Social Status: Excuse or Not?

Getting an education is an important part of every child and teenager’s life, but not all get the same type of education. In Jean Anyon’s essay “From Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work”, she explains and talks about the four levels of education. According to Jean Anyon, the four levels of education are the Working-Class School, Middle-Class School, Affluent Professional School, and Executive Elite School. From my experience, I attended a working-class school named Santa Ana High School located in a low income and high crime neighborhood of the city of Santa Ana, CA. In the author’s words, a working-class school is, “A school for students with parents with low income jobs, and with an income at or below $12,000”(Anyon 138). I believe got a working-class education because we rarely used the textbooks in class, learned through common core, and taught an education from average standard courses. Also, I believe I attended a working-class school because my high school education just taught me the basic skills of attaining a minimum wage job, whereas in professional school, or elite school students are taught knowledge and skills that lead to higher wage jobs. My experience relates to author Jean Anyon’s essay because I felt the working-class school category matched my high school education. For example, in the essay she states, “In working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure. The procedure is usually mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice”(Anyon 140). Author Jean Anyon also states, “Available textbooks are not always used, and the teachers often prepare their own dittos or put work examples on the board”(Anyon 140). Both of these examples from the essay relate to my high school education because we would often do assignments created by the teacher rather than do assignments provided by the school textbooks. From my high school education, I received a working-class education because although we did have new buildings, new technology, and a clean school campus, the high school was located in a low income, and dangerous neighborhood, and students received an education from average standard courses. In my opinion, I received a working-class

The current American education system has its flaws. Public schools struggle, private schools charge exorbitant prices, and the status quo dictates that a college degree acts a golden ticket to success in today’s workplace. This ideal contrasts from history’s viewpoint. During previous centuries, only upper-class men received education, as classrooms barred their doors to women and the poor. Renaissance men, who dabbled in numerous arts and sciences, gained their fame and glory more from the monetary power backing them than their intellectual prowess and knowledge. Straying from the past, elementary education is now a fundamental right, available to those with and without money, and a large— but not complete— population continues their

Children who grow up in a poor area go to school where there are 50 kids in one class and individual attention is never given, and children of high class families will go to schools that have smaller class sizes and individual attention. Even when a poor child goes to a better schoolteachers will question if the work done is their own and also only expect hard work from the rich kids. “if you are a child of low income parents, the chances are good that you will receive limited and often careless attention from adults in your high school.” Theodore Sizer “Horace’s Compromise,” “If you are the child of upper-middle income parents, the chances are good that you will receive substantial and careful attention.” (203) These quotes from another author showcase that school in America is often times based on the social standing of the parents.

Social Class and Education”. It opens by discussing research conducted in the 1960’s in an effort to identify factors contributing to differences in the academic achievement of Whites and Blacks (Banks & Banks, 2013). Researchers hypothesized that the achievement gaps were mainly the result of disparities in school resources and characteristics, but found that there is a high correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status (SES) (Banks & Banks, 2013). Furthermore, attention is drawn to the class stratification which exists in our educational system and works to maintain inequality through exclusion strategies such as ability grouping and tracking (Banks & Banks, 2013). Evidence of the correlation between social class and

In the 1997 article, “Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals” by David Labaree, Labaree describes three goals that have been at the core of educational conflicts over the years. The first goal mentioned is democratic equality, which is meant to create good citizens and enable educational access to all. The second goal is social efficiency, which creates workers and is viewed by taxpayers and employers as a goal to prepare students for market roles. Lastly is the third goal of social mobility, where individual success for attractive market roles is the main purpose. This primary goal of education has been ever fluctuating. The argument of this essay is that social mobility has now triumphed over democratic equality and social efficiency as the primary goal of education due to parents. This view of social mobility by parents is negative to due its numerous consequences, significantly the growing disparity between the wealthy and the underprivileged, and additionally, the health of children, their behavior, and the degree to which they learn educational material are all affected.

The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.

Education has been the subject of some of the most heated discussions in American history. It is a key point in political platforms. It has been subject to countless attempts at reform, most recently No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Ardent supporters of institutional schools say that schools provide access to quality education that will allow the youth of our country to gain necessary skills to succeed in life. Critics take a far more cynical view. The book Rereading America poses the question, “Does education empower us? Or does it stifle personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds?” The authors of this question miss a key distinction between education and schooling that leaves the answer far from clear-cut. While education empowers, the one-size-fits-all compulsory delivery system is stifling personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds.

