As a child my parents always focused on how blessed we were to have all that we did. I thought that I was quite fortunate and had a responsibility to help others who had less. We always had food, clothes, a safe place to live, parents who loved us, and education.
It wasn’t until about 12 that I realized while in comparison to some we had a lot, and in comparison to some we had very little. Sometimes we had been short of groceries and people had brought bags of groceries to help us out. We wore hand-me-downs from friends and siblings, and did our shopping at value village. We had a big garden and went hunting not for fun, but to be able to have enough food for the year.
Classism as stated by Sensoy and DiAngelo in, “Is Everyone Really Equal”, are practices that assign different value to people according to their economic status(161). What I can see now, looking back, is that our family did experience a lower value in some of the community because of our low socioeconomic status. Other families who had less experience this even more than us. Though our family wavered between working class and poor, we had a good life. I loved my childhood and would not trade it for anything. My best friend’s family was a little more well off and she also loved her childhood. For me it reinforces the idea that people/students should not be categorized or judged because of their class. People from all walks of life have great potential and struggles as well.
Because of the struggles that my parents experienced, they encouraged all of us to get a college or university education. They, and in particular, my mom, believed that we could move from one class position to another if we tried, as Sensoy and DiAngelo speak about (168). Education does provide more opportunities. I am sure that we could have had more opportunities if we had been more wealthy, however, I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had, and will strive to support others as well to take the opportunities that they can.
Whether wealthy, middle class, working class, or poor, I hope to believe in each of my students and encourage each of them to be excited to learn and have a curiosity about the world around them. I hope to create an atmosphere in which students want to understand each other and feel safe and comfortable enough to share their stories with each other. I love that there are supports for children and their families and I will advocate for supports in the school I will one day work in as well.