ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070024
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL CALDWELL
IT IS often said that the United States is the most classless country in the world. For the most part, this statement is probably true: In many parts of the world, rigid caste systems prevent any movement between the different strata of society.
In Europe, for example, members of the nobility, originally created during feudal times, still have easier lives than the descendants of peasants. Witness the still-existent House of Lords in Britain (although it doesn't have much power) and the number of wealthy citizens who commonly do very well on the French baccalaureates, enabling them to enter top-rate, free colleges.
Although this class rigidity is less in the United States, it is still ubiquitous and manifests itself in school.
At the school that I attend, there are many different social groups. The "popular" people, often the children of affluent families, adept in sports and above average in grades; "nerds," the children of successful professors with below-average sports and social skills but above-average grades; and many others. However, most members of any group fall within the same general level of economic affluence: the children of wealthy businessmen in one grouping, the children of working-class people in another.
As a student gets older, these different social groups based largely on economic levels grow increasingly rigid, and inter-group contacts decrease as intra-group contacts increase. The unfortunate consequence of this is that it helps lead to a further hardening of the social classes.
Education is expensive. With college tuition costs rising each year, many children of lower-middle-class families find themselves needing to take out student loans to stay in college. This debt often stays with them for years to come.
Preparing for the SATs and other standardized tests is expensive, as well. A typical SAT study guide costs around $20 for one book; $40 for one with a CD-ROM. Private prep courses normally cost around $500 for "100" SAT points. Some might argue that the SATs measure "intelligence," and buying study books really don't have an effect, but they are wrong. I have seen a student who did not study for the PSATs and did not buy any books get an 1100, while a student who studied and prepared hard got a 1500 - and I believe both of them to be smart individuals with equal intelligence but not equal knowledge.
The point is that, often, economic success contributes a great deal toward a child's success in school and college, and because these barriers are created during childhood, they are still present when the children become adults.
There are really no easy solutions for this problem of economic injustice precipitating academic failure. However, the problem must be addressed at the root: the school systems. It is when a child is young that his mind is molded, and any real solution must be administered there.
One measure would be to end a level-oriented academic system present in many schools, which often leads to a polarization of the different groups. For example, in the school that I attend, there are several academic levels, such as "Honors," "College," "General" and "Basic." However, because economic success is often directly proportional to academic adeptness, wealthy students take the "higher" classes while poorer students take the "lower" classes.
Eliminating this, however, would create another problem, because often the "fast" students would be held back because of the "slow" students, undermining the potential of many students. So I am reluctant to support this change.
Another possible solution that I eagerly support is to end minority-oriented affirmative action and institute an economic-oriented affirmative-action program. This would act very much like the affirmative-action programs of today, which are being dismantled by the elitists in society, and it would help the poor to get an education, end the repeated cycle of poverty, and make it easier to traverse the social ladder.
Indeed, in America today, it is the poor who are suffering the most because of the clever tactics of elitists who care about nothing except the maintenance of the status quo. Most of the budget cuts that have occurred during the past couple of years have not come from middle-class entitlements, corporate subsidies and corporate welfare; they have come from programs set up to help the poor, like food stamps and Medicaid.
With a political atmosphere hostile to the poor, blaming their poverty on their individual shortcomings, and a growing movement of wealth towards the upper echelons of society, we risk creating a 21st century that is marked by the most rigid class structure America has ever seen.
If we are to create a 21st century with opportunity for all, we must open the gates of prosperity for all citizens, and allow free movement through society.
Paul Caldwell is a junior at Blacksburg High School.
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