Deck 9: Classism: Misperceptions and Myths About Income, Wealth, and Poverty

Question 1

What was the purpose of outdoor relief?

A) To dole out the punishment for being a vagrant
B) To provide food, funds and assistance to the poor people of England and the colonies
C) To reduce the burden of poverty on the towns' people
D) To house people as they worked to pay for their care

Answer 1

To provide food, funds and assistance to the poor people of England and the colonies

Question 2

What was the predominant colonial Protestant attitude toward poverty in the early 1800s?

A) Poverty was the results of being slothful and sinful behaviors.
B) Poor people were industrious and virtuous.
C) It was the colonies religious obligation to take care of them.
D) As long as the people were working, the church would help them make ends meet.

Answer 2

Poverty was the results of being slothful and sinful behaviors.

Question 3

Why were people who had jobs in the colonies living in poverty?

A) Wages were high enough but the prices for goods and services were also extremely high.
B) Poorhouses provided better conditions to live in than people could buy with the wages they earned so people did not work.
C) Colonists were required to work on "poor farms" to feed the poor of the colony, thus cutting down on the time they could work at paying jobs.
D) Due to influxes of new immigrants, the competition for jobs allowed employers to keep wages low.

Answer 3

Due to influxes of new immigrants, the competition for jobs allowed employers to keep wages low.

Question 4

How did the development of machines in the second half of the 1800s affect employment?

A) In urban areas jobs for skilled artisans increased because machines were unable to compete with humans
B) Wages increased because of the skill needed to operate the machines.
C) More people were able to retire due to the increase on wages for factory work.
D) Machines streamlined production and farming and eliminated the jobs of many workers.

Question 5

In the late 1800?s, why were there so many children being adopted?

A) It allowed poor fathers and mothers unencumbered opportunity to seek work.
B) Families were being punished for being poor.
C) The middle class wanted to save children from their poor origins.
D) So poorhouses could be turned into nursing homes for the elderly who had no family.

Question 6

What influence did social reformers have on families by the early 1900s?

A) Children were left in the care of their parents rather than taken away.
B) Children were removed from homes to allow parents to work.
C) Poor families were offered social assistance to stay together.
D) Single mothers were ostracized from the towns and children were taken away from them.

Question 7

Employers exploited workers with long hours and low wages. The workers responded in all of the following ways except by

A) Marching on city hall.
B) Working quietly when federal troops were called in.
C) Striking.
D) Barricading buildings and railroad tracks.

Question 8

What were unions able to accomplish in the early 1900s?

A) They were able to get a minimum wage set so that workers would earn a living wage.
B) They were active in getting work place injuries and deaths reduced through stronger safety measures.
C) They were instrumental in passing workers compensation laws.
D) They were able to get pay for men increased since they were the "head of household."

Question 9

During Roosevelt's tenure as president, the federal government became an employer to thousands of workers through all of the following programs except one of the following:

A) Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA)
B) National War Labor Board (NWLB)
C) Civilian Conservation Corps
D) Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Question 10

What was not a legacy of the New Deal programs after they were dismantled during World War II?

A) Privatization of social security
B) Unemployment insurance
C) AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps
D) Welfare programs

Question 11

The best definition for individual classism is:

A) Established laws, customs and practices that allow discrimination based on low income individuals or groups
B) Society's promotion of the poor as less educated and inferior
C) Prejudiced attitudes and behaviors against others based on perception of their income or social standing
D) Levels established by the government based on income and number of people in a household

Question 12

Americans are most likely to blame poverty on

A) Lack of effort or ability
B) Capitalism and the need to keep wages low
C) Social injustice and changes in the modern world
D) Lack of jobs

Question 13

What is not a purpose of the McKinney-Vento Act?

A) To provide funds for social services to assist homeless people
B) To guarantee an education to homeless children
C) To keep accurate records of homeless families in the U.S.
D) To monitor homeless children for signs of disability

Question 14

A criticism of the McKinney-Vento Act is that

A) Even though it is not enough, any funding can make a difference in the lives of children in poverty.
B) The programs focus on the symptoms of homelessness rather than the causes.
C) Children who are in the process of being tested for a disability diagnosis and move must have their paperwork forwarded to the new school.
D) Homeless children must receive a free and appropriate education.

Question 15

What is the relationship between family income and SAT scores?

A) The lower the income, the higher the SAT score
B) The higher the income, the lower the SAT score
C) There is no correlation between SAT scores and income
D) The higher the income, the higher the score

Question 16

Which of the following is not a way to increase academic achievement for children born into poverty?

A) State funded pre-school program
B) Segregation of schools according to social class
C) Increased federal funding for Head Start programs
D) Sending low income students to middle class schools

Question 17

Supporters for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) use what argument to support the use of standardized testing?

