Checkpoint: Differences in Socioeconomic Status The scenario at the middle school regarding the dress code for the dance is something that happens in schools all over the United States. Since the public schools allow all students who live within close proximity to the school to enroll there. Students who attend this school can come from all backgrounds and walks of life and therefore result in a lot of conflict between the students. The wealthier students will always have nicer, more expensive things and will show this off to the other students at their school.
The three social factors that most impact this scenario are income, wealth, and power. The impact of the income and wealth social factors is that they give students who come from families who make more money the advantage of buying their children nicer things. This is shown in the scenario because the students who come from wealthier families were able to rent tuxedos and buy nicer dresses so the children whose family had a more modest, working class background are the students who suffer by being ridiculed for not being able to afford tuxedo and evening gowns.
The impact of power is most often a result of wealth and income. Power also equals popularity which means a lot to teenagers in middle school. This is proven in the scenario because once the six eighth grade students rented tuxedos for the school dance everyone else wanted to wear one for the next school dance. I believe in order to rectify this situation so all the students can enjoy the dance equally and without ridicule the school should create a uniform for the dance. Students are already accustomed to wearing uniforms every day to school anyways so why not to a school dance?
The school does not have to make their students wear the school’s uniform but maybe they can wear Jeans and a red shirt for the Valentine’s Day dance instead of dresses and suits. The school has the authority to do this and they should to put this policy in place to prevent the bullying and taunting of the students who cannot afford the nicer clothing. References Geologic, D. , & Chain, P. (2006). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Deeded Checkpoint Differences in Socioeconomic Status By minimal 1
