Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work Reading Response

           This reading follows five fifth grade classrooms belonging to schools of different social classes.   The article argues that there are different educational experiences and curriculum for each social class.  The research focused on the work the students participated in, and focused on schools located in New Jersey. The first two were referred to as “working class schools”, the third was a “middle class school”, the fourth “affluent professional school”, and the last was an “executive elite school”. Each of these moved up on the ladder of social class.  The working class schools were studied first.  It was seen that the teachers did not explain why assignments were given. The way students were taught were by steps written on the board for the students to copy and memorize. The work was graded not if the answer was right or wrong, but if the student followed the steps given.  It also stated that the available textbooks were not often used.  In math, students were given terms that were not even repeated from that point on.  They were also given steps to follow every time, but no reasoning of why. They were taught that division is “divide, multiply, subtract, bring down” every single time. This caused students to be confused and not understand material. When the students asked questions, instead of explaining the purpose of division, the teacher just repeated the steps again.  In language arts, only simple punctuation was taught, and no creative writing was involved. Students again were told to follow rules instead of thinking for themselves. They were given few writing assignments over the year.  Science was taught by the teacher who just restated what was in the book, while students copied the sentences from the board.  Each day they would do a science experiment lead by the teacher, and the children would copy down observations from the board.  Social studies focused on the United States specifically, with the teacher only writing about basic information on each state. They would learn the name of the state, its abbreviation, state capital, nickname, main products, main business, and a “fabulous fact”. The teachers in these schools were considered to be controlling and made their own rules.

I believe that the author argued the point very well.  There was very valid and impressive research showing the relationship between social class and educational curriculum.  I liked how each subject was observed and compared to one another.  A hole I saw in the argument was that these were schools found in New Jersey.  This is just one specific area, and I think the author could get better information by studying schools in other states as well. I feel like the working class in every area is handled differently when it comes to school. Some may have more resources readily available.  I also wonder if there are any schools that could be studied that mixed two or more social classes together, and what similarities they had.

                Before reading this article, I would have disagreed with the statement the author made about the correlation between social class and educational environment.  This is because I have never experienced every type of school out there. However, the argument made by this author opened my eyes to how different schools are besides what I was used to in high school.  I see how different the intellectual process is approached in schools in a lower social class than the one I attended. I personally do not like the way it is set up.  I think every student should have the equal right to apply themselves to their work, no matter what background they come from.

                The golden line I chose from this article was in the working class sections. It stated that “teachers rarely explain why the work is being assigned, how it might connect to other assignments, or what the idea is that lies behind the procedure or gives it coherence and perhaps meaning or significance”.  This line really stuck out to me while I was reading the article. I believe this is a huge flaw in the way they are teaching these students. I do not see how administrators and teachers expect students to take their work seriously when it is not properly explained to them.  Not knowing what exactly they are doing gives children the idea that they are not start enough; therefore, causing them not to apply themselves as effectively.