Culture and the Family

I've grown up in a middle class and frankly, I have grateful for it. I have never thought how much growing up middle class had an affect on my life, but the culture that comes from the class that you are in definitely has an effect. In high school, I witnessed this very much. It was easy to tell which students come from families that have a lot of money, those who had an average amount, and those who did not have as much. There were expectations, but for the most part the students would usually just associate with their class. Those with a lot of money would have all these big, expensive parties and they were exclusive. It was interesting to observe the attitude that people from a certain class would have. Many times, the rich kids would have a spoiled and entitled attitude about them which made them not very likable. Those from a lower class were timid, and usually kept to themselves. For myself, growing up in a middle class, I was lucky enough to have the things that I needed/wanted growing up, but still remain humble about it.

The family dynamic is hugely affected by the social-economic status that they are in. With lower income families, you usually have both parents working multiple jobs just trying to make ends meet. This means less time for everyone to spend time together. This definitely can put a huge strain on the relationships together. It's sad to me because I see a lot of families that are lower class who want to climb that ladder to middle class, but they just can't seem to get out that rut. They usually barely finish high school and do not go on to college. They get a job that barely covers the cost, and it is very hard for them to save for the future. The kids see this and usually want to go on to college so they do not live the same life, but for many of them they cannot get out of their circumstances and the cycle continues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ZpauS5Doo

You can view an example of this by watching Tammy's story.