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26-419: A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects the fact that it follows ordinary school and is intended to complete a young woman's education by providing classes primarily on deportment , etiquette , and other non-academic subjects. The school may offer an intensive course, or a one-year programme. In

52-509: A 2004 novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark , concerns 'College Sunrise', a present-day finishing school in Ouchy on the banks of Lake Geneva near Lausanne in Switzerland. Unlike the traditional finishing schools, the one in this novel is mixed-sex . Upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are

78-420: A course they may not have passed at secondary school level. They often taught languages and commercially and/or domestically applicable skills, such as cooking, secretarial and later business studies with the aim of broadening the students horizons from formal schooling education. Through much of their history, American finishing schools emphasised social graces and de-emphasised scholarship : society encouraged

104-516: A disproportionate influence over the nation's political, educational, religious, and other institutions. Of all social classes, members of the upper class also have a strong sense of solidarity and 'consciousness of kind' that stretches across the nation and even the globe. Since the 1970s, income inequality in the United States has been increasing, with the top 1% (largely because of the top 0.1%) experiencing significantly larger gains in income than

130-415: A few number of professionals , are considered members of this class by contemporary sociologists, such as James Henslin or Dennis Gilbert . There may be prestige differences between different upper-class households. An A-list actor, for example, might not be accorded as much prestige as a former U.S. President , yet all members of this class are so influential and wealthy as to be considered members of

156-508: A living, as they were supported by earned or inherited investments (often real estate ), although members of the upper class may have had less actual money than merchants. Upper-class status commonly derived from the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth. Much of the population that composed the upper class consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs . These people were usually born into their status and historically there

182-434: A member of the upper class as one must be born into a family of that class and raised in a particular manner to understand and share upper class values, traditions, and cultural norms. The term is often used in conjunction with terms like upper-middle class , middle class , and working class as part of a model of social stratification . Historically in some cultures, members of an upper class often did not have to work for

208-408: A polished young lady to hide her intellectual prowess for fear of frightening away suitors. For instance, Miss Porter's School in 1843 advertised itself as Miss Porter's Finishing School for Young Ladies—even though its founder was a noted scholar offering a rigorous curriculum that educated the illustrious classicist Edith Hamilton . Today, with a new cultural climate and a different attitude to

234-428: A society may no longer rule the society in which they are living, they are often referred to as the old upper classes, and they are often culturally distinct from the newly rich middle classes that tend to dominate public life in modern social democracies. According to the latter view held by the traditional upper classes, no amount of individual wealth or fame would make a person from an undistinguished background into

260-698: Is estimated to constitute less than 1% of the population. By self-identification, according to this 2001–2012 Gallup Poll data, 98% of Americans identify with the five other class terms used, 48–50% identifying as "middle class". The main distinguishing feature of the upper class is its ability to derive enormous incomes from wealth through techniques such as money management and investing, rather than engaging in wage-labor salaried employment, although most upper-class individuals today will still hold some sort of employment, which differs from historical norms. Successful entrepreneurs , CEOs , investment bankers , venture capitalists , heir to fortunes, celebrities, and

286-542: Is occasionally used, or misused, in American parlance to refer to certain small women's colleges , primarily on the East Coast , that were once known for preparing their female students for marriage. Since the 1960s, many of these schools have closed as a result of financial difficulties. These stemmed from changing societal norms, which made it easier for women to pursue academic and professional paths. The Finishing School ,

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312-401: The wealthiest members of class society , and wield the greatest political power . According to this view, the upper class is generally distinguished by immense wealth which is passed on from generation to generation. Prior to the 20th century, the emphasis was on aristocracy , which emphasized generations of inherited noble status , not just recent wealth. Because the upper classes of

338-700: The Peerage of Ireland granted by the British monarch have no recognition in the Irish Constitution. Contemporary Ireland is generally perceived to have a two-tier social class system composed of working class and middle class (with the exception of a small number of wealthy billionaires). The American upper class is a social group within the United States consisting of people who have the highest social rank primarily due to economic wealth . The American upper class

