Why Do Middle Class Schools Foster Their Attitudes Toward Knowledge?

In “Liberal arts and the bottom line,” Lane Wallace addresses what she feels are issues associated with the late Milton Friedman’s economic philosophy. She brings up a new approach that colleges are experimenting with which is a liberal arts MBA. Some major colleges want to try an approach that ensures business men and women are well rounded in more areas than just business and Wallace favors this idea. Although she favors the idea, she gives an example of what could be considered poor results. While Wallace’s work was easy to read and very informative, she fails to give enough supporting evidence that would persuade her readers to agree with her viewpoint.

Jean Anyon in her article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” argues that students receive a different education based on their community and the setting in which that community is located. Jean Anyon’s article was published in the Journal of Education, Volume 162, no. 1, in Fall 1980. Between September, 1978 and June 1979, Jean studied fifth grade classrooms in five various elementary schools. During these months, she collected substantial information from examining each classroom, discussing with teachers, students and administrators, and evaluating course materials. Anyon divided the five schools into four categories: the executive elite schools, affluent professional schools, middle-class schools, and the working class schools.

For instance, when it comes to mathematics, teachers prefer to teach students the steps to a problem rather than to find the theory behind it- explaining why a specific formula may be used. Teachers are negligent and decide to take the “easy way out” and instruct students to use a method and solve it with the given steps. Similarly, English classes are taught in the same manner as Mathematics. Typically, students are enforced to read and learn how to use proper grammar- identifying where to insert commas, quotations, capitalizations, etc. With the education students receive in this school students, they will not have the sufficient knowledge to obtain a desirable job in the future. The students from the working-class will only have the capacity to achieve blue-collar employment because they were trained like robots to become an employee rather than become somebody’s head employer.

Ever wonder what kind of education we obtained or what kind of education children are receiving? According to Jean Anyon, “...the ‘hidden curriculum’ of schoolwork is tacit preparation for relating to the process of production in a particular way. Differing curricular, pedagogical, and pupil evaluation practices emphasize different cognitive and behavioral skill in each social setting and thus contribute to the development in the children of certain potential relationships to physical and symbolic capital, to authority, and to the process of work” (151). Therefore, Anyon believes that schools are not focusing on giving children the proper education and instead they provide the education based on the community’s social-class. Based on “‘I Just Wanna Be Average’” by Mike Rose and my academic experience both stories give interesting points of views regarding the type of education that was given. In Rose’s story, Rose is a young man who lived in a working class community but attended a middle class high school. Rose received a working class education but soon a new teacher arrived and changed his academic experience. In my personal experience, I grew up in a middle class neighborhood and received a middle class and a few affluent professional schooling, but moved to a working class community and started to receive a working class education. Anyon’s claim would complicate based on Rose’s story and on the education I have received based on the areas where I have lived. Every

In "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work," Jean Anyon researched an array of schools and discovered an esoteric curriculum present in the schools that implicitly predefines future socioeconomic competence. There are four distinct classifications of schools that were evaluated by Anyon. The working class designation is chiefly comprised of blue collar parents that were described as unskilled or semiskilled laborers. In this specific school setting the children’s work is fixed, repetitive, and requires minimal personal thought. The educators were generally condescending to the students and self-absorbed.

Individuals with exceptional talent, exceptional motivation, or an exceptional bloodline, are commonly dubbed as the “elite”. These “elite” students often seek prestigious educational institutions to expand their opportunities to a new level. Preparatory schools like Hotchkiss and Saint Paul’s School fit the definition of prestigious institutions. The lessons these schools provide are very valuable to alumni, propelling them to a greater level of educational enlightenment, and preparing them for college and beyond. However, the leg-up these schools grant extend only to those enrolled, and may even detract from the education of the “masses”, or society as a whole. Hotchkiss and Saint Paul’s have a combined endowment of over one billion dollars, money that could be used to greatly improve some of the most impoverished school districts across the United States. Money is not the only resource taken up by these schools. Additional elements drained from public schools include dedicated faculty, a level playing field, and even the bright students themselves, as schools now lack certain role models to demonstrate motivation and success on multiple stages.

