Working Class and Lack of Success

These will have to be generalised answers to generalised questions.

jameshealy19 wrote: »

why do working class people leave school early?

Often it is the case that they do not see prospects in staying in school. Many in in the "working class" do not see third level education as an option and are not encouraged to go for it for a number of reasons. It could be that their parents never went and dont see the point of it. It could be that their brothers/sisters never went either. It is often that there is a cost associated with going. i.e. there are many reasons why they often dont go to third level education thus dont always see the point in the leaving certificate nor do they have the encouragement and support (inc financial) that the "middle class"+ receive.

jameshealy19 wrote: »

why do working class women have children at a younger age than the middle classes and mostly outside of wedlock?

I believe a lot of that is due to lack of education/prospects and also because that is what they see around them often from within their own family/parents. Your upbringing has a massive affect on what you perceive as normal.

I would also say there is nothing wrong with having children out of wedlock - you should have the same rights out of wedlock that you do being married and being married or not has no affect on the quality of your childs upbringing or the happiness of the child's parents.

Fertility peaks between 20-25 normally thus you could ask why the "middle class"+ have children later which is normally as a result of careers etc.

jameshealy19 wrote: »

Why do working class women get pregnant if they can't afford to support the child?

Many women of in all "classes" get pregnant by accident. It could be as high as 50% of pregancies in adults and upto 80/90% of pregnancies in teens being unplanned.

jameshealy19 wrote: »

Why do you see a lot a burnt down houses in working class areas, along with higher rates of anti-social behaviour?

This is often due to lack of prospects in those areas for young teens. Many are brought up in broken home where they watch abuse and drugs-use daily or where they are on the receiving end of abuse. You would have a good chance of becoming an angry person if you saw your mother being beaten up every day or if you were beaten up every day. You would also have more chance of being angry when you see others that dont have to go through what you have to not to mention the bad influence in those areas with drugs and "easy money" etc.

There is no simply answer to any of the above but this should give you possible answers to your questions but everybody's reasons for their circumstances are different.