364-475: The United States, a finishing school is sometimes called a charm school . Graeme Donald claims that the educational ladies' salons of the late 19th century led to the formal finishing institutions common in Switzerland around that time. At the schools' peak, thousands of wealthy young women were sent to one of the dozens of finishing schools available. The primary goals of such institutions were to teach students

390-481: The country's political stability. The finishing schools that made Switzerland renowned for such institutions included: About a decade after these schools had closed, mostly by the end of the 20th century, public relations and image consultancy firms started to appear in London offering largely 1- or 2-day finishing courses and social skills at commercial rate fees which were proportionately far higher that those charged by

416-525: The high value of the properties that the schools occupied. The 1990s saw a revival of the finishing school, although the business model was radically altered. In the early 20th century, Switzerland was known for its private finishing schools. Most operated in the French-speaking cantons near Lake Geneva . The country was favoured by parents and guardians because of its reputation as a healthful environment, its multi-lingual and cosmopolitan aura, and

442-514: The merchant class and were ennobled between the 14th and 19th centuries while intermarrying with the old nobility and gentry. Since the Second World War , the term has come to encompass rich and powerful members of the managerial and professional classes as well. In the years since Irish independence in 1922 the upper class has all but vanished in the Republic of Ireland. Aristocratic titles within

468-450: The nation. But its money buys plenty of access." The Finishing School (Spark novel) The school is run by Rowland Mahler and his wife Nina Parker. Rowland is trying to write a novel but discovers that a new star pupil, Chris Wiley, only seventeen is also writing a novel, which eclipses Rowland's efforts. Frustrated by his own inability to make progress, and increasingly aware of Chris' prodigious talent, Rowland becomes obsessed with

494-550: The prevalence of titles of nobility varied widely from country to country. Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the Szlachta of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In Great Britain and Ireland , the "upper class" traditionally comprised the landed gentry and the aristocracy of noble families with hereditary titles. The vast majority of post-medieval aristocratic families originated in

520-546: The rest of society. Alan Greenspan , former chair of the Federal Reserve , sees it as a problem for society, calling it a "very disturbing trend". According to the book Who Rules America? by William Domhoff , the distribution of wealth in America is the primary highlight of the influence of the upper class. The top 1% of Americans own around 34% of the wealth in the U.S. while the bottom 80% own only approximately 16% of

546-456: The role of women, the situation has reversed: Miss Porter's School downplays its origins as a finishing school, and emphasises the rigour of its academics. Likewise, Finch College on Manhattan's Upper East Side was "one of the most famed of U.S. girls' finishing schools", but its last president chose to describe it as a liberal arts college, offering academics as rigorous as Barnard or Bryn Mawr . It closed in 1976. The term finishing school

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572-409: The schools. The old finishing schools were stand-alone organizations that lasted 15–50 years and were often family run. Curricula varied between schools based on the proprietor's philosophy, much like the British private school model of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some schools offered some O-level and A-level courses or recognised arts and languages certificates. They sometimes allowed pupils to retake

598-438: The skills necessary to attract a good husband, and to become interesting socialites and wives. The 1960s marked the decline of the finishing schools worldwide. This decline can be attributed to the shifting conceptions of women's role in society, competition from more focused vocational or professional education routes, to succession issues within the typically family-run schools, and, sometimes, to commercial pressures driven by

624-497: The upper class. At the pinnacle of U.S. wealth, 2004 saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of billionaires. According to Forbes Magazine , there are now 374 U.S. billionaires. The growth in billionaires took a dramatic leap since the early 1980s, when the average net worth of the individuals on the Forbes 400 list was $ 400 million. Today , the average net worth is $ 2.8 billion. Upper-class families... dominate corporate America and have

650-403: The wealth. This large disparity displays the unequal distribution of wealth in America in absolute terms. In 1998, Bob Herbert of The New York Times referred to modern American plutocrats as " The Donor Class " (list of top donors) and defined the class, for the first time, as "a tiny group – just one-quarter of 1 percent of the population – and it is not representative of the rest of

676-478: Was not much movement across class boundaries. In many countries, the term "upper class" was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership. Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-industrial societies despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes. Upper-class landowners in Europe were often also members of the titled nobility , though not necessarily:

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