Reply to Teachers - can you tell which kids come from wealthy families and which don't?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I mean it’s not hard to guess. If your kid has AirPods, mentions going to Dubai on spring break and Morocco over the summer, has a Fjallraven backpack, etc., I can reasonably assume the parents are fairly well off. Those are the easy ones to guess but there are a decent number of kids who wear old ratty clothes and look like a mess but their parents have tons of money. You wouldn’t necessarily know it to look at them because well to do [b]white kids have the option of looking uncared for as a style choice knowing it won’t reflect on their parents and culture the way it does for minority kids. It’s a lot more subtle with those kids[/b].  [/quote]

This is an important point.

The flip side is that even when lower middle class AA and Latino kids are visibly well-cared for, some school staff will assume they are low income because they read too much into clothing and hairstyles.[/quote]

Yep. Or will assume the parents can buy expensive shoes because they receive govt assistance or otherwise engage in poverty practices like buying Jordans instead of paying bills. The bias is real. I am consistently amazed at the comments and assumptions other teachers will make about stuff like this even though they have a moral imperative as people who work with children to know better. [/quote]

That’s one reason why having a fairly homogenous teaching staff (mostly from white middle class backgrounds) is a liability. I absolutely know low income families that buy Jordans or whatever the the latest hot shoe is. I also know that my SS (who was not low income) was mocked for the one day all year he didn’t have a pencil. His teacher said “Next time your mama [i]gets a check[/i], ask her for school supplies, not Jordans.” SS was raised to be respectful so he waited 5 min and asked for a pass to go to the office. He called his dad and explained the situation. I still admire DH’s restraint in the situation. He contacted the principal and laid down some facts. The principal was unhappy to have to attempt to explain to a decorated Marine why his son was humiliated in this way.[/quote]

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