From Nancy Foner’s “From Ellis Island to JFK” we can see how New York City has become a different place for the immigrants of today. Instead of trying to find jobs as soon as possible, many of the younger immigrants are faced with the grueling competition to get into good schools and get a good education. Whether it’s competing to get into a specialized high school or to get into a college, immigrants are finding themselves trying to get better jobs through higher education.
So why is this the case today? Even though it would be more convenient if every member of the family got a job to pay bills, the working age has become much higher than it was before. As a result, children end up going to school to get an education while the older members of immigrant families work. In addition to this, getting a job has become harder since a high school education is the minimum requirement for many decent paying jobs today. Overall, education has become of higher importance than it was before to get a job.
Since many of the younger immigrants are getting educations, it is easier to transcend the lower class and reach the middle and upper middle classes. It is even possible for an immigrant to reach the upper class by getting an education and taking up a high paying career such as a doctor or lawyer. However, for those immigrants that don’t go down that path, it is much harder to leave the lower classes.
In addition to education, race and ethnicity also plays a big role in social mobility. For example, from the book, one can see how those with an Asian background are able to move forward easier than some other groups. This can be attributed to the fact that some Asian immigrants come to America with a good education base. Nevertheless, in American society today, education is everything…Unless you win the lottery.
