Discussion – Social Mobility

Discussion – Social Mobility

An individual who has had significant upward mobility over the last generation is one of the elders in my community, Mr. Woods. Philip Woods was born in northern Colorado County back in 1946 to a single mother. His family struggled with poverty, and his mother was a farmer who worked day and night to try and provide for her two children, often barely making ends meet. Unfortunately, when he was only nineteen, his mother passed away due to an illness, and Woods decided to pack up his things and those of his little brother and decided to hit the road in hopes of eventually finding a good job somewhere so that he could raise his brother well. Eventually, Woods was able to get a job as a janitor in a high school, and he was able to not only put his little brother through school but also acquire a hot dog cart, which he operated when he was not working in school.

He worked hard to provide everything his brother, Renn, needed in hopes that one day, his efforts would pay off when he succeeded. Eventually, Renn got into college and graduated with honors, which led to him getting a job as a computer engineer at a multinational tech company. Through hard work and his skills, he earned promotions and ended up in a senior position in the company, close to eight figures per year. With this success, Renn’s social status changed, and he also changed that of his older brother. Renn bought Woods a small ranch with a vineyard, as he always wanted, and made sure that he lived a comfortable life. With their resources, the two have also gotten involved in philanthropy, where they are committed to giving back. They regularly donate to educational causes in their hometown and support low-income families.

Wood’s and Renn’s values are deeply rooted in their experience of overcoming hardship, and they are well known in our community for their compassion, humility and how much they value work ethic. Their life experiences have instilled in them a strong belief in the significance of education. Supposing that Woods experienced downward mobility, his values and behavior and that of his brother would have been the opposite of those they have now. For instance, they both possess resilience, but if things had continued to only get worse for them, they would have ended up hungry and homeless with nowhere to go, which would put anyone in a hopeless state, as stated by Simandan (2018) and Euteneuer & Schäfer, (2018). Secondly, with no resources at all, Wood may have had to commit crimes like stealing and taking away from the community to feed his brother, as opposed to what they do now, which is giving back to the community.

In conclusion, Wood’s and Renn’s journey from an impoverished home in Colorado to being now a wealthy family exemplifies significant upward mobility. Their values of hard work, humility, and compassion have been shaped by their experiences. Had they experienced downward mobility, these values might have been directed more toward immediate survival and less toward broader community impact.

References

Euteneuer, F., & Schäfer, S. J. (2018). Brief report: Subjective social mobility and depressive symptoms in Syrian refugees to Germany. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 20, 1533-1536.

Simandan, D. (2018). Rethinking the health consequences of social class and social mobility. Social Science & Medicine, 200, 258-261.

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Initial Post Instructions
Think of a person you know (either yourself, someone you know, or even a famous person with, perhaps a “rags to riches” story) who has experienced significant upward or downward mobility over the past one or two generations.

For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:

Option 1: Briefly describe the person (and be sure to respect the confidentiality of others and, as always, remember to be respectful of potentially sensitive information, and remember there is no guarantee of privacy). Describe the person’s significant upward or downward mobility over the past one or two generations. How do you think the person’s values and behavior might differ had the person experienced the opposite pattern of mobility?
Option 2: Briefly describe the person (and be sure to respect the confidentiality of others and, as always, remember to be respectful of potentially sensitive information, and remember there is no guarantee of privacy). Describe the person’s significant upward or downward mobility over the past one or two generations. How might experiences have been different had the person’s family been of a different ethnic or racial origin?

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