{"id":150,"date":"2016-04-29T15:46:55","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T15:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontosociology-waymaker\/?post_type=chapter&p=150"},"modified":"2016-07-04T17:54:22","modified_gmt":"2016-07-04T17:54:22","slug":"outcome-social-stratification","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-introsociology\/chapter\/outcome-social-stratification\/","title":{"raw":"Outcome: Social Stratification","rendered":"Outcome: Social Stratification"},"content":{"raw":"

Provide examples of social stratification<\/h2>\r\nIn this section, we'll learn about social stratification and about common types of social distinctions. Think about your current life situation. Would you consider yourself upper-class, middle-class, lower-class, or something else altogether? How did you get to the point where you are enrolled in this college course? How do you think your socioeconomic status has impacted your life? Consider\u00a0this story from a Sociology instructor:\r\n
Every semester, I use an activity to introduce my students to economic inequalities. First, I split them into groups of 3 to 5 people. Next, I put a series of average costs for living in our county on the board in the form of an easily readable Powerpoint slide (i.e., average rent, average cost of transportation with and without a car, average utility bill, average health insurance cost, etc., etc.). Then, I assign each group a household income (i.e., an income the 3 \u2013 5 of them make together and must live off of as a family). The household income I give them varies due to official variations, but it is always just barely above the cutoff for receiving aid so the students have to try to \u201cmake do\u201d without any handouts. Finally, I have the students design a budget for their family based upon the combination of average costs and their total income. After they are finished, we discuss their budgets as a class.\r\n\r\nWhile this exercise is rudimentary and will not actually cause them any real world trouble, I find it fascinating that the most \u201cjust work harder,\u201d \u201cself made American,\u201d and \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps\u201d students very quickly decide they will run meth labs out of their houses, figure out ways to scam other people out of money, beg for money on the streets, or otherwise suggest the only way they could survive managing wages and costs typical among the working poor of America would be by breaking the law or (in the words of more than one student so far) \u201cliving like an animal.\u201d After a bit of discussion, I ask them why don\u2019t they \u201cpull themselves up by their bootstraps\u201d and they very quickly realize that\u2019s not really possible when you can\u2019t even afford the bootstraps. Finally, I ask them how the money their families had (or didn\u2019t have) contributed to the difference between them sitting in a college classroom or\u00a0starting their own illegal\u00a0lab.<\/blockquote>\r\n

What you'll learn to do:<\/h2>\r\n