Hidden Rules of Social Class An overview of research by Ruby Payne, PhD.

Ruby Payne A social scientist in Texas who studied why students in public schools often drop out if they are raised in poverty. Theorized the “concept of hidden rules”. Each class uses these to create expectations for behavior. School and government agencies have rules (middle class) that those in wealth and poverty do not use. If the rules aren’t clear, people will fail. Sees need to make them visible.

Two Types of Class Position Generational- has lasted more than five years. Families have been raised with this set of expectations and rules for survival. Over twenty years? It is difficult to move classes. This behavior has become your social setting. Situational- loss of job, inheritance, mobility by marriage. Not you, just your new environment. Less than five years.

Types of Families Patriarchal- father led, male makes money and decisions about family. Common in middle class and wealth. Matriarchal- mother led, females raise children and take care of community through work and resources. Common in poverty.

Mobility To be successful in moving from one class to the next, you need to know who you are. You need to know where you are going. You need to know what that group expects. To be a human service worker, you need to know the rules of all three classes and change your expectations for behavior.

Slide Overview Look at the summary at your desk This infographic summarizes what Ruby Payne says are the motivators for behaviors in the three classes. Do some thinking with your partner, where do you “fit” with these things? Is there overlap? In what ways? Journal for 12/1, please describe how you’ve grown up within your household. What class do you mostly fit into? What examples can you use to show that that’s true?

Why Is This Important to Reading “Gatsby”? Fitzgerald as an author uses class as the main divider between characters. The major conflict in this novel will be the struggle with the reality of the “American Dream”. Fitzgerald and his wife had a quick rise to fame and money, as real people, he witnessed first hand how society views the “new rich”.