What are society’s unspoken economic class rules?
(Photo by Zachary Meseck)
NORWICH – Nearly 100 people attended a free six-hour long educational seminar, “Bridges Out of Poverty,” on Wednesday. Presenters challenged attendees to consider what kinds of mindsets people in poverty, in the middle class, and in wealth have, along with what sorts of unspoken rules govern class-based thinking.
The course began at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and was held in the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus Community Room. According to event representatives approximately 100 individuals attended the seminar, with representatives from a number of agencies including local school districts and government providers also in attendance.
Representatives said a goal of the seminar was to understand some of the causes of poverty and encourage positive change on an individual, community, and policy level. They added that organizations including Improve Norwich Now, SUNY Morrisville’s Norwich Campus, and Chenango Health Network sponsored the event. CareCompass Network and Health Connections also assisted with the program by providing materials at no cost to participants.
According to Bridges Out of Poverty presenter Nathan Mandsager, one of the keys to understanding economic class-based mindsets is to consider that the issues facing people in poverty aren’t simple.
“It’s not as simple as saying poverty is the result of individual behaviors,” said Mandsager. “We know that there are a lot of learned behaviors that lead to people suffering from financial strife, but often times we fail to consider the external poverty sources that could impact any of us.”
Mandsager said people who have financial stability often have an, “us versus them'' mentality, and that it’s important to realize that people carry around class-based mindsets called, “mental models,” that we don’t really consider when judging others.
He said the mental models for people in poverty focus on relationships and survival, that for the middle class people focus on achievement, and that the wealthy focus on connections.
“It can be terrifying for people in poverty to consider a mindset where they focus on personal achievements instead of immediate relationships, and they could be shunned by others in their economic class for trying to reach that next level,” he added. “But when you’re living paycheck to paycheck with concerns about making sure your family is fed you have to wonder; how long can you push against the weight of your own reality?”
According to Mandsager, some of the best ways to combat the feeling of dread and lack of socio-economic mobility are to seek out higher education, build positive relationships in your community, and seek out employment that will help you move into a career that will make you happy.
“It’s also important to cut off toxic relationships, as hard as it might be,” Mandsager said. “You can’t force change upon others, but you can make change happen for yourselves.”
He said sometimes even in cases where a person wants to change, they are influenced by their economic class and lack of knowledge when it comes to social norms in classes higher or lower than themselves.
“When I meet with people who are in poverty I always look at what they’re bringing to the table,” he added. “Many workplaces function with middle-class ideals in mind, and that can be confusing for people who have never been in a middle class environment.”
He said for example, people in poverty often view money as a resource to be spent, but people with a middle class mindset see money as something to be managed, and people in the wealth mindset see it as something to be conserved and invested.
“If you’re trying to help someone, and you don’t understand their value structure, you won’t be able to understand their decisions,” said Mandsager. “At a very basic level, if you know how to talk to people with kindness and strength, you’ll be amazed at the difference you can make in their lives.”
There will be a follow-up seminar called, “Big Ideas about Poverty,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 11 at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus for those interested in learning more about poverty in Norwich and the Chenango County Community.
The course began at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and was held in the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus Community Room. According to event representatives approximately 100 individuals attended the seminar, with representatives from a number of agencies including local school districts and government providers also in attendance.
Representatives said a goal of the seminar was to understand some of the causes of poverty and encourage positive change on an individual, community, and policy level. They added that organizations including Improve Norwich Now, SUNY Morrisville’s Norwich Campus, and Chenango Health Network sponsored the event. CareCompass Network and Health Connections also assisted with the program by providing materials at no cost to participants.
According to Bridges Out of Poverty presenter Nathan Mandsager, one of the keys to understanding economic class-based mindsets is to consider that the issues facing people in poverty aren’t simple.
“It’s not as simple as saying poverty is the result of individual behaviors,” said Mandsager. “We know that there are a lot of learned behaviors that lead to people suffering from financial strife, but often times we fail to consider the external poverty sources that could impact any of us.”
Mandsager said people who have financial stability often have an, “us versus them'' mentality, and that it’s important to realize that people carry around class-based mindsets called, “mental models,” that we don’t really consider when judging others.
He said the mental models for people in poverty focus on relationships and survival, that for the middle class people focus on achievement, and that the wealthy focus on connections.
“It can be terrifying for people in poverty to consider a mindset where they focus on personal achievements instead of immediate relationships, and they could be shunned by others in their economic class for trying to reach that next level,” he added. “But when you’re living paycheck to paycheck with concerns about making sure your family is fed you have to wonder; how long can you push against the weight of your own reality?”
According to Mandsager, some of the best ways to combat the feeling of dread and lack of socio-economic mobility are to seek out higher education, build positive relationships in your community, and seek out employment that will help you move into a career that will make you happy.
“It’s also important to cut off toxic relationships, as hard as it might be,” Mandsager said. “You can’t force change upon others, but you can make change happen for yourselves.”
He said sometimes even in cases where a person wants to change, they are influenced by their economic class and lack of knowledge when it comes to social norms in classes higher or lower than themselves.
“When I meet with people who are in poverty I always look at what they’re bringing to the table,” he added. “Many workplaces function with middle-class ideals in mind, and that can be confusing for people who have never been in a middle class environment.”
He said for example, people in poverty often view money as a resource to be spent, but people with a middle class mindset see money as something to be managed, and people in the wealth mindset see it as something to be conserved and invested.
“If you’re trying to help someone, and you don’t understand their value structure, you won’t be able to understand their decisions,” said Mandsager. “At a very basic level, if you know how to talk to people with kindness and strength, you’ll be amazed at the difference you can make in their lives.”
There will be a follow-up seminar called, “Big Ideas about Poverty,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 11 at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus for those interested in learning more about poverty in Norwich and the Chenango County Community.
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