Latiffany Shine Exploratory Essay Keaton-1102 March 13, 2013

Evident and profound themes that occur in an authors writing, tends to reflect their current environment and views shared among society. This notion pervades throughout the readings of My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT, Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work, In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, and On the Uses of a Liberal Education when all the authors focused on a particular environment ,and have coinciding ideas based upon their findings. In these articles, the authors have common theme about social economic classes and their influences on the education that is received which includes the teachers perception of the children and their teaching methods. In My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT, Stanley Kaplan, talks about providing an opportunity for students to receive an equal chance to attend renowned colleges without attending a private or prestige high school (Kaplan 266). Kaplan had an underlying tone revealing that children who do not come from a financially stable background receive insufficient education when compared to children who come from a fiscally sound family. This underlying tone corresponds to that of the Social class and the Hidden Curriculum. Jean Anyon Also speaks of social classes having an impact of the way children are exposed to education. Children who were from the working class were noted as being instructional education, and regurgitated the answers while following step by stop instructions; whereas the children from the executive elite social class relied heavily on decision making and critical thinking (Anyon 2,8). In On the Uses of a Liberal Education Earl Shorris seeks to find and help individuals in poverty stricken communities to allow them a chance to receive an adequate education and to allow them to better themselves. Shorris shows that members of society who have a lack of resources, receives an education that does not give them the tools to function in society nor allow them to become successful (Shorris 192). The notion that the lower class has a

Latiffany Shine Exploratory Essay Keaton-1102 March 13, 2013

disadvantage intertwines these articles. However, if this is a predominate theme throughout the articles and authors try to reflect society as a whole, then why is no one trying to fix the achievement gap? Do these authors assume that lower social classes comes with a preconceived stigma, and is not worthy of equal education? In these articles, the authors clearly states the problem we have with education, however, they do not offer a solution to these problems. This lack information, and the hole the author is leaving; allows for the question of: Is there a way to fix the educational system to allow for genuine equal education? This question becomes more evident as time goes on, and authors continuously state the same information without a solution or suggestion to correspond with it. Not only are the authors noting the difference in the education correlating to social class, they are also revealing the differences in teaching styles. There is already a preconceived notion that when teachers either love their job, or are receiving a high compensation package for their work, they are more likely to perform at a higher level. In My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT, Kaplan states that if a student was to go to a prestigious school, they learn valuable information and goes on to a prestigious University. He also notes if you go to a public school, you are more likely to either receive free easy As, or you are left questioning information. Some schools handed out As like party favors, while other were as stingy with As as Scrooge on Christmas Eve. And an A from a private school in New York might carry a different weight from an A from a Topeka public school. (Kaplan 2). This entails that students who went to a public school, will either attend a decent college or none at all. Kaplan expresses to his audience that teachers are not making their students think critically. The reason he thinks highly of the SATs is because this test asks the question why. One cannot simply pull the answer from the reading, they must examine the question. Social class and the Hidden Curriculum is an

Latiffany Shine Exploratory Essay Keaton-1102 March 13, 2013

excellent example of this theme, Anyon focuses on the teaching method of each teacher pertaining to social class. Teachers in the executive elites environment encourages critical thinking and understanding why they got their answer rather than how. They equip their students with the tools to become successful in the future like their parents. Upon comparing the social classes, the teachers in the working class, made students take notes and regurgitate the answers. The teachers were against group discussions for they feared that inappropriate questions would be brought up by the students. The teachers seemed to cripple the minds of the children and focused on supplying them with the ability to complete tasks like their parents in the workforce. On the Uses of a Liberal Education, the author expresses that teachers tend to give up on children who come from improvised areas. Towards the beginning of the article, Shorris tried to estimate how many children would return after the first assignment. Its the prejudgment like this, hinders a teachers ability to fully invest in their students and to engage them into the learning aspect of education. For the actions of the article, the reader is left to ponder the roles in education. Is it the teachers responsibility to ensure that the student passes the course? This question correlates to the article In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, Professor X knows that one of his students is struggling, yet he willing lets her fail the assignment (X 3).Recently I gave a student a failing grade on her research paper.From the beginning of our association vis-vis the research paper, I knew there would be trouble with Ms. L. (X 1). In society, we perceive teachers as being the ones who guides us and helps us to become successful in the future. If this is the perception we have of teacher, then are they not living up to our expectations? If authors write about what they see and what society sees, then why are we not trying to change the educational system? Kaplan, Anyon, Professor X, and Shorris all have expressed

Latiffany Shine Exploratory Essay Keaton-1102 March 13, 2013

their concerns about the crucial difference between social classes and how children of lower classes are not given the same opportunities as children in higher social classes. From these articles that supply adequate information from their observations one is left to question whether we want to fix the educational achievement gap. Does society find the need to always oppress a certain class to ensure the stability of class structure? Society believes that there should always be a lower class that has the undesirable jobs, but is it right to pre-determine those individuals that have these jobs? Reevaluating

Latiffany Shine Exploratory Essay Keaton-1102 March 13, 2013

Work Cited Anyon, Jean. "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work." Journal of Education 1st ser. 162 (1980): n. pag 1-11. Print. Kaplan, Stanley. My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT.Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience., 2006. 265-272. Print Professor, X. In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic. New York: Viking, 2011. Print. Shorris, Earl. "Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience." On the Uses of a Liberal Education: II. As a Weapon in the Hands of the Poor (2006): 188-99. Print.