People too often ask themselves, “Am I doing enough?” Enough. Enough is defined as “occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations.” Instead, people need to take time and think about how they may exceed expectations, asking themselves “How can I do more?”

One of The Benjamin School’s core values is diversity. Diversity comes in all forms, from racial to cultural to socioeconomic diversity. The Upper School has made great strides in bringing diversity to the Benjamin community.

A large part of promoting diversity is celebrating it, as the School has done during Hispanic Heritage Month and Chinese New Year. But celebrating also means talking about the importance of diversity, and unfortunately, the discussion feels limited to cultural and racial diversity. But what about socioeconomic disparities that exist in the community?

There is a stigma behind the discussion of socioeconomic status- es around the world, seen as an uncomfortable conversation between those who have beyond their needs and those who do not have enough to cover even basic necessities in life. According to APA Psycnet, “In four studies, the authors investigated the proposal that in the context of an elite university, individuals from relatively lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds possess a stigmatized identity and, as such, experience (a) concerns regarding their academic fit and (b) self-regulatory depletion as a result of managing these concerns.”