Talking Points 8

1. “Bowles and Gintis for example, have argued that students in different social-class backgrounds are rewarded for classroom behaviors that correspond to personality traits allegedly rewarded in the different occupational strata--the working classes for docility and obedience, the managerial classes for initiative and personal assertiveness.” Schools are deciding what a child will do with their life while they are in the fifth grade… What they do in elementary school, will decide what will happen to them for the rest of their lives. To elaborate, this means that the rich white kids will be evaluated highly, and go to superior schools, while poorer students will be left with the lesser schools, and be forced to live a life of mediocrity. The inherent white privilege here is palpable. Anyon even said that there were no minority students in the upper echelon classrooms, proving my point that the white students, who come from parents with money, are afforded an astounding amount of opportunity, while everyone else is left behind.

2. “The foregoing analysis of differences in schoolwork in contrasting social class contexts suggests the following conclusion: the "hidden curriculum" of schoolwork is tacit preparation for relating to the process of production in a particular way.” Anyon is stating that schools are teaching students in particular ways, which will help them further along in life, but will do nothing to foster their advancement in society. The students of the elite are allowed to build cultural capital, and are able to converse with their teacher, while students of the working class are taught the value of following directions. The rich students are being prepared to problem solve, while the working class students are being prepared to take orders, which they will be doing for the rest of their lives.

3. “Teachers made every effort to control the movement of the children, and often shouted, "'Why are you out of your seat??!!" If the children got permission to leave the room, they had to take a written pass with the date and time.” Doesn’t Delpit tell us that we need to be explicit with the rules in order to establish the culture of power? The elite class did not have to deal with a strict teacher, they were allowed more freedoms. Maybe this is because they are privileged, and are already aware of the culture of power, and what is expected of them, and how to utilize what they have in order to attain the best results (i.e. a successful future).

4. “The children had no access to materials.” What? Seriously?

This reading was closely related to the McLaren reading, in that it discusses how different classes utilize different pedagogical approaches to educating members of different classes. The elite get the most effective education, which prepares them to one day rule the country, while at the opposite end of the spectrum, the working class students get prepared to take orders, and are effectively turned into drones, which is what a powerful upper class wants. Anyon enters the theory of a “hidden curriculum” into her discourse on educating the different classes. The “hidden curriculum” is the elevated differences in the way that students are being educated depending on their class status. This reading reflects, and projects the discourse of Johnson, who writes about power and privilege. The people in power, the white people, get the most privilege, white privilege. White privilege will bring you to a better school, and open up more opportunities for you as you build more cultural capital.