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I think the most conspicuous indicator is, people with a working-class background ask the price of something before they buy it. The price is an indicator of how many hours of your life you have to spend working in order to pay for it.
Most people ask the price of something before buying. That's just being prudent with your money.
I agree with most of the OP. Particularly not being taught financial literacy, and large piles of food.
I remedied some of the shortcomings via extensive reading (which was mocked.) Since I've moved into the middle class as an adult, I am sensitive to ensuring that my kids aren't handicapped by my shortcomings.
During your childhood experience, heavy emphasis was placed on the following as regards parental expectations of your behavior and attitudes:
1. Personal Neatness and Cleanliness:
At home and wherever else you happened to find yourself. "Being poor is no excuse to be ugly, nasty and lazy" Soap and water is just about free" is the way it was put to me as a child.
2. Pride:
Be proud of where you come from. Be proud of your family name. Don't do anything to bring disgrace or shame to your reputation or family's reputation.
Also, Pull your own weight. Earn your keep. Be independent. Don't be lazy, be a good worker. Contribute. Don't beg for anything and if you do have to accept help, accept as small amount as you can for as short a time as you can.
Dealing With Other People:
1. Don't lie
2. Be a lady and demand a lady's respect
3. Do what you say you are going to do.
4. Pay your bills.
5. Don't talk behind a person's back; say it to their face
College:
"We can't afford college. Get yourself a trade and some work skills"
General Points:
"If you don't know how to close or fix it, you better not open it or break it!" (I mean ANYTHING)
"Make do with what you have"
"Put some money aside for a rainy day"
"Smoking, drinking and gambling are bad habits and a waste of money"
"Waste not, want not"
This is pretty much what came immediately to mind.
With the exception of skipping college, if more of America's working and middle classes actually went by this set of ethics, we would be much better off as a country.
I am really surprised at the several posts that mentioned reading was discouraged. I find that horrifying!
In the case of my wife and myself (we've both always been enthusiastic readers), I don't think our parents thought reading was a bad thing, per se, but they placed more value on practical work which yielded tangible results. They also saw reading as a light hobby to be done after chores were finished, not a valuable tool for preparing the mind for college. Perhaps they thought "reading the day away" would diminish our capacity for hard work.
It's interesting to note that there was a time in America when "the workingman's home library" and reading for self-enrichment was broadly promoted, but the idea seems to have faded some time ago.
But thankfully, with libraries and the internet, it's fairly easy to educate yourself on a wide range of subjects nowadays.
But thankfully, with libraries and the internet, it's fairly easy to educate yourself on a wide range of subjects nowadays.
This is true. But I am always surprised and disappointed at how many people from poor backgrounds don't do this. They watch movies, TV, or play video games instead. I see it at the library where I work.
I have heard the same (and witnessed it as well) but the other perspective is that the educated classes are heavily involved in their children's education that they're willing to challenge the authority of teachers if they perceive something is wrong or if they think the child isn't getting the quality of teaching he/she needs. Teachers, from the perspective of the upper middle classes, are actually fairly low on the totem pole so the unhappy parents don't have qualms in arranging multiple meetings with teachers, directly challenging them in person or bypassing them by going straight to the principal.
But this doesn't mean that the same parents who blame the teachers are willing to let the little angel slide through years of mediocre grades or pretend it's always the teacher's fault. The kid at home is also going to suffer from the same pressures the parents put on the teachers. Educational success is important among the professional classes, much more so than among the traditional working classes.
Back in the 1970s my wife taught for several years in two different communities - a working class, industrial based community and then in an upper middle class "educated" suburb. She loved the working class parents who frequently told her not to hesitate to give little Johnny a whack with her hand if he misbehaved, and if that didn't work, to let them know and they'd "take care" of it at home. But the same working class parents were also perfectly happy with passing grades, rather than solid As and Bs. The upper middle class suburb was the reverse. Handle the children with kid gloves and if their grades slipped a notch from A to A- the parents were on the phone demanding to know why.
This does seem true, and it is true in my own case.
Increasingly, teaching, particularly in elementary school; has become a working class profession. My children attended a highly rated elementary school in a NYC suburb. most of the parents at least had baccalaureate degrees from prestigious colleges and almost all have advanced degrees.
The teachers, on the other hand were mostly first generation college attendees and had attended local colleges - generally two years at a community college and two at a local religiously affiliated college that is ranked "less selective". Many were women who were married to skilled tradesmen who did not attend college, and civil service workers. Nothing wrong with that. It is what it is.
Some of the conflict came about when teachers mispronounced words or used colloquialisms in class, and were corrected by students. We had this issue in our own family.
I do not think that middle and upper middle class students act out in class, however. I think that generally, they are eager learners, not only because they are expected to be, but because they have grown up with books as a recreational hobby, not a dreaded chore. Their parents read, and read to them. Visiting a museum is a normal family activity as is going to the library.
Upper middle and middle class parents are more likely to confront teachers when they are not satisfied with their performance, and do not; with good reason; always take the teacher's side.
Paul Fussell wrote a great book about the subtle aspects of class determination, he observed correctly that various sub levels of class were found within the three classes that most think of when the subject comes up.
Grateful to see Paul Fussell referenced here. He died just a few months ago.
I first read Class when it came out in the early 1980s, and I read it again after his death. It's one of those rare books that is both hilarious and also eye-opening.
You Know You're From a Working Class Background If ....
I spent my entire working life in manufacturing and I still get excited if I can get on a tour of another factory or get to see a TV show on manufacturing.
I would rather tour a factory then see the most popular movie in the theaters. I'm retired now but still can't get enough of manufacturing.
If a movie has a manufacturing theme then I want to see it.
If there is a scandal in manufacturing management then I have to read everything about it.
After retiring, I worked for the US government for 4 years so I have some experience. I consider all government employees to be on the dole. Government is where you go when you can't make it in the private sector. When I was working in the factory and we hired a former military or government worker they would rarely make it more then a year in the factory. They ether could not perform or quit because of the hard work they had to do.
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