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Social Structures in Middle-Class Schools


            In Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work, Jean Anyon discusses the differences in the school curriculum of fifth graders between working-class, middle-class, affluent professional, and executive elite schools. There are vast differences between each of the same subjects studied within each school, the schoolwork, and the relationships between the teachers and the students. Anyon's hidden curriculum is that students are being taught the skills and levels of education needed to accomplish the same types of jobs that their parents do and remain on those same social class levels. The working-class schools had parents in little skilled jobs, therefore students were taught a simple curriculum. The students were taught to follow directions and work through steps to get their work completed. Teachers did their jobs by handing out dittos of the assignments and controlling the classroom. Anyon explains that as the teacher gave lessons, s/he did not make an effort to make sure that the students understood completely what they were learning and at times would answer the question without asking the students. Teachers seldom explained the importance of the work the students were assigned to complete. Work was graded based upon whether the student followed the correct procedure. Whether the student had the correct answer did not affect one's grade. In math, the students learned two-digit division. In language arts, students learned the "mechanics of punctuation" (178). In social studies, the students learned about the history of the United States. In the event that a student needed to use the restroom s/he would need to sign out and receive a hall pass. The parents in these schools held jobs such as sales clerks, factory workers, and gas station attendants. These are jobs that require a simple education where one basically follows procedures to get the job done and requires a supervisor to control them and tell them exactly what needs to be completed.


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