A person’s identity is an intersection of social constructs. Up to this point, Social Justice Theatre has focused on unpacking one’s race and the impacts that the color of skin can have on the choices a person can make and the opportunities available. While this is an important topic to explore, it highlights only one facet of the identity that impacts access to opportunities. To help my students understand the complexities of identity further, I wanted to develop a unit that explores the impact economic inequality has on a person’s future income, wealth, and access to opportunity.
Future incomes of American children are linked to the incomes of their parents.
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Furthermore, correlations have been made between education and upward mobility. Investing in education is a possible intervention that can narrow the economic inequality gap and increase the likelihood of a child having a higher income than that of their parents. However, it is an opportunity that is not accessible for all students. Children born into a lower economic bracket have less access to early childhood education. Missing these early years of education are correlated with stunted academic abilities when students reach high school.
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Furthermore, rising tuition costs and decreases in supports to assist in college funding are serving as a barrier for students to go to school once they are accepted.
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I think this is particularly important topic for high school students to study considering many of them are at the precipice of deciding the directions of their future. Despite the importance of education towards long term success, as measured by wealth and income, few students I teach can explain how their own education can be a way to alter their economic opportunities. Furthermore, they do not have a grasp on the relationship between their family history and the impact that may have on the access to opportunities. I want my students to consider their economic identities as defined by their ancestors and the pathways they can take to alter their economic futures.