>My brother and I were from a normal middle class background but both went to fancy private schools.
I find that people tend to either over or underestimate the "middle class"iness of their upbringing.
I find that people tend to either over or underestimate the "middle class"iness of their upbringing.
My parents were smart and had a little extra cultural capital but yeah, we were pretty middle class. Maybe lower-upper-middle class.
I mean, that would do it. I suppose it depends on when and where you grew up. Suffice it to say that this kind of upbringing sounds unusually high-end compared to the actual American middle class for the past 30-odd years (where you would likely find both parents working, home ownership a tenuous proposition, and private schools out of the question).
I point this out mostly because we're sorely in need of a reexamination of what's "normal" and what should be normal in this country.
My brother went to a state school undergrad, then got grad degrees from Harvard and Georgetown. He's almost done paying off an assload of debt, but it's meant he's had to work as a consultant these last ten years.