Does a student's socioeconomic level really determine what what his or her educational performance will be? If so, what can one say of the resilient students in low economic areas that perform highly and those with high SES standing and perform poorly? Case in point my own educational background. My great grandfather could only read and write his own name. My grandfather never got to high school. My father made it only through high school with a few community college classes later on. And here I am at a four-year, nationally recognized, institution. Does this fit the model that SES fits?

I think that's a good question. Obviously (your case in point) there are exceptions. That's why I think it's important not to pigeon-hole students or form preconceived ideas about them. However I feel that students' SES often correlate to their performance, and as teachers we should be sensitive to that and try to help students who may not have such privileged backgrounds.

I agree with Alissa. Their are exceptions, like your case Travis, but I feel as if it is something that we as educators should be aware of.