Since I attended a parochial school for nine years (K thru 8), I was less aware of class distinctions.  The nuns never encouraged such things.  Although I do remember seeing others with newer clothes than I, I don’t remember caring as long as they were willing to jump rope or play tag with the rest of us regardless of whether they ripped or dirtied their good clothes.  I might add that my parochial school was very parochial in that we were all of the same ethnic group.  Everyone either seemed like or was a cousin.

In public high school, the biggest distinction was looks.  It’s all about being pretty, being popular, being connected.  Not so much about wealth…  at least not in the group I hung around in.  Today, I realize a lot of those kids were the children of doctors and lawyers and successful businessmen, but at the time it didn’t seem to matter.

I’m glad many teachers realize nowadays that those sorts of activities only serve to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. I remember being in 6th grade, and my science teacher came in one day and had me stay after school. She took away my sneakers, which were hand-me-downs from a neighbor of ours, and were maybe 4 sizes too big for me, and apparently, stinky (I didn’t realize this). After throwing them away, she gave me a pair of new sneakers, my size, and said she wanted to give me new shoes so the kids wouldn’t make fun of their smell or their size.

I still write to her. Some teachers are really angels in disguise for many students who don’t have many people to turn to.