Abstract

It’s no surprise that schools in wealthy communities are better than those in poor communities, or that they better prepare their students for desirable jobs. It may be shocking, however, to learn how vast the differences in schools are – not so much in resources as in teaching methods and philosophies of education. Jean Anyon observed five elementary schools over the course of a full school year and concluded that fifth-graders of different economic backgrounds are already being prepared to occupy particular rungs on the social ladder. In a sense, some whole schools are on the vocational education track, while others are geared to produce future doctors, lawyers, and business leaders. Anyon’s main audience is professional educators, so you may find her style and vocabulary challenging, but, once you’ve read her descriptions of specific classroom activities, the more analytic parts of the essay should prove easier to understand. Anyon is chairperson of the Department of Education at Rutgers University, Newark.

Please read “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,” Jean Anyon*:

In the two working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure….

In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer….

In the affluent professional school, work is creative activity carried out independently.

Consider also how things have changed little:

Studies Suggest Economic Inequity Is Built Into, and Worsened by, School Systems

Education Reform in the New Jim Crow Era

*(This essay first appeared in Journal of Education, Vol. 162, no. 1, Fall 1980.) “Thank you” to Adam Golub (@adamgolub) for posting this on Twitter.