Talking point 8

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

by Jean Anyon

Reading this article, I wasn't very shocked with the facts that i was presented. I pretty much was aware of the difference in the schools and educations of different social class communities. In higher social class communities they better prepare their students for desirable jobs, like Anyon says, and this doesn't surprise me. I like how the study she did was over an entire year and not just a short time and how she chose all the same grade classes.

1. "fifth graders of different economic backgrounds are already being prepared to occupy particular rungs on the social ladder."

This quote is so true. Like I said before, it came no surprise to me that this is already happening. I just feel like this is why people stay in the social class they were born into, because they aren't given the chance to change or even any encouragement.

2. "teachers rarely explain why the work is being assigned."

This quote is explaining the working class schools. I feel like its the reason students don't care about education because they don't have any teachers that motivate them to learn or even explain why they are being taught what they are being taught. This probably makes the students not care about it because they don't know how they will use it in life or even the significance.

3."If one accumulates enough right answers, one gets a good grade."

This is how I was taught in school. The more answers I got right the better grade I got. This doesn't give the students the want to learn the material, just to understand it or even memorize enough to get correct answers on a test. The education is not valued and it effects the students in the long run in their education.