Talking Point 8

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

by: JEAN ANYON

Jean Anyon provides evidence in the article from what other have previously argued. Some of the arguments were; "public schools in complex industrial societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes" as well as " Basil Bernstein, Pierre Bourdieu, and Michael W. Apple focusing on school knowledge, have argued that knowledge and skills leading to social power and regard are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes to whom a more "practical" curriculum is offered". Anyon provides evidence for each argument, which she gathered from closely observing five different schools.

1. "Since each of the five schools is only one instance of elementary education in a particular social class context, I will not generalize beyond the sample. However, the examples of schoolwork which follow will suggest characteristics of education in each social setting that appear to have theoretical and social significance and to be worth investigation in a larger number of schools."

I like when authors write something to this effect before they get into their arguments. It gives the reader a good feeling about the rest of the essay, that the author is not going to be bias about anything and is going to state the facts as to what they see, as well as not generalizing in their paper.

2. " The identification of different emphases in classrooms in a sample of contrasting social class contexts implies that further research should be conducted in a large number of schools to investigate the types of work tasks and interactions in each to see if they differ in the ways discussed here and to see if similar potential relationships are uncovered."

I do believe that if further investigation is done they will find the same results, but I do not think there is a lot that can be done to fix it. It not only has to do with the school teachers, but the family influence. The problem is going to be harder to fix than one would think, because I believe there is more to the issues. Something simple like the only teachers that are getting jobs there are the ones who can not get a job at a higher level school, so the lower schools get the 'not so great' teachers with poor teaching styles.

3. "The teachers were expected to be available before school, after school, and for part of their lunchtime to provide extra help if needed."

I believe that teachers like this can really change children. If a teacher is not willing to do whatever it takes to help the children, it can and will really effect the learning going on. It shows a lack of care for their job and the students they are suppose to be teaching. This is a root of many problems, teachers not being willing to help the children and 'cater' to the learning needs of each child.

I liked hearing about what was observed in different schools, but you can see issues like this in a school between teachers, because of different backgrounds and teaching styles. I enjoyed reading, and rereading the article. It makes you think what exactly could be done to fix issues like this, but when you do there are so many different factoring issues that go into the problem; so it would seem very difficult to fix the problem. That is why I think it is important for teachers to get a good soild education, in many different teaching conditions, like inner city schools; it can prepare them to help fix issues of equality like these.