Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Anyon and Gorski

First I really liked the Anyon article, I thought many of my own learning experiences were reflected in it. I thought the break down of schools and their teaching methods as they relate to capital was pretty interesting.  I don't know about you, but I hated when we did what I remember always calling "busy work." Work that required no thought whatsoever, reading and spitting out what the book said in ten year old lingo. Never thought it actually related to how I would grow up, what kinds of jobs my mind was prepared/programmed for.


"The first two schools I will call WorkJng-class Schools. Most of the parents have blue-collar lobs. Less than a third of the fathers are skilledwhile the majority are in unskilled or semiskilled jobs. During the period of the study [I978-1979) approximately 15 percent of the fathers were ;unemployed. The large majority 85 percent of the families are white.The following occupations are typical: platform, storeroom, and stock­ 'room workers; foundry-men, pipe welders, and boilermakers; semiskilled :unskilled assembly-line operatives; "

I just want to point out that Oliver and Shapiro would be very disappointed by this because in this neighborhood at least, their findings are completely contradicted. 85% of the schools surveyed in which the students are profiled by their schooling to have blue collar jobs, are white. These children follow the steps to a procedure, being given no choice and no creative stimulation whatsoever. I think Oliver and Shapiro are correct on many counts, but they choose to ignore circumstances such as these where there are white people that are cemented to the bottom as well. Most of the men are unskilled and those who are actually employed are factory workers making minimum wage if their lucky. This article also gives no further mention of race in regards to the rest of the schools.  I wonder if this is significant in some way? I really wish I had read this article when I was working on my comparison between the Met and Wheeler.  I think how the students interacted with their teachers, as well as the sort of work they were being asked to complete, would have been very telling.  


"One's occupation and income level contribute significantly to one's soclal class, but they do not define it. Rather, social class is a series of relationships A person's social class is defined here by the way that person' relates to the process in society by which goods, services, and culture are produced.'' 

I know the Bourdieu talks about capital, but I wonder what he would say about this? So social class is not all about occupation and income; its about the relationships formed.  This quote stood out to me because it contradicted the article a little bit in my mind, something about it stopped me as I was reading and has continued to bother me even afterwords.  I don't know about social class being related to how culture is produced, theres an argument to be made from the Gorksi article.  Anyon implies that culture is reproduced through class which it is, but Gorski tells us this is the myth of the culture of poverty and it does not exist.  I do have to agree with Gorski again in that it begins a lot of the time with education.  Education was my way out of my life in a lot of ways, it distracted me when i needed it to and sometimes not all, i was encouraged which made me want to be better than what I knew.  Can only imagine the other teachers who ride children off because they think the parents are too lazy and stupid to care about their children's futures. 

If anybody has not seen it I think the film Waiting for Superman would be a good thing to watch if you have a free moment.  It highlights a lot of issues in the school systems in the united states as well as the problem of the less than enigmatic teachers Anyon mentions in the working class schools. I think Anyon would have like this movie and have seen a lot of what he was talking about featured within this film.  Its on Netflix if anyones interested.  Or here it is for free http://vimeo.com/20095459 


"Michael W. Apple (19791, focusing on school knowledge, have argued that knowledge and skills leading to SOcial power and reward (e.g., medical, legal, manageri­ al) are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes, to whom a more "practical" curriculum is offered [e.g., manual skills, clerical knowledge].

This is a quote from Anyon, but it sounds like something Gorski would admire.  Gorski talks about children who may want to learn, but can never make anything from it, because of the circumstances for which they are brought up, as well as the obstacles that stand in their way.  Sort of like Tammy.  According to Gorski this is the "culture of poverty" many people have come to believe exists.  It is especially reflected in curriculum like Anyon implies, but it of course only exists with the minds of the privileged.  The ones who grew up not having to worry about safe living conditions or food, their fear has become making the teaching standards dummy friendly and by dummy they of course mean different.  

"Reluctant to engage from a lifetime of oppression." ~ Gorski 
I have to say if the system knocked me down my entire life I would have to say that I would be reluctant to trust anyone who put those systems in place and are too ignorant to care or even notice. 



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