The first main point of this article is that it has been scientifically proven that social class plays an important role in the intelligence of children. Middle and higher level class children are smarter than poor children. The second point is that there is a discussion on whether the problem of poor children not having a higher intelligence relies on the school or if the problem is at the child’s home. The third point is that there are different factors that can influence a child’s ability to academically enhance their intelligence. One of the most important factors is money. Other factors can be race, environment, and culture along with others. I agree that in most cases higher class children will be more intelligent than lower class children. …show more content…
According to what I have learned in class I believe that this is solemnly part of the nature versus nurture debate. Although intelligence can be genetically passed on, I believe that the environment can influence the person and limit their intelligence. It is evident that not all poor children are going to be less smart than children in middle or higher classes. Nature means that we inherit capacities and limitations from our parents, therefore our intelligence is not based on what social class we are born into. What defines our level of intelligence is nurture, or the environment that we are born into. If we are born into a poor social class our conditions are going to be very different than those of higher classes. Norms and expectations are part of an individual’s culture. If a parent has imposed upon their children the expectations of achieving educational success than the child will be able to achieve it. A parent has to provide that child with a steady base and good communication like the article states. If a parents treats a child as an equal while sustaining their authority, then they will create a balance at home. Social class does not play a role in listening and understanding your child which is a key factor. Although the problem might continue at school, the problem does start with the …show more content…
One of the greatest factors is money, which is what our world revolves around. Children who come from poor classes are at a disadvantage since they are not provided with the best resources to enhance their education. They are not provided with the financial stability beginning with their parents since they may have low paying jobs. Accommodation according to Jean Piaget involves changing your perspective to fit into what you have learned or experienced. I believe that low class parents accommodate themselves and their children to what they are able to provide to them. This may mean that under their conditions they may have to adjust to living under the worst conditions but they still make it work. Parents of poor children have high expectations and have authority since they have high expectations for their children. I have learned that schools tend to have a hidden curriculum, which is when something is learned in school that is not purposely intended to be taught. These lessons can alter the education and intelligence of a child. Depending on the school, and the environment, the lessons can either be good or bad. There is also that aspect of culture and race that plays part in social class and intelligence. The white dominant race is said to be more intelligent than the minorities since they have more economic stability and are able to achieve a higher education. Social constructs are shared ideas that are
Children who are deemed poor, do not receive nearly as many educational opportunities as children who are deemed rich. Kozol acknowledges that poor children barely have any social skills, which will help them in Kindergarten. In contrast, children who have been in preschool like programs since their toddler years, are more likely to develop social skills and have early-learning skills, like knowing how to hold a crayon. Children in all social classes, in the United States have to take the same standardized tests and are measured on the same grading scale. Kozol questions, “Which of these children will receive the highest scores?”(Kozol 413) Sadly, poor children will not be the ones with the highest score, and they will be held accountable for their test scores, as Kozol points out “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight year old inner city child “accountable” for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier” (Kozol 413). It is unfair to expect a child to perform on a test equally with other children who started their education earlier. Kozol mentions that some people, who are well-educated, feel that money is not a problem with education inequality, and that other factors such as, “The values of the parents and the kids themselves must have a role in this as well-you know, housing, health conditions,
Children in families with lower incomes at or below the poverty line have been connected with poor cognitive and social development in early childhood. The studies that I chose to use evaluate the cognitive and social development during early childhood using various surveys, evaluations, and observations completed by or with the children, parents, and teachers. Development of any kind is dependent on the interplay of nature and nurture, or genetics and environment. These studies draw from a child’s environment during the earliest years of development, specifically birth, pre-school, and early elementary school. The studies propose living in an impoverished environment as opposed to an environment above the poverty line imposes certain restrictions on cognitive and social development during early childhood.
In her article she points out how social class has become the main gateway to opportunity in America. The widening academic divide means that kids who grow up poor will most likely stay poor and the kids who grow up rich will most likely stay rich. About fifty years ago the main concern about getting a good education relied on your race but now it's about your social class. Researchers are starting to believe that children who come from higher income families tend to do better in school and get higher test scores.
Social class should not be used to define a person. Every person has the ability to overcome the roadblocks that society has placed in their path, so long as they have the determination and motivation. In Gerald Graff’s article, “Hidden Intellectualism” , he explains how social class is irrelevant when it comes to education, despite what society will lead you to believe. He displays how everyone is intelligent in his or her own way.Lynda Barry during her article, “ The Sanctuary of School” spoke about the importance of education to her and many other students like her.Another writer, Mike Rose shows how despite the thoughts that society puts in our heads we can still be successful in his article “Blue Collar Brilliance”.Regardless of social
Social class is a group in society having the same economic status as one another. Class could
Children who are poor do not receive nearly as many educational opportunities as children who are rich. Kozol acknowledges that poor children barely have any social skills, which will harm them in Kindergarten. In contrast, children who have been in preschool-like programs since their toddler years are more likely to develop social skills and have early-learning skills, like knowing how to hold a crayon. Children in all social classes in the United States have to take the same standardized tests and are measured on the same grading scale. Kozol questions, “Which of these children will receive the highest scores?”(Kozol 413) Sadly, poor children will not be the ones with the highest score, and they will be held accountable for their test scores, as Kozol points out “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight-year-old inner-city child “accountable” for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier” (Kozol 413). It is unfair to expect a child to perform on a test equally with other children who started their education earlier. Kozol mentions that some people, who are well-educated, feel that money is not a problem with education inequality, and that other factors such as, “The values of the
Everyone knows about the various stereotypes and social stigmas that come with socioeconomic status whether they will choose to admit it or not. Society has come to assume that a child who comes from a family of low socioeconomic status, that they will not do as well as a child who comes from a family of a greater socioeconomic status. Unfortunately these assumptions are so ingrained in our brains that we start to follow the self-fulfilling prophecy. When a child from a noticeably low socioeconomic status walks into a classroom, it is not uncommon for the teacher to automatically assume that the child will not perform well in class, and in turn either grades the child more harshly or does not give the child as much attention as the other children from high socioeconomic status families. Do these children not perform well in class because of the self-fulfilling prophecy or is there something that happens during the critical period that causes the child to fall behind?
