Discussion Response 14

Social Class and School Knowledge

I believe that the hidden curriculum Anyon was talking about lies in the type of school work the
children were doing. Each group of children received an entirely different kind of education.
Those in the working class school were being prepared for their future life as a working class
member of society, instead of working towards having a range of professional skills developed
that would grant them the opportunity to change social classes. The class that their family
belongs in determined which school they could afford to go to which in turn seems like is
determining their fate. In America, it is likely that one will end up in the same class as their
parents, and one's parental income is usually indicative of their future income. I wonder if that is
because their schooling is geared towards keeping them in the same social class?
It is almost as if society doesn't want them to succeed or move up in the social ladder. America
also has one of the lowest rates of social mobility. It is extremely unlikely that one who was born
poor will ever make it to the upper middle class. The rich 1% of Americans want to stay the 1%
so they use their monetary affluence to buy into schools that are going to almost guarantee their
child's success. Those in lower classes do not have this luxury, so they are forced to put their
children in schools that barely meet accreditation and barely develop their children's analytical
minds. Our school system is setup to be mostly funded by taxes in the community the school is
in. It is no wonder that poorer communities get stuck with schools that barely even have enough
supplies for their students. The whole system looks like it is meant to keep people in their place.
It is a vicious cycle. The poor stay poor due to lack of a quality educational opportunities and
because their schools are only teaching them how to be docile workers who can't think for
themselves. The rich use their money to buy acceptance into good schools that prepare students
to be highly analytical and successful businessmen and women.
This reading raised no questions, but it affirmed my belief that the way our school system is set
up now is horrible. No one is receiving the same quality of education. Public education was
meant to give everyone the same good education that would give them a solid foundation of
knowledge so that one could decide what they wanted to do with their life. Nowadays it is clear
that we teach kids only enough for them to stay within their social class. I wonder if it is because
our government, the group in charge of how school works, is full of wealthy 1 percent-ers who
want to stay rich and exploit the poor across the globe?

Discussion Response 13
The Daily Grind
Douglass and Jackson both argue that learning is best done when one has the intrinsic motivation
to do so. Frederick Douglass was taught the basics on how to read but continued his efforts on
his own after his master forbade his education. He understood the importance of reading in his

life and sought to master it. Jackson discusses the faults with our school system that leads to
frustrated, restless students. Our current school system causes major internal problems in
students that can discourage students from enjoying what they are learning. These stem from the
issues of delay, conforming to dual demands, the imbalance of power, and the overall forced
nature of schools. Kids have to learn to adapt and grow the skills necessary to work the system.
All of these issues stunt the growth of ones love of learning and in turn, creates students who
hate school or who try to do the bare minimum to just get by and make school as painless as
possible.
I hate school. In high school, I really gave up on the system. I stopped going to school regularly.
I hated being forced into classes I had no interest in learning about with people I had no interest
in talking to stuck doing busy work that I know had no purpose other than to kill time. However,
I actually love learning, and I kept my grades up because I loved the topics and actually wanted
to do the work. But the way that school is set up never appealed to me and I never wanted to sit
there all day. Being bored in classrooms stifled my desire to dive into the curriculum. Being
stuck going through the superficial hoops of the educational system left me restless. Being taught
towards the standardized tests that affected ours school ranking, budget etc. left me completely
frustrated. Teachers who were tired of the system let it affect their classroom environments.
How do teachers who fed up with their jobs except students to be excited and ready to do theirs?
For most students, this system doesnt work. It is truly a sign of mental health to be mindful and
upset at the quality and style of their education. No one wants to be stuck in the grey,
monotonous duties of daily life, or of the daily grind. School seems to be mostly all of this
grey, boring acts of waiting and just doing something because you have to. There is no joy in
school anymore, and it is affecting everyone. School days seem tedious and trivial. Students
dont see the point in what they are learning or the real reason why learning in general is
important. Even at the college level, there are issues.