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

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[quote=Anonymous]I worked in a school with uniform, and that helped to even a lot of disparities. It helped a great deal that only a few models of shoes fit the strict requirements. However, the children’s conversations about visits to pricey restaurants, home remodeling, vacations and extracurriculars (travel teams, horseback riding) sometimes tipped off that they had greater wealth. Nor could we control the Tiffany baubles that some girls wore. Some children would speak about their parents professions, business acquisitions, or media appearances outright. The lack of busing in private schools is certainly an issue because we definitely see the very pricey vehicles in the carpool line. However, not every minivan-driving parent or public bus-riding child comes from a family without a lot of money. I have learned over time that there are subtle signs that a child probably comes from a family with lower means. Even in a school that provides laptops to children, we can’t guarantee that there will be reliable internet access at home for homework. If a student had a creative excuse about a web-based assignment being late, I didn’t ask probing questions. I also noticed certain patterns around food — the quality and amount that kids would bring to school.

Though DC certainly is a city with a lot of wealth, there are plenty of families in the middle. There are also many who have the money but don’t spend like it (and others who spend far beyond their means). I think it’s fine to expose your kid to differences and to teach tact, discretion, and empathy from an early age.[/quote]

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