Running head: PAPER 1 1

Paper 1

Arizona State University

Rene Garcia

OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations

Dr. Patience Akpan-Obong

November 3, 2023
PAPER 1 2

Social Class Exercise

The key things that I learned personally about social class was how quickly I made many

assumptions about Justin and Clark before going down the columns and reflecting how each

person’s experience would differ in every scenario in the social class exercise (Harvey, 2009, p.

155). I projected my own experiences onto Justin through the lens of a male Hispanic growing

up in the lower-class area of Tucson with the difference being raised by two parents instead of a

single mother. I quickly began to dismiss Clark’s experiences because once I understood that he

grew up in the suburbs, I wrote him off as having a better experience automatically.

I was too hasty. Even with the understanding that people who grew up in the same

neighborhood as I did, had drastically different outcomes and lifestyles because of their different

experiences. However, reflecting through each question provided by the exercise I could see the

advantages and disadvantages for either Justin or Clark. For example, the question, “how might

this child spend time before he attends kindergarten?” (Harvey, 2009, p. 155), once again

projecting my own experience, I imagine Justin having to get up really early in the morning to

get ready due to his mother having to drop him off at the school two to three hours early because

she is scheduled to work an hour before school starts. Clark, I imagine, having to not wake up as

early, is sitting down to a breakfast that his mother made him and getting ready to take his lumps

at his mother packed him without having to be rushed out the door. The reason I envisioned this

is because this is the lifestyle I could now afford for my daughters.

Difficult to say if I would do this exercise differently if I were female, But I imagine I

would. Because I would have grown up in an era where Hispanic women weren’t expected to go

to college. Where the pressure of settling down and getting married and having kids was at its

highest. My only faint understanding of this experience was observing my sister’s experience
PAPER 1 3

with my parents. The difference was our parents expected all of us to go to college, but she had

the unique experience of having to simultaneously decide between college and a family well her

older brothers did not.

I’m sure that if Justin and Clark were nonwhite, they would have a more difficult time to

have access to better jobs and education. However, as a non-white male who grew up similar to

Justin’s theoretical experience, being nonwhite, was never even a consideration and the

challenges of getting an education or securing a job. So, it is difficult for me to see my skin color

as an excuse or as a shield.

Spent Exercise

This was a very difficult exercise to get through. I understand that the point of the

exercise is to give wanna perspective of what it would be like to live under financial hardship

and the difficulties and challenges that come with that level of income. I have first-hand

experience of the challenges of financial instability while raising a family. I think what I'm

having difficulty with is my attitude behind this exercise, for example, your child is having

difficulty with math and the options were to hire a tutor or to help them yourself (the last one

being ignore it, which to me is never an option). Of course, I chose the option to help them

myself. With daughters at the grade school age of 10 and 6, this is a constant battle. For some

background I worked 12 hour shifts five to six days a week. And it's understandable that not

everyone can do this, or it can be extremely difficult but when it comes to my children, there is

no excuse not to help them. If I don't know how to do a math problem, I teach myself so that I

can teach them. The child is being made fun of because they're on free lunch, tough. Explain to

them that not everyone has the opportunity for a free lunch. I would not be considered middle

income probably just below it, but the difficulty I find in this exercise is I have the ambition and
PAPER 1 4

the drive to make sure that I am take caring and my family no matter the cost. Didn't get paid

much that week? Beans and rice until you get paid again.

I know that I may come off as callous or indifferent, but as I'm currently living some of

these scenarios, I can't afford to let the negativity win. I can't afford the time to reflect on the

decision on my making on behalf of my family. If I let that win what's the point?

Social Class

According to the graphic provided by the New York Times I would be considered upper

middle income and moving into upper middle education, but the date was from 1996 and because

Flash Player was retired in 2020 the graphic is no longer functional (New York Times, 2005).

Those numbers clearly don't represent what today’s income reflects. According to an updated

middle class calculator our household income this slowly encroaching on upper middle income

(Peacock, 2023). This is due to a dual income, where both my wife and I work.

Personally, I don't identify with being a class per se. To me it has the same distinction as

classifying oneself as millennial, Gen. X, or baby boomer. These are merely titles to the press

upon people where your current standings are. To me it's a feeling. Overtime my wife and I have

went from food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) while I was in active-duty

military as the sole income to leaving the military and putting my wife through university so that

she could also help provide. Her graduation has been a boon for our income. The hope is that

when I graduate, I could provide a boon as well.

I don't like the notion of perceived class because then it takes away the nuance of where

everyone is in their life and current income level. Meaning, I don't feel like I'm middle income

lower and to me if one is able to afford a mortgage, two car nodes, and is still able to take a
PAPER 1 5

yearly vacation then I would classify them as wealthy. But I try not to dwell on such things

because I know that someone in a lower class would look at my situation and perceive me as

doing well and/or wealthy in comparison. However, comparison is the thief of joy. My primary

focus is never to achieve the next social class but instead, having the ability to afford something

that my family desires comfortably. The issue is I probably won't know would have reached that

level when I have gotten there. Just like I didn't know that I was encroaching upper middle class

in the state of Arizona.

Social Class Readings

What stuck out to me the most is how woefully ignorant I am to A lot of the challenges

and discrimination that people face at the systemic level. That's not to me I've never experienced

racism, but ignorant to the fact that, according to Harro, that there's a cycle of socialization that

affects our lives depending on what ethnicity we belong to (Harry, 2015, p.15).

I currently work within the medical community and the predominant personnel are

primarily female. And after reflection of the team building exercise about having to work with

current locals as an office CEO. This triggered a lot of microaggressions that I tend to see within

my field. When male higher ups come down and talk to the providers which are female there

seems to be a level of condescension in their voice as they're speaking to them. It's noticed by all

but the providers are more professional than they are. As a Hispanic male I'm automatically

tasked to do any heavy lifting or to translate for someone who speaks Spanish. Of course I can

speak Spanish, but at the beginning there was a level of an assumption from my coworkers. I

remember one provider looked at me and stated the following. “Hey you look Mexican. Can you

translate for me?” The provider was older, white, and female. I responded with a resounding,

“No,” and walked away.

PAPER 1 6

A lot of us come from different areas of the country and have different backgrounds. I

make it a point to not assume somebody's experience because of where they from what they look

like what gender they are. Of course, I have my own biases, as does everyone, but I make a

concerted effort to be aware of them and to not feign ignorance when I genuinely don't

understand something. I know that I don't know.

PAPER 1 7

Reference

Harvey, C. P. (2009). Does Social Class Make a Difference?. Login.

https://asu.instructure.com/courses/169232/pages/module-3-activity-social-class-exercise?
module_item_id=12050836

Lacy, K. (2015). Race, privilege and the growing class divide. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38:8,
1246-1249

Peacock, A. (2023, September 8). Middle class calculator: Which income class are you in?.
Lexington Law. https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/blog/finance/middle-class-calculator.html

The New York Times. (2005, May 15). How Class Works. The New York Times.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/
20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.html