“making sure your kids are isolated from low-class kids is extremely expensive”
My personal experience on peer effect is, that it is not so extra important for the kid to avoid contact with “unsuitable” children. It might be important to have a CHOICE of both “suitable” and “unsuitable” peers—I am not sure about that, have no experience on living exclusively in low class environment.
My story: I went to a regular elementary school, where low status kids from our neighborhood attended, as well as “middle class” kids. (It was in the diminishing communist era in Slovakia, the good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods were not so geographically separated as they are now). I naturally associated with those kids I felt comfortable with (who had hobbies, mostly but not 100% better grades) and dissociated from the kids I did not like (aggressive, bad grades, skipping lessons). Some of the aggressive kids are dead by now due to drug overdose, but I did not try a drug ever. My parents did not forbid me from contact from any of the kids I wanted. In the first two years, my best frend was from the “lower class” group—gypsy, bad grades—but NOT agressive, and my parents actually supported my choice even against the opposition of my teachers. I am now a research scientist and have a PhD in molecular biology, so I think seeing those little criminals everyday at the elementary school did not affect my success in life that much.
“making sure your kids are isolated from low-class kids is extremely expensive”
My personal experience on peer effect is, that it is not so extra important for the kid to avoid contact with “unsuitable” children. It might be important to have a CHOICE of both “suitable” and “unsuitable” peers—I am not sure about that, have no experience on living exclusively in low class environment.
My story: I went to a regular elementary school, where low status kids from our neighborhood attended, as well as “middle class” kids. (It was in the diminishing communist era in Slovakia, the good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods were not so geographically separated as they are now). I naturally associated with those kids I felt comfortable with (who had hobbies, mostly but not 100% better grades) and dissociated from the kids I did not like (aggressive, bad grades, skipping lessons). Some of the aggressive kids are dead by now due to drug overdose, but I did not try a drug ever. My parents did not forbid me from contact from any of the kids I wanted. In the first two years, my best frend was from the “lower class” group—gypsy, bad grades—but NOT agressive, and my parents actually supported my choice even against the opposition of my teachers. I am now a research scientist and have a PhD in molecular biology, so I think seeing those little criminals everyday at the elementary school did not affect my success in life that much.