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major topic of interest within the study of language development in children. It has been indicated as one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). Even with the wide variety of studies involving SES, there has never been a complete consensus on what SES actually represents. Beyond the development of language, SES also affects the overall development of a child. These developmental differences then further lead to differences in language acquisition. When looking at SES, there are many factors to consider. The concept of capital seems to best embody the current meaning psychologists hold of SES, according to Bradley and Corwyn (2002). Capital is favored because of its inclusion of access to financial (material resources), human (nonmaterial resources such as education) and social capital (social connections). The current working definition of SES involves family income, education level, and occupations, which influence the theories and characteristics that children develop (Hill, 2006). The effects of socioeconomic status on children are shown through many factors that affect language development through the child’s overall growth, their cognitive development, as well as their stress management and the parenting styles that they are exposed to.
1940 The Thirty-ninth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Factors Influencing the Growth of Intelligence in Young Children. US Public School Publishing Co. Cherry, Kendra “What Is Nature versus Nurture?” Accessed February 20, 2014.
... the wealthier a child’s family is the better school they will attend. This essay does an excellent job of describing the myth of equal opportunity in America. It is obvious from this literary selection that those who are born into wealthier families are set up for success as soon as they begin kindergarten while other children from less fortunate families are simply thrown into working class blue collar positions with little chance for progression to a higher socio-economic class. Education is one of the most important elements within our modern American society. As long as we have this broad spectrum of teaching philosophies and methods, there will always be children with advantages over others. If these differences are evened out, I believe that a reestablishment of a large American middle class is possible, creating a more lucrative and successful nation.
Research reveals that the higher the social class, the higher the levels of educational achievement are likely to be. The children of parents in higher social classes are more likely to stay on in post compulsory education, more likely to achieve examination passes when at school, and more likely to gain university entrance. These features painted a true picture of British education in the twentieth century and can be argued to follow this trend today. However, whether there has been any reduction in the inequalities is more debatable, but some research suggests that these inequalities are as great as ever, despite the overall improvements within the education system. Many researchers argue that IQ tests are biased in favour of the middle class, since members of this group largely construct them.
There are many different factors that affect education. One such factor is, socioeconomic status. Children who attend school in a wealthier community receive a better education than those students in poor communities. In poor communities, student’s education is not only affected by a lack of resources, but also from teaching methods and philosophies. Urban and poor schools’ students do not receive as equal of an education as their more affluent and suburban counterparts do.
It can be argued that the academic performance of children has nothing to do with their socioeconomic status, because there have been many cases of children from very poor families who have excelled greatly in academics (APA, 2017). Furthermore, many predominantly high-end schools have posted poor results when compared to school with poorer backgrounds. This is despite the fact children from lower socioeconomic classes do not have access to the best forms of learning materials. The high performance of children from poor backgrounds is often attributed to the fact that they are not preoccupied with many activities which would otherwise hinder them from concentrating on their studies (Sacerdote, 2002). Therefore, some believe it is false to say that poor performance is associated with children who come from low socioeconomic classes. Rather, they believe academic achievement is genetic (Sacerdote, 2002).
A well-educated parent can have a better understanding of raising children and molding them for their adult life. For instance, an educated parent will probably make higher wages, therefore are able to invest more money in their child’s welfare. (Kaushal, 2014). Parents that raise their children in an impoverished environment most likely won’t have the money, which could decrease their chances of procuring the resources needed for their child’s education. Kaushal, (2014) stated, “Children learn from the attitudes and behaviors of their parents, which are often informed by knowledge, acquired through education” (Introduction, para. 6). For that reason, learning patterns of the poor social class could be passed down from one generation to the next which may make it more difficult for kids to gain a proper knowledge. Since culture is passed down from generation to generation, a parent’s actions may always affect the decisions their children make in life. This could make it extremely challenging for children to achieve a better lifestyle for their future families as
Have you ever tried getting a job somewhere, only to be passed up in favor of an equally qualified, but more intelligent applicant? Believe it or not, that is not an isolated case. More and more, intelligence is becoming a part of a person's lifestyle. IQ, the principal gauge of intelligence, has been shown to be directly correlated with not only one's income and education level, but also their occupation and general health level. IQ isn't something that can be changed. Except in a few exceptional case, a person's IQ never increases more than a few points in their lifetime. IQ is a trait from birth, just like a person's race or gender, yet in a society that is trying to eliminate all forms of discrimination, it is going unnoticed. Intelligence-based discrimination is of paramount concern, and needs to be rectified. Intelligence-based discrimination is an inveterate social injustice perpetuated by the clerisy of modern society, and it impacts the lives of millions of people every day. Intelligence-based discrimination needs to be addressed in the same way as racial or gender-based discrimination because, like those, intelligence-based discrimination is genetic. The child usually has an IQ like that of the parents. A mother with an IQ from 110-125 has a child with an average IQ of 107, if the mother was from 90-110, then the child averages 100, and if the mother had an IQ from 75-90, the child averaged an IQ of 93. The children can't help their low IQ scores. Legislation needs to be enacted to ban the unfair treatment of an individual based upon their intelligence. Affirmative action for the intellectually disadvantaged is sorely needed. Intelligence is a trait from birth. Some people are born slow thinkers. Some people have a natur...