Cultural capital can be achieved on a budget to help with social mobility...

[thomasgoode]

But what about social capital?
Inspired by the other thread..

What other thread? I’m intrigued.

It means meeting lots of people, and making the effort to learn how to make small talk, strike up acquaintances, remember stuff about people etc

• join free/cheap clubs - follow their interests, but try to include the social sports (tennis, team sports, when older rowing, and if you're in London try the amazingly cheap Westminster Boating Base for sailing and kayaking). They learn the skill, but do it with other people, beyond schoolmates, family and neighbours
• Scouts/Guides
• Cadet Force (marmite on MN, I know, but they really will do lots of stuff and meet lots of people)

Involve them in your links with the wider community - not just formal volunteering, but also modelling how to interact with people, make small talk

For yourself or your children?

Sorry here is other thread

What improves social mobility for children? Is it extracurriculars, education, money? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/5009265-what-improves-social-mobility-for-children-is-it-extracurriculars-education-money

For my kids, I think I may have missed that boat.

Friday night bump

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Sort of related...it can be a real problem for some people to find someone 'professional' to sign a passport/driving license application form. It's especially bad now you need photo ID to vote.

It means meeting lots of people
Not just 'lots' but 'lots of different sorts'. There's little social capital in knowing everybody within, say, half a mile of your house because they are probably the same as you. You want to know, and strike up relationships with, all sorts of different people: old/young, rich/poor, trades/professions, etc, etc.
For this to happen you have to go outside of your childhood bubble, out of your comfort zone.

Yes. The Brexit vote was shocking to some remainers who only really knew people who had reasonably similar political views. (Others knew a broader social spread and while disappointed, weren't shocked).

Similarly, a few of my friends swear they have never encountered racism in the UK, and others think it's a deeply racist country, with most of them thinking something in between those. (POC in all 3 groups). They just encounter very different people in their day to day lives.

Excellent examples, MyRear (and excellent user name!)
It's not just lower classes looking to improve themselves that need social capital. We all need it.

Social capital is as important if not more important than cultural capital. Children can play all the Mozart & Beethoven in the world but if they are not likable & can't fit in the vast majority of social settings that cultural capital is useless.

How do we do this though?

Comprehensive school -wider cstchement and big spread of demographics

Some clubs

What else?

I think that social capital includes trying to understand others perspectives. So if your socialist thinking about other peoples choices. You don't have to agree with them. I think it makes you broader minded and less likely to judge.

So meeting and talking with people you disagree with and understanding why they believe something.

What do you mean, achieving what with this? Marrying well off the offspring ? Making sure they have financial stability all the days of their lives? - no one can predict such things and just organise such things if the kids have humble souls and do not want a life of superiority

I think it's definitely more nuanced & harder to achieve than cultural capital. Conference is a huge part of social capital & the ability to slot in anywhere. Feeling comfortable in your own skin.

Yes. I was on another thread and the linked to something else that talked about the 5Rs for learning and good mental health which I think is part of social capital, no?

Resourceful
Resilient
Reasoning
Reflective
Responsible

You need to be strategic. Not just 'some clubs' but the right sort of club. You don't want a sports which concentrates on a one-to-one basis, you don't want a hobby that only rich people can afford, etc.
The Scout movement is a classic. It's affordable for everyone; you get to know others in your neighbourhood; you learn skills; you can sample leadership as a Sixer; you get the chance to see the wider horizon of the County / country / internationally.
Sports involving large squads / teams are also good. Not sports that concentrate on a few superstars (e.g. football, cricket) but sports that rely on the whole team (e.g. rugby). Again, sport can take you out of your locality and show you a bigger world through tours or tournaments.
Volunteering is cheap and helps towards the world-view.
You can't send the DC to a comprehensive and think "job done" because DC very easily fall into cliques. You need to encourage yours to join clubs and societies.

join free/cheap clubs - follow their interests, but try to include the social sports (tennis, team sports, when older rowing

Rowing is not a cheap sport to be involved in (I doubt tennis is either, but don't have experience of that).

I think the clubs & teams help with the 5R. For example, sport and music teach that if you practise then you get better - they teach resilience. They teach you that your teammates or orchestra-colleagues rely on you turning up and doing your bit - responsibility.
Some people instinctively have some / all of the 5R but I think that they are also teachable skills.

I forgot to say: try lots of activities. We threw various things at the DC and waited to see what would stick. Some didn't, others did. They found various things that they were good at and went on to win certificates, competitions, etc.
It does wonders for young peoples' confidence to have something that they are good at and can talk about knowledgeably.

Those suggesting clubs, orchestras etc. are still assuming that the families have transport to get children to them and can afford lessons, equipment, etc., which means they are not generally accessible to those children in the lowest income families.

They need to see you model it - have a wide range of people in your social circle, be social, open, interesting.

Yes. I work with some vulnerable and disadvantaged families. Lots of the boys would love to be part of a football team but it just isn't accessible to them as they don't have a car to travel for matches every weekend.

I guess it also depends what it is you are hoping to achieve? To feel comfortable and confident to speak up in tutorials at Oxford? To feel comfortable talking to a group of unknown people on a table at a charity ball?

Modelling small talk / dinner table conversation can only help this surely. If DC grow up used to holding / contributing to conversations around a table every day then they should be more comfortable doing it with strangers