Anyon – Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

Quotes:

1.       “The project is chosen and assigned by the teacher from a box of 3-by-5 inch cards….Explaining the cards to the observer, the teacher said, ‘It tells them exactly what to do, or they couldn’t do it.”

-          I found this statement to be really sad and disturbing. The students probably haven’t ever been taught how to go about creating a science project. It seemed to me that at 5^th grade these students had already been seen as hopeless. I was also disturbed at how these students seemed to have no expressive outlet in school whatever. All of the assignments were set up to be completed in “steps” and seemed more like a factory than an educational institution. The most disheartening thing about these schools were how neither the students nor their work were valued or praised.

2.       “I want to make sure you understand what you’re doing-so you get it right’; and, when they go over the homework, she asks the children to tell how they did the problem and what answer they got.”

-          What I liked about this school in comparison to the working-class schools was that the teachers actually want the students to understand what they are doing. Rather than telling these kids that in order to be correct they had to do ABC, they taught them how to solve problems. However, just like the working-class students, these kids did not find any enjoyment in school. The lack of fun and excitement can easily create students who hate school and possibly drop out.

3.       “For example, there was a series of assignments in which each child had to be a ‘student teacher’. On an occasion when a child did not maintain control, the teacher said, “when you’re up there, you have authority and you have to use it. I’ll back you up.”

-          This quote really sums up how students were viewed at this elite and wealthy school. These kids were taught to be leaders and figures of authority and they were already learning and practicing how to in the 5^th grade. These students were treated with respect and their work was viewed as valuable. Everything about how these children were treated was different from the working-class schools. I would’ve viewed this school as perfect if they had just encouraged a bit more creativity and individuality.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

In a perfect world, every student would have the education and opportunities that the “executive elite school” kids did. This article was written in 1980 and it does not seem to me that much has changed. I’m very curious as to where the observed students are today. I’d like to know if they eventually read this article and if so, did it change where they sent their children to school?