A Class Meme

I don't normally do memes, but I think that we don't talk about class nearly enough, neither in academia or in the general media. Why, for instance, does everyone say the Democratic primary is about choosing between race (Obama) and gender (Clinton), when really it's about race, gender, and class (Edwards)? Why is it that the advocate for the middle-class, and the only one who is really focussed on class at all, is simply dismissed as "an angry white guy"?

Anyway, on to the meme, as seen chez Dr. Crazy. Bold the statements that are true.

1. Father went to college.
2. Father finished college.
3. Mother went to college. -- She went to "community college", aka vocational school, to take an "office skills", aka secretarial, course when I was already in my undergrad, after doing her GED when I was in high school. My dad dropped out of the GED course. I wouldn't call my mom's course "college" in the four-year college sense though. It was only a one-year program.
4. Mother finished college.
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home. -- Thanks to the Scholastic book program through my elementary school. My mom always kept me well stocked in books and I read way more novels for pleasure when I was a kid than I do now.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. -- My mom put me in skating lessons when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I was dressed up as a daisy for the final show we performed.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18. -- Lol. My mom wouldn't even let me have a bank card to access my savings account until I was 18, even though I was working 40 hours per week.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school.
17. Went to summer camp. -- One week long basketball camp for three summers in high school.
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels. -- What vacations?!
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. -- Almost never. All from the second-hand store where my mom worked from when I was in grade 4 until after I was in undergrad.
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house. -- Yes, in the boonies.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home. -- They paid the mortgage on it.
25. You had your own room as a child. -- Thank goodness. My brother's room was the former "dining room" though.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school. -- A tiny, 10'', black-and-white set with a long antenna, and obviously no cable. Even the family tv didn't have cable because we lived too far from town. We only had 2 channels until I was 14, then 3 channels after that.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16. -- One way to Toronto when I was 15 to visit my cousin, who drove me back home on a 24 hour road trip.
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. -- Of course, I knew. My mom never stopped telling me how little money she had every week for groceries, how much everything cost, how hard it was to stretch our money, how expensive university was, and how I absolutely had to win a ton of scholarships or I wouldn't be able to go.
Score: 9 out of 34.