A) Standardized testing will identify under achieving students and schools.
B) Standardized testing measures all of what students should have learned in a year.
C) Due to rigorous testing teachers are able to expand their curriculum content.
D) The use of standardized testing under NCLB has improved student scores on reading and math achievement tests.

Question 18

Which is not a criticism of the Common Core State Standards

A) The cost of adoption and assessment
B) The process of implementation
C) Teacher preparation
D) Emphasis on high expectations for all students

Question 19

Which of the following can have an adverse effect on student learning?

A) Food insecurity
B) School reform in the context of social change
C) Vitamin and mineral supplements
D) An increase in low income family earning

Question 20

What is the relationship between proper nutrition and academics?

A) Taking vitamin and mineral supplements made no difference in children's test scores.
B) Children who eat a nutritious breakfast demonstrate enhanced academic performance because of improvements in memory and other cognitive skills.
C) Undernourished children expend most of their food energy on cognitive development rather than for growth.
D) Children who grow up in food insecure homes are not able to catch up with their peers in academics, even if their home becomes food secure.

Question 21

When it comes to social mobility, people in the United States are

A) Less likely to move down in social class.
B) Have greater social mobility than other countries such as Germany, France, and Great Britain.
C) More likely to move up in social status than in past years.
D) Most likely to spend their lives in the same social strata as they were born.

Question 22

A newspaper headline proclaims "Economy Remains Steady." What argument can the article use to support this claim?

A) There will be 30 job categories that are expected to hire in the near future.
B) When expressed in terms of constant dollars, wages have not changed in 35 years.
C) Employees are working longer hours and over time.
D) Three million people in poverty have full time jobs.

Question 23

Which of the following is not an accurate statement concerning distribution of wealth in the United States?

A) The top 10% of Americans own 72% of the wealth while the bottom 50% had only 2% of the wealth.
B) Currently the top 4% of Americans have as much wealth as the lowest 35%.
C) American CEOs earn about 331 times that of the average worker.
D) The income difference between the rich and the poor in the United States is the greatest it has ever been.

Question 24

Which group is most likely to live in poverty?

A) Single women
B) The elderly
C) Male headed households with no spouse
D) Female headed households with no spouse

Question 25

Thirty three percent of all children living in poverty are

A) Black
B) Latino
C) White
D) Native American

Question 26

Being in the middle class is hard to define. Which of the following in not included in the definition of being middle class?

A) Owning a home and a car
B) An income of between $19,000 to $78,000 for a family of four
C) Between not depending on others and not being so rich as to lose touch with others
D) A full-time worker earning at least minimum wage

Question 27

The definition of ageism has developed over many years. Which of the following definitions is not included in the definition of ageism?

A) The reminder that one's life is finite and mortal when faced with someone of advanced age.
B) The process of stripping someone of their identity and replacing it with the stereotypical image of an elderly person
C) Systematic stereotyping and discrimination against old people
D) A variation of feeling, behavior, or belief based on a person's age group

Question 28

Redlining, a process whereby financial institutions exploit poor people, refers to:

A) Requiring higher minimum checking account balances of banking clients considered to be "high -risk"
B) Charging exorbitant fees for cashing payroll checks
C) Refusal to lend money for mortgages or home improvements based on the home's location in an undesirable neighborhood
D) Refusal of locate banks and credit unions in low income areas

Question 29

Chandler lives in a low-income neighborhood and shops at a local general store. He feels he is being exploited because he can't travel outside of the neighborhood to buy merchandise. Retailers might be exploiting him and others in the neighborhood in all but which of the following ways?

A) By charging the same price for merchandise in low income neighborhoods as in the middle and higher income neighborhoods
B) By not putting prices on items on the shelves
C) By bringing customers in the store for low priced merchandise and them selling them higher priced items
D) By renting merchandise to own

Question 30

What can be done to reduce the impact of poverty in schools?

A) Encourage low income women to stay at home with their children while receiving public assistance instead of pursuing their own education.
B) Furnish tax incentives for worksites to provide child care centers for low income workers
C) Fund schools based on the tax base of the immediate neighborhood
D) Do not expect the same high academic achievement from low-income students so they will experience achievement at school

Question 31

Draw a comparison between how poor people were treated in the past and how they are treated today.

Question 32

How were unions formed in the 1800s and how did the government respond?

Question 33

Describe how class is related to education generally and school success specifically. Use at least three examples of how poverty and low achievement intersect in education.

Question 34

What are some economic consequences of ageism for both the elderly and youth?

Question 35

Identify and explain ways that financial institutions discriminate against and exploit the poor.