From my experience with the kids of the families around us as our son was growing up, none of them had a clear picture of their privilege or their parent’s income. I think that’s pretty normal, so I wouldn’t expect most kids to have a realistic handle on average national income if they aren’t sure about their own. The question reminds me of the story of the group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it; depending on what they touch, their description of the animal is quite different. I think most kids have a very fuzzy perception of the income elephant. They don’t have enough information or experience to see beyond the the trunk they’re holding, certainly not the whole beast.
If you are a parent posting on CC, it’s a good bet you are educated and are invested in your child’s education so, right there, you are above average in many ways. The fact that this article provokes us to discuss the various ways we’ve helped our children understand their privilege (so none of ours would be among those who’d cluelessly throw out a six-figure number, right?) speaks to our concerns about raising our children to see beyond the insulated worlds they live in, but I agree that:
Most of us here want our children to understand that experience without having to live it, and we hope that education is the ticket to that balance. At some level, that’s why this forum exists.
I’d like to think that we did a responsible job with our son, that his choice of service is his response to being raised to internalize “to him whom much has been given, much is expected.” He knows the answer to the professor’s question. If we didn’t make it clear, the military gave him that number when training him to lead and understand the range America’s soldiers. We’ve talked about it; he knows what the elephant looks like. But still, he is immensely privileged. That hard row to hoe that was his college choice and the deferred gratification of his service years sit comfortably on the back of a boarding school education where he has friends from families who are household names and a commission from a storied academy. He has had an elite education and life experience and, most likely, will be comfortable the rest of his days. There is nothing wrong with his good fortune but, as @OhiBro pointed out above, it needs to be accompanied by empathy and the humility of knowing that the deck was never stacked against him.