Training Summary and Script

Social Class in America Training Summary and Script

Clare Phillips, Baltimore Site Director Notre Dame – AmeriCorps ● Baltimore: Education in the City (EIC) 403 Markland Avenue ● Baltimore, MD 21212 ● [email protected] Spring 2006, Fall 2007

Objectives:  Explore the definitions of social class  Understand the impact of social class  Learn about the variety of social classes  Discover the implications of social class on poverty, education, crime  Applied Knowledge: Examine social class in Baltimore

Set-up: Tables and Chairs Large group discussion Television and VCR

Materials: Flip Chart, markers Handouts Videos: Social Class in America (120 minutes) or “The Oprah Winfrey Show” episode, Social Class (50 minutes)

Flip Chart See enclosed Chart Templates

Training Script Key  Flip Chart  Handout  Question  Movie Flip Chart Templates Social Class Stats Page 1  Median income HS grads: $35,744 Social Class in America  Median income college grads: $64,406 Today’s Objectives  Median n.w. of a White American: $81,700  Median n.w. of an African American:  Explore the definition of social class $10,000  Understand impact of social class  Learn about different social classes  Understand implications of social class on poverty, education, crime  Look at social class in Baltimore Page 5

Stats Continued …

 Living Below the Poverty Line Page 2 o Whites – nearly 22 million o Blacks – just over 8.3 million What does “Social Class” mean?  Earning a poverty level wage: Common terms … o Men 19.5% o Women 31.1%  Crime – 90% on death row were too poor to afford own lawyer.

Choices that Reflect Social Class

Introduction : Page 1 Today we are going to look at the way Social Class impacts our daily lives in America.

We will cover these points throughout our time together today by mixing group conversations with some visual materials and video.

Part 1 : Page 2 I’m going to get us started by thinking about this question.

Ask: What is the meaning of Social Class? Write down responses.

Ask: What are some common terms used to define the different classes? Write down responses.

Part 2 Handout: “What is Social Class?” and “Social Class in America” Review handout:

- We have two important pieces of information here about social class. - The terms were defined back in the 1960s by James Coleman, a social researcher.

In the United States, it is structured like this:  2 Upper Classes – Old Money and New Money  3 types of Middle Classes – Professional, White Collar Entrepreneurs, and Blue Collar  2 kinds of Lower Classes – Unskilled Laborers and Economically Disadvantaged

And we have what determines one’s social class status: - Education, Occupation, Income, Awards and Achievements, Amount of wealth and Source of wealth, then Social interactions, class consciousness, and social values orientation.

Part 3 : Page 3 Ask: What are some examples of choices we make that reflect our social class? Write responses on Flip Chart.

Now that we’ve taken some time to explore the idea of social class and what we think about its impact on our lives, we’re going to view (choose): 1) An episode from the Oprah Winfrey Show that examines how social class shapes our thoughts, prejudices, and decisions. Duration: 50 minutes 2) A documentary from PBS that offers several case studies and reflections on the way social class impacts our society. Duration: 2 hours

Watch: Video

 Post-Viewing Discussion: - If we acknowledge that class differences exist, should upward mobility among the classes be the goal? Explain. - What’s the impact and social perception of people who manage to go up a class or go down a class? - Do you think the existence and influence of social class has changed in your lifetime? Explain. - Where do you think the existence of social class in America is headed? Is the upper class becoming more polarized from the other classes?

Part 4 Handout: “Some Reflections on Social Class” – Pages 4 and 5

Key Points on Flip Chart:  Median household income for high school graduates: $35,744  Median household income for college graduates: $64,406  Median net worth of a White American: $81,700  Median net worth of an African American: $10,000  Numbers of those living in poverty, drawn by racial lines: Whites – nearly 22 million; Blacks – just over 8.3 million  Percentages of men vs. women earning a poverty level hourly wage: $19.5% to 31.1%  Housing – Homeowners who raked in a six figure salary in 1995 received nearly $29 billion in tax deductions. The entire budget for HUD that year was only $19 billion.  Crime – 90% of those on death row were too poor to afford their own lawyer.

 Ask: What do these statistics tell us about social class, race, education, and crime? Is there a trend of polarization that we’re seeing in the classes?

Part 5 Finally today, we are going to take a look at social class here in Baltimore. Handouts: Income Map, Education Map, Ethnicity Map (3 pages)

Review Maps: Key Points:  These maps offer a very easy way to see who lives where on the city and county.  Earlier we saw how income and education were defined as determinants for social class. From the statistics, we saw how ethnicity and racial makeup have an impact on class as well.  By looking at these three categories on this map, you’re able to see the way that those social class determinants do in fact overlap.  And based on property values in various parts of the city and suburbs, we can see that social class continues to keep people among their own class.

Ask: Is there anything on these maps that surprises you? Anything that you expected to see? Ask: Any final questions before we wrap up today?

 – Return to Page 1 SSWe covered all of our goals today and had some great discussions about social class. Handout: I’ll leave you with this final handout, a commentary piece from Lou Dobbs from cnn.com. This is an interesting piece about where social class in America is headed. Dobbs also offers some ideas on how we can make it less polarizing. OO CC Evaluation

LL SS Upper Upper Class Old Money  Determining Factors Lower (in order) Upper Class New Money  Personal Performance  Education   Job  Income Level  Achievements Upper Middle Class

Professional  Wealth  Amount  Source 

Middle Class White  Social Collar and Orientation  Interactions Entrepreneurs  Class Awareness   Value Orientation Working Class Blue Collar 

Upper Lower Class Unskilled IINN Laborers MERICA  AAMERICA Lower Lower Class Socially & Economically From: http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/ Disadvantaged