Growing up in a town of upper and middle class predominantly white families, I saw first hand the impact of town funding on the educational experiences provided at the local schools. Whether it was the prevelence of after school activities, the consistant structural improvements, or the list of colleges attended by graduating seniors the results were clear. However, being a product of the then emerging culture of bullying in our k-12 schools, I attended 3 schools in 5 years, changing those schools 4 times. It is in this way that I was exposed to the varying degrees of both class and race experience in the classroom. The multitude of backgrounds as well as the ideological differences of catholic, private and public schools had this lens always changing for me. However, for me, Gorski struck home with his analysis of a student's basic need for survival regardless of desire to learn. If it is any testament to my love of education it is that I plan to make higher education my profession, thus requiring mass amounts of schooling. However, if it were not for my social capital, I would not only have dropped out but would also be dead. Social capital kept me connected to my studies as best as possible when the need to not be beaten up, or to find ways to eat while being blackmailed for my lunch and spending money was the more pressing issue.
Years later, in times like these when asked to reflect, it is only now that I am able to realize and name the tools which carried me through this period of my life. :)
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