Lauren Williams

English 1101x

Jan Rieman

Critical Inquiry

Jean Anyon discusses many topics and points in his essay, “Social Class and the Hidden

Curriculum”. Although this essay was based on research in the 70’s, the topics of social classes and the

quality of education one receives is still a very hot subject of conversation today. Does social class really

matter when it comes to the quality of education one receives? The answer is yes. Social class can have a

lot to do with an individual’s status in the world. Most of the time a person’s social class has everything

to do with the knowledge one obtains through their education and also affects the job they will receive

once they are out of school.

In today’s society your social class can determine many different things in your future. This is sad

because many people never reach another social class than their parents and are only offered the same

opportunities that their parents were offered. Most of the time, this is the case unless you have a one in a

million “Cinderella Story”. Jean Anyon talks on this in his essay. He also tells us about social class and

education. Many believe that these two are very related and rely on one another. The higher a parent’s

income the better quality of education their child receives. Anyon classifies the schools into groups

during his experiment: Working Class, Middle Class, Affluent Professional, and Elite Executive. The

Working Class school has a population of kids whose household income is around 12,000 dollars a year.

These children were taught in a manner that prepared them for jobs a lot similar to their parents. I do not

agree with this because it tells these children not to reach for their dreams and more than likely gives

them the mindset that they will never amount to anything more than their parents. The Middle Class

schools are a step up from the working class. Anyon tells us that he finds the middle class schools to have
a mixture of social classes within their student population. This type of school gives the children more

leeway to learn in ways that work best for them. Affluent Professional schools have students whose

parents are in the upper part of the middle class. This type of school teaches on a professional basis

leaving the students to pick a more professional occupation such as an interior designer or a doctor. Last

but definitely not least, we have the Executive Elite schools. These students are the children of many top

executives, doctors, corporate presidents, and so on. These parents shell out tons of money to help fund

these schools so that their children can have the best education possible. These students are often asked to

do school work that is above and beyond that of the work of a working class student. This leads to better

jobs and careers in the future and the same people who make the big money in America will most likely

pass their job onto someone of the same social class and sometimes even the same family.

In reality, this is just the way things are. It is not going to change overnight. Is it fair? In my

opinion, this is terribly wrong. Every child in America should be offered the same education and the same

career opportunities. It really should not be based on your social class and where you came from.

Hopefully in time we can find a solution so that every child can be equal, at least when it comes to

something as basic as education.