Common wisdom tells us, “Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps”—that is, work hard, earn an education, and you will attain wealth and success. Use your sociological imagination and the theories from this chapter to challenge or support common wisdom.

Reflect on your own social class. Discuss how your family’s social class has been reproduced over time or how your family has experienced either upward or downward mobility. Be sure to focus on structural or systematic reasons rather than individual reasons.