Kathy Fox, in her article “Using author studies in children’s literature to explore social justice issues” (2006), proclaims that “few would argue that today’s schools have been successful in closing the gaps between rich and poor” (p.251).
In Miles Myers’ book, Changing our minds: Negotiating English and literacy (1996), he cites Tyack (1974) who believes that the educational system of the post-Civil war era “helped create enormous social inequalities” (p. 69). The wealthy became educationally separated from the lower classes. The upper class had the resources to purchase textbooks and tutors. They also had opportunities to attend universities that charged tuition.
My questions are: How far have we come socially? Have we eliminated the sorting of social status and ethnicity in our educational system? My opinion is that we have not. The rich still separate themselves academically. They are able to send their children to private grammar and prep schools and to avoid the lower socio-economic class and the ethnic diversity of public schools, especially in urban areas. The upper class can also afford to send their children to the most expensive universities and colleges in the United States, for example, George Washington University or Kenyon College (http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/19/most-expensive-colleges-biz-cx_tvr_0119college.html). The higher tuition buys state-of-the-art facilities, but “there's no real evidence that students are learning more.” Then what is the motivation that parents have in sending their children to these more expensive colleges? Might it be to maintain the status quo and to perpetuate differences and inequalities?
On a personal note, I grew up in an upper-middle class family. It was always expected that I would attend college. Therefore, I was encouraged to sign up for the most challenging English classes in high school: Modern Poetry, Shakespeare, and Russian Dissident Literature. Conversely, those in vocational programs were pushed into English 1, which stressed mechanics over content, just as during what Myers terms the decoding period. I do not see that this has changed in the modern educational system.
The upper class, by separating themselves is missing out on the greatest education of all-diversity. As an educator it is part of my mission to try and close the social gap academically. My goal is to do this by working with the less privileged who struggle to read and write.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Response to Myers
7:48 AM — Kathleen Dunn
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I completely agree with you when you ask and answer: "How far have we come socially? Have we eliminated the sorting of social status and ethnicity in our educational system? My opinion is that we have not. The rich still separate themselves academically."
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading about the history of writing in the UK and it's got me thinking about the class system and education. The more affluent in society seem to get more out of formalised education than lower SES children. Right now in England there is much discussion of "fair" admissions policy to university - universities are striving to base admissions on merit and not on money, class, or status, but this in itself seems somewhat paradoxical. Surely the students who get the best grades and seem on paper to have most merit are those from schools who had most access to resources; those students who had the benefit of smaller class sizes and closer teacher attention; those who could afford to attend a variety of extra curricular activities; and most important to my mind at the moment, those who had access to technology and resources outside of school to supplement their learning.
You state: "As an educator it is part of my mission to try and close the social gap academically" - this is an admirable intention, and I'd like to think we're all trying to do the same thing, but does more need to be done on a policy and curricular level? This is a hard problem to solve. Very thought provoking.