Social Class

When Mr. LaRosa came into class, he was a classic case of someone moving up the social ladder. He had lived in a lower than average neighbor hood that was crowded with gangs, drugs, and crime. He said that he had been tempted to conform with the bad lifestyles but instead he decided to work hard and not stay in the rut that his parents and siblings later would. He came from a family with many siblings and he was one of the only who actually succeeded. When talking about social class its easy to understand how people tend to stay where they grew up and never truly grow. Mr. LaRosa spoke of his new life as an English teacher who is hoping to change kids lives and get them excited for education. He talked about his students who rarely show up to class yet expect to have missed nothing. In situations like this its hard to understand because I go to a school where perfect attendance is nothing to celebrate because almost everyone has it. When it comes down to it, everyone around here has the drive to excel and go to college. The students he described had pressure to join gangs, get pregnant, and do drugs and basically live a dead end lifestyle. Kids where LaRosa teaches and grew up, Rockford, typically follow their parents line of work which is the working class at a factory or somewhere of that extent. When he talked about his siblings it was hard to believe what he was saying. He said that his sister, not even twenty years old, was pregnant. His brother would constantly call him asking him for any "spare change" or else he and his kids wouldn't eat that month. Another sibling was in jail and has trouble staying out of there. LaRosa obviously saw the people around him and didn't want that to be his dream. He worked hard in school and achieved his true dreams, to be a teacher and help kids. Hopefully his story will help his students and give them hope. He didn't use his low social class as an excuse to stay down, but he used it as an idea of where he didn't want to be when he grew up. I hope that he can help these students get out of the rut that they are on and live a straightened out life.