Education and Class

Education professor Jane Van Galen, co-author of Late to Class: Social Class and Schooling in the New Economy, brings the timely and under-discussed issue of education and class to the blogosphere in her blog Education and Class.

Van Galen brings not only an academic background and passion for the issue, but also a willingness to share personal stories to illustrate points. One post discusses the issue of how middle- and working–class parents view educational change:

I think of my own parents who, from the moment of my birth, had aspirations that I would be "better" than them. I think of how they knew, at some level, that I was headed for situations in which being tough and tenacious would serve me infinitely better than would coming to understand myself as a gently unfolding flower.

She pivots from this story to implore educators to better understand working-class parents and how their views on child-rearing are influenced by institutions such as schools.

Comments

[Vicky]

I come from working class family and they believed that education was very important. They also believed that one is responsible for their actions, their word, to their church, and most of all their family. So if you say you will do something you will do it, no matter what, or how long it takes.

My daughter, Has been diagnosed with an illness that causes her to be late to class many times, her grades are good A's and B's, but she can't pass a class due to the school's absent policy. We figured by going to the school's Academic Support Services with her doctor's note explaining her difficulty with sleeping and getting up due to chronic pain, as well as the school's lack responsibility and acknowledgment on their part for not being able to supplying her with a private room which allowed students to steal her medicine and cause her additional anxiety and grief. So at present she is not attending school and has a fairly bad grade point average not because she is not intelligent, but because due to illness, she is unable to get to class on time.

[James E. Mac Shane]

If the educational goal in America is the natural intellectual development of children's natural potential the undemocratic American conceptions of social class are not acceptable. Democratically the terms of upper, middle, lower and poor income definitions are more appropriate. The latter are an economic reality and not a judgmental projection. From this perspective the concept of working class is another delusional description that is inappropriate.

Historically and educationally it refers to the distinction between physical and manual labor or intellectual labor. This is human power language that educators need to more accurately use for democratic understanding of and for our students.

[Carolyn]

Dear Vicki,
As a former high school guidance counselor and current education consultant, I am shocked by the response from your daughter's school. If your daughter has a medical reason for absences or for being late, the school needs to meet with you and your daughter to design a program to accomodate her needs. If they do not, they are placing your daughter's education and themselves in jeapardy. If the Director of Academic Support Services has no answer for you, then the Director of Pupil Personnel Services should. If there is no satisfaction there, call the Superintendent of Schools. Your daughter's needs must be met. They have no choice. It's the law.

[Margo/Mom]

Carolyn, I wholeheartedly agree with you, and Vicky I offer sympathies. But as the parent of a child with learning/emotional disabilities, I am not at all surprised. There are many in the field of education who believe that students who receive accommodations under the law are merely manipulating the system and their parents are either in denial or want dump their problems on the school.

But, I am moved by Van Galen's word about the things that her parents were able to intuit about what would best prepare her for the world. I have frequently seen the interaction of the "gently opening flower" folks with the "toughen 'em up for the world" folks. At worst are two sets of people who each think the other is misguided and ignorant. I think of the student's first encounter with a teacher who gently suggests, "is it time to clean up now?" to a child who has always previously received the clear direction, "pick up your toys." The child may take the question at face value and respond (depending on their preference), "no it is not time to clean up." The child may wonder about this curious adult who doesn't seem to know what to do and go on about their play. If they have grown tired of play and are eager for the next activity they may engage in "testing" activities to see what it will take to get the adult on the right track (moving on to whatever is supposed to come next without clean up, engaging in other activities that usually bring about the end of play-time (going out of bounds, fighting, standing on furniture, etc).

If the adult sees any cultural clash at all, it is likely to be on the side of "these children have never been taught to clean up," or "these children have no respect for adults," or something similar. To be fair, the parent, who has spent a number of years issuing clearly stated expectations (like "pick up your toys") may see an adult who is afraid of children, or who is ignorant of how to talk to children, or who cares little about teaching children.

In the absence of some respectful dialogue between the adults that helps to identify common desires and explore their different beliefs about how to get there, you end up with situations like those that Vicky describes.