In the article “Class in America,” Gregory Mantsios identifies the social classes in America as well as the growing gaps between them. He explains how people who are born in already wealthy families are well educated and take advantage of opportunities. He claims that people in the lower class are not given a chance to succeed and it is even more difficult for the minorities. Mantsios’ article relates well to Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Anyon attempts to find evidence of the differences of schoolwork in lower class schools. Relating well along with these two articles is “Still Separate, Still Unequal” by Kozol. He discusses how minority and lower class schools are practically ignored therefore, setting them up for failure. Mantsios’, Anyon’s, and Kozol’s articles correlate seamlessly in discussing the issues of the effect that social class has on education.

While A Place at the Table reveals the intrinsic link between poverty and hunger in the United States and how food insecurity affects children’s health and education, Sarah Garland, in her article, “When Class Became More Important to a Child’s Education Than Race,” explains many other aspects of how social class effects education. Garland describes an education gap amongst lower and higher income families that is due to several causes related to social classes. The low test scores and concentration issues discussed by Jacobson and Silverbush could possibly be related to such a

The book Unequal Childhoods explains a study conducted to prove the significance of social class. Annette Lareau presents the study highlighting two primary ways of parenting that ultimately affect how successful the child becomes as they transition into adulthood. These styles of parenting include Concerted Cultivation which is where parents put through kids through structured activities, and Accomplishment of Natural Growth which is emphasized through freedom and directives. While both styles of parenting have their benefits and their weaknesses, the educational system of the United States is built predominantly on Concerted Cultivation and middle class values, which in turn may negatively affect how children prepare for their transitions into adulthood. This imbalance in education can put students farther ahead and at the same time neglect children who don’t have the resources they need to keep up with the other students. There are a multitude of variables involved with helping students reach their full potential and become successful. Some of the big factors to a student’s success include the student 's socioeconomic background, how they “fit” into the educational system, how strong their relationships are with other people, and their ability to access resources. Creating an education that can accommodate students from all different backgrounds will empower students to reach their full potential.

As I read the first few pages of the book, I am in full agreement with authors’ opinions and statements. We are expecting the American educational system to ensure that all students succeed and at the same time to endure drastic cuts to school budgets, it is an ironic conundrum. The authors’ viewpoint that the socio-economic standing of students plays a significant factor in students being able to graduate from high school and the ability to be successful the years after graduation I believe is very accurate.

Education is a very critical part of a person’s life. There are many levels to education and an abundant amount of students that do not make it to the highest level possible. High school and college are the two main groups that can make or break a person’s education. Between high school and college, there are different requirements and goals needed to succeed. As a student, self-motivation, the value of education, and the responsibilities students must uphold fluctuate among high school and college.

With the fast-growing global economy, education has become an integral part of the today’s society. Education has in fact been argued to be a necessity, as conformity to society’s set standards, goals and means is gradually near impossible without education. However, ‘proper’ education is becoming increasingly expensive and rare across all levels of education. As a result, even with the vast availability of several institutions that claim to offer ‘proper’ education, the question on most people’s minds is how education, a concept that is considered ‘somewhat’ a human right in America, is still not fully accessible to all citizens. A brief introduction to the concept of inequality in the educational system, especially in the public-school system, proves to answer to some lengths, the insufficiency of the educational system in the United States. The U.S. has been rumored to have two types of public school systems: first are those that are located in the suburbs and cater mostly to the middle class in the society and second are those that are located in the poorer urban and rural areas and serve to educate the lower class in the society. Usually, public education in these rural and poor urban settings serve mostly as a ‘way to get kids involved and out of the house’ so as to prevent these kids from a life of crime. However, most of these children end up in juvenile detention even before completing high school education. And, of the few that do succeed in completing their

from the sociological perspective, it is clear that a combination of socioeconomic status and education attainment both factor into student success levels. Analyses of the academic gaps between high and low SES students are essential and aid in the recognition of the detrimental differences in cognitive skills. These gaps are not only relevant, but they also indicate that the education system, SES, and social class are largely responsible for the accumulation of both social and economic disadvantages (Garcia 2015). If these educational divides remain unaddressed, then equality is a goal that remains unobtainable. Currently, it seems that schooling in America either sets a student up for failure or provides them with a promising future. The U.S. education system is long overdue for a change, and although creating an even playing field is a difficult task, it can be accomplished. Prosperity policy change, funding, and unity all serve as fundamental steps towards student success and

Society has a major impact on how children get their education. Children’s schools are decided by the income of the parents. If the parent is a working class, idle class, affluent professional, or executive elite. Students schools should not be determined by how wealthy or poor the family is. Everyone should have an equal education. Students education helps them learn some things that may be helpful in the workplace. However, students study topics at school that are not needed for a majority of the careers. In the article, “Social class and the hidden curriculum of work” by Jean Anyon states the different social classes and what jobs each social class has to do. Working- class occupations are stockroom workers, bodyguards, gas station attendants, auto mechanics, and maintains workers. Middle- class occupations are printers, corporates, constructions workers, technicians,