Hours upon end are spent, face buried in a laptop or newspaper, analyzing stock dividends and bonds yields. Warren Buffett books and Wall Street Journal editions - a glimpse of the night stand that has well deservedly earned me the label “business nerd” by family and friends. I have, if not an obsession, a passion for studying finance. Aspiring to work in Investment Banking, I applied to Ross as it provides excellent exposure to the world of finance through premiere recruiting opportunities and a well-constructed business curriculum that merges the science of economics with the cultivation of leadership. At Michigan, freshman students are subject to a liberal arts curriculum, which I believe can benefit me in becoming a well-rounded student. Although I have a passion for finance, I cannot imagine isolating my studies to one subject for four years of school. In my Sophomore year, I would dive into financial studies such as accounting and business strategy; but Ross also emphasizes the ‘positive decisions’ course, which interests me because it acknowledges the impact that economic decisions have on society. Coming from a middle class background, I find it important to acknowledge the effect that the cost of living or price of gas have on family finances. Ross’s Junior and Senior curriculums step past the theoretical studies of economics and into the real world application of business skills, such as ‘communication strategy’ and ‘corporate strategy.’ I believe exposure to a collaborative environment in these years can assist me in cultivating a team

Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories: The Raven, Annabel Lee, and The fall of the house of the Usher, are just some of the thrilling tales that have left the reader feeling pure disturbia and macabre. However, the most ghostly mystery is the death of this profound poet. Therefore, Poe is my favorite author because of his tragic early life, his unusually marriage, and his mysterious death.

Jean Anyon (1980), who is a professor of educational policy has written an influential article regarding the social class structure of education. Anyon’s article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” is aimed at professional educators and written to raise awareness about the massive disparity in educational environments between wealthy and poor communities. Most importantly, Anyon addresses the distinct methods and philosophies of education through thorough observations of five elementary schools conducted over a full school year. In fact, Anyon discovered that fifth-grade students of various financial backgrounds are being prepared to indulge in professions determined by their positions on the socio-economic ladder. Anyon’s comprehensive

With the “authority principle” taken away, students were on equal terms with the professors and everyone was learning together (Davidson 52). Credentials had no place in the school and although not expected, it ended up benefiting all those involved in the experiment. In Karen Ho’s “Biography of Hegemony”, the situation was the exact opposite as the students were continuously under the authority of Wall Street and their University. “This early and intense branding of Wall Street careers as the symbol of arrival, the equating of investment banking with “career” in general serves to narrow students’ notions of success and gives the impression that for graduates, there's nothing else out there besides investment banking and consulting” (Ho, 171). The students of Harvard, Yale and Princeton were basically forced into a one way tunnel with no other easy opportunities being presented to them and had individuals that were working in the interests of Wall Street, continually looming over them.

I taught a group of students at various grade levels to prepare them for their secondary-level standardized tests. The particularly

There are schools all around the world that abide by certain curriculums and guidelines due to their location or their students. In her article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,” Anyon focuses on four distinct school systems, which include working class schools, middle-class schools, affluent professional schools, and executive elite schools. The working class school system is designed to teach students to follow the steps of a procedure with very little decision making. The middle-class school system accentuates doing your work and getting the correct answer; information is also introduced through the textbooks. The affluent professional school emphasizes the use of creativity in school work, and students are also asked to

Mantsios’ article explores the idea that there is a hidden curriculum in lower class schools that causes the working class to remain in the working class due to their education. He provides a great statistical chart that shows students who were from wealthier families scored significantly higher than students who were from lower class families. Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” directly relates to this. Anyon’s goal was to discover that hidden curriculum that Mantsios talks about. Anyon studied schools and found that the working class schools focused on explanations as

The decision for the United States to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been debated since the days they were dropped, just as it was debated in the days leading up to the drop. It is a debate that people will likely always disagree on, considering it is such a high controversial topic. The United States had been fighting the Japanese Empire for years, and had not made any significant strides that indicated a success any time soon. Due to this seemingly never ending struggle, the United States made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs were more deadly and destructive than any weapons had ever been before and caused the suffering and death of thousands of innocent civilians.

Immigrants have been migrating to the Unites States for years. Many people in the United States have different opinions on immigrants: some are negative and some are positive. Some Americans assume that immigrants are here to destroy the United States, but immigrants are here for many purposes: to support their families, succeed in their future, or to escape violence occurring in their home countries. Many Americans think that once an immigrant has settled in the United States that he or she will right away get a job or quickly learn English. Imagine moving to a new school not knowing a single person. You will feel anxious or even discouraged. Now just imagine arriving in a new country and not knowing anyone and you can’t speak English. Well, that is how millions of young and adult undocumented immigrants feel every day when trying to fit into the American culture. Life is hard for an undocumented immigrant. Immigrants in the United States face many challenges when trying to adapt or assimilate into the American culture. But my question is, what kind of mental health issues or other psychological problems do immigrants face when they are trying to adjust to the American culture, and how can our society alleviate some of that anxiety?