Educational Advantage or Disadvantage?

I can remember attending two different schools during my grade school days.  Both schools were located in middle-class bedrooms communities where I received a good education that prepared me for college and beyond.  Throughout my schooling I received instruction in math, science, history, language arts, and English.  I also was taught by gym teachers, music teachers, art teachers and so on.  During these days I never thought about the repercussions of my experiences other than to acknowledge that they would one day lead me to a good college.  After reading Anyon, Gorski, Laureau, and Engel, however, I have a slightly different view of my grade school curriculum. 

Particularly, in the High School that I attended each student was placed in a class based on their abilities.  These classes were designated by the letters A, B, and C.  (Consequently A classes were for those who excelled in their material, B classes were for average students, and C classes were for those who needed extra help but were not special needs.)  As I was in the A level courses I was taught a curriculum similar to the students in affluent professional schools according to Anyon.  These classes taught me to think about my subjects and express my thoughts in a manner in which I may convince others of my reasoning.  I was taught social mannerisms that would be necessary in mid-level managerial work once I completed my schooling. 

Opposite of my experience was the experience of those in C level classes.  From the experiences of the friends that I had in these classes I can say with certainty that these students were taught a curriculum similar to that found in a working-class school.  These students were taught the basics without the reasoning behind their actions.  They knew how to do the tasks at hand but did not know why they were doing them.  Furthermore, these students relied heavily on stall tactics to put off work and complete as little as possible and still pass to the next grade.  (Similarly, I observed this type of work in a school that my brother attended for students with behavioral problems and in a school that my friend’s brother is currently attending.)

I believe that it is telling of the financial system in my high school town that the school had the ability to cater to each type of student in the way that they did (keeping in mind that this schooling system also had an excellent special needs program).  While the article written by Engel states that Rhode Island spends $639 less per pupil in high minority areas I would be interested to know the per pupil expenditure of my school district during my tenure there. The fact that my school district had a very low impoverished population most certainly impacted the education I received. 

Outside of school I was taught to follow through with certain actions based on social queues and status indicators.  Through my own schooling and upbringing at home I was taught that if I wanted to say something I should think about the outcome of my action and if it was something I could live with than I should speak up.  Having a mother who worked in the corporate banking world exposed me to many executives belonging to the corporate class.  My mother always encouraged me to ask questions of everyone and demand respect in accordance with my position.  (As a child this mostly meant asking if I could have the half eaten desert or staying quiet when the adults talked but expecting an answer when I asked a serious and thought filled question.)  In doing this my mother encouraged me to reach levels of higher understanding and not be afraid to speak up in front of people from all social classes.  I was taught, much like Stacey and Fern, how to wait, evaluate a situation and decide when to intervene on behalf of someone else (most of the time my little sister) or myself.  Much like Stacey and Fern I observed my own mother making these same decisions which transferred social values to me and taught me how to act in accordance with my social status.  One such example was when she fought with our school district to have them pay the bill to send my brother to a school in Providence which was equip to deal with his behavioral issues in ways that our school was not (they lost him one day, quite literally did know where he was and did not care).

As I have now entered the world of adult hood I have seen many of the topics we discuss in class play out in the world around me.  I can now see the type of education that I received and its class basis.  I can see the jobs that my husband and I hold through a class lens.  And I can see where we would like to be in 10 years through the glasses that Professor Schuster is attempting to transplant on to us.  Due to all of this I can also see the challenges that some have achieving the education I have been lucky to receive due to my social standing.  Where I work I see people of the working-poor who must find food and diapers the moment they cash their checks.  And I see others who would like to criticize these hard working people so that they will not have to look into themselves and see their own short comings. 

Reflecting on my educational background formal and informal it is hard for me to see anything other than a middle class outcome from what I received.  My teachers taught me to question but to ultimately accept their solution.  My mother taught me to stand up for myself but remain submissive to those above you.  And those who I work with now show me that try as they might some people were never given the skills necessary to work anywhere other than the service sector.  I believe that some people focus on the short comings of other (i.e. studying the culture of poverty) to avoid fixing their own faults.  I also believe that I owe my attitude, demeanor, and status to the education I received.  While I like to believe that we can tell all teachers to tech equally and give each student the ability to achieve whatever they would like I know that this is not possible.  My class glasses are not rose colored but my hope for future education is.  I would like my son to grow up in an educational system where I do not need to pay for him to receive an affluent professional education. Maybe this is will be reality some day, maybe…