What is the specific problem? Why does this problem occur?

    My genius hour project has to do with socialization, specifically focused on social class and how the structure of our social class perpetuates inequalities , so then the problem is that depending on what social class you are a part of, one may have more advantages than other people. The extent of inequalities created by social class goes into the quality of a person's education, their occupation and overall stability, how vulnerable someone is to having a crime record and someone's self esteem. The problem occurs because we see social class as a way to define who a person is or how valuable they are , so if you come from a lower social class you are only taught hoe to follow orders versus the elite class that is taught to think creatively and voice their opinions, so this then plays into the job they get later in life and they face so many disadvantages that compared to higher social class they are raised to fail and never have the opportunity to the same quality of life that the higher social classes experience. On of my sources called "Social class and Education" has recognized social class as "a differentiating factor in the distribution of rewards and punishments in our society... Housing seems to be one of these, and medical treatment, and income, as well as educational opportunity", This not only shows that social class is a problem, but it emphasizes the amount of importance, social class plays into all other aspects of life. Although I haven't thought of a solution for this problem, because i don't know how realistic it would be to get rid of social class altogether, but maybe a good start would be to stop socializing people based simply on what social class they 'belong' to or a solution that decreases the gap or disadvantages between the high and low social classes. Another big step would be to deconstruct this idea that social mobility is always an option and if one does not transcend to a higher class then it the individual's fault instead of the society and the systems that come along with it, that created these circumstances that are preventing them from upward mobility.

15 SOURCES

Jensen, Arthur R. "Social Class, Race, and Genetics: Implications for Education." American Educational Research Journal 5.1 (1968): 1-42. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Lareau, Annette. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley: U of California, 2011. Print.

Raths, Louis. "Social Class and Education." The Journal of Educational Sociology 28.3 (1954): 124-25. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Gecas, Viktor. "Social Class, Occupational Conditions, and Self-Esteem." Sociological Perspectives 32.3 (1989): 353-64. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Sumner, Kandice. "How America's Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty." Kandice Sumner: How America's Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty | TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.