(no subject)

[sab]

Based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

Bold which apply to you:



Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children's books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively*
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
There was original art in your house when you were a child
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family*#
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family*^

*hard to say; I'm a New York Jew, which comes with stereotypes, as well as a drug-smoking bipolar lesbian, and I'm not sure I can say that "people like me" are portrayed positively

*#by what age? I went on my very first cruise with my parents last week; my sister and I are in our 30s and my parents are in their 60s/70s.

*^by what age? By high school I definitely understood that my parents were paying utility bills and I had a fair idea of what they were about.



Stamped and sealed. Class issues are among the most significant problems in this country, and questions of privilege are always worth exploring and owning up to. Not to mention the fact of the shrinking middle class. These are sticky times.

Comments

[argosy.livejournal.com]

Ah, but the media question is "dress and talk" not "are." I think they're asking a question about surface impressions which are very telling, really.

[marinwood.livejournal.com]

My folks went on cruises without us (kids) - I wonder if that counts?

[notpoetry.livejournal.com]

This is interesting to me because it's the same work-up of questions we use during our "class differences" workshop with the counselors-in-training and during staff training week at the summer camp. Because we work with children from so many backgrounds, many of which are troubled and different from the backgrounds of the staff, it's a very useful tool for driving home the ideas of social privilege to adolescents.