as students in wealthier, predominantly White schools.”
Not only does the purchasing of school supplies and well balanced meals affect one’s education, but social class affect somebody before they even first step foot in the classroom. Because of the financial struggles of the lower class, lower class parents rarely are able to afford educational video games or books for their toddlers, starting students from differing backgrounds on different playing fields (Garcia, Weiss). Finally, different racial and social class groups usually live in separate areas which have been proven to offer varying levels of academic opportunity and courses (Anne E. Casey Foundation). According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “because of race and class segregation and its relationship to local school revenues, students in high-poverty racially segregated schools are not exposed to high-quality curricula, highly qualified teachers, or important social networks as often as students in wealthier, predominantly White schools.”