Comparison Of Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the United States? When I think about the United States, the one fundamental idea that jumps out at me is equality. Equality guarantees that everyone has the same chance at making the most of their lives and abilities, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, sex, economic standing, etc. We like to think that the nation we live in is doing a good job at ensuring and maintaining equality, but when we look at public schools across different communities, this is certainly not the case. As Jean Anyon says in “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,” schools are different in the way they teach their students and what they choose to teach them. By having gone to only middle-class public schools, I partly agree with Anyon’s findings; it is mostly about getting the right answer and following clearly stated directions. I say this because although the earlier stages of my schooling were entirely dedicated to getting the right answers and following laid out directions, the latter stages were different. Getting the right answer was still important, yes, but the wrong answer was valued if you could explain how it was reached. Also, directions became vague, which called for creativity. The early and late stages of schooling I underwent were very different from each other in terms of creativity and correctness in answers.

Taking into consideration Jean Anyon’s ideas of what a middle-class school is like, I would say that it matches with my experiences in elementary school up until the beginning of high school. My experience in high school, however, falls out of line with Anyon’s beliefs. It was much different than what Anyon says in her