Module Seven Quiz on Stratification and Inequalities

Essay Based Quiz Reflection

Core Question: To what extent do you think we, as Americans, live in a Class OR Caste System of Stratification? 

Goal: To answer this question based on the Module Lecture, Concepts, Readings, and Activities Included Below. 

Instructions

• Using the interactive sites listed below -- and also drawing from the Module Lecture, Content, and Readings -- you are to write a short essay answering the core question, "To what extent do you think we, as Americans, live in a Class OR Caste System of Stratification?" 
• Your answer must include evidence from ALL of the sources mentioned above. 
• Cite your sources as usual / necessary [lecture] [readings] [terms] [activities] and make sure you have AT LEAST:
  • ONE direct quote and it's relevance to the argument from EACH reading passage (#58, #59, and #60).
  • Concrete evidence from at least ONE to TWO of the activities included below.
  • The related terminologies and evidence from the [lecture] and [content page terminologies] 

Attempts and Timing

• Since this is an essay based quiz, you can submit the quiz ONCE and only ONCE.
• With that in mind, compose the quiz in a separate document so you can edit, revise, and save it before submitting it. 
• There is no time limit other than the normal weekly deadline (see below).

Deadlines

• I HIGHLY RECOMMEND completing this Quiz early in the week, as you have two more modules to complete this week. 
• The official deadline for all Week Three Quizzes is before 11:59 am on Sunday, July 7th. 
• As always, you have a lot to do so complete ONE Module and ONE Quiz every 48 hours or so. 

Three Interactive Sites Related To Everyday Poverty:

[First Two Sites] The following two sites allow students to interactively experience how class work in the US:

• Accept the challenge of making ends meet in one of the poorest communities in the US, Durham, North Carolina: http://playspent.org/html/
• Can You Live on the Minimum Wage? goo.gl/JXtijf or https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/09/opinion/minimum-wage.html

Questions to Consider When Participating in These Activities. 

1. What challenges did you face as you made decisions on the interactive sites?
2. At what point did you “run out of money” in the process, and what was the “tipping point” that sent you into deeper poverty? 
3. Based on these exercises, to what extent do you think individual or family in the “real world” could actually break these cycles of poverty going forward?

[Third Site] Family Budget Calculator: https://www.epi.org/resources/budget/ 

• Using the Family Budget Calculator link provided above, enter your home County and enter the related costs for each of the following measures:
  • Per year:__________
  • Per month:__________
  • Housing:______
  • Food:______
  • Childcare:_____
  • Transportation:_____
  • Healthcare:______
  • Other:______
  • Taxes:______
    
• Overall Cost of Living for 2-parent, 2-child household…
• Monthly Costs for…
  

Family Budget Calculator Discussion and Reflection Questions:

1. How realistic is this budget for someone in the neighborhood in which you live?
2. What challenges do you think families face when they make LESS than this amount per month / year?
3. How realistic is this budget for someone in the neighborhood in which you live?
4. What challenges do you think families face when they make LESS than this amount per month / year?