J. Crew Ad With Boy Painting Toenails Pink Stirs Up Transgender Debate - ABC News

J. Crew Ad With Boy Painting Toenails Pink Stirs Up Transgender Debate - ABC News

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

“Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.”                         By: Ruby Lazo 

by Jean Anyon

1. “Simple punctuation is all they’ll ever use”

An observer at the “working class” school quoted a teacher saying this. How are students supposed to succeed when their teachers don’t believe in them enough to teach them anything beyond “simple punctuation”?

2. “”Shut up, “Shut your mouth,” “Open your books,” “Throw your gum away – if you want to rot your teeth, do it on your own time.””

These were disciplinary examples noted by observers in the “working class” schools. As future educators were supposed to create a safe learning environment for students, by respecting and empowering them, not by belittling them. Statements like these turn once determined, talented students into discouraged, broken young adults. 

3. “These children’s opinions are important – it’s important that they learn to reason things through”

This is a quote from one of the teachers from the “executive elite school”. It is great that a teacher validates his or her students, but why are these students’ opinions valued while others continue to be disregarded?                        

While reading this article it became very apparent just how easy it would be for a student who isn’t getting an “executive elite” education to just fall through the cracks. Students in the “working class” schools were continuously deprived of important opportunities while students in the “executive elite” schools were given invaluable tools and skills for their futures. What was most disheartening was the self-realization that the students in the “working class” schools were being set up for failure while the students in the “executive elite” schools were being set up to be future executive officers and politicians.

Why is it that we believe that every child has the potential to be successful, yet our education system continuously denies certain students their right to an equal education? Is there anything being done to change this?

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

“Teaching Boys and Girls Separately.”
By Elizabeth Weil            By: Ruby Lazo               

1. “Researchers found girls’ drawings typically depict still life’s of people, pets or flowers, using 10 or more crayons, favoring warm colors like red, green, beige and brown; boys, on the other hand, draw action, using  6 or fewer colors, mostly cool hues like gray, blue, silver and black.”

I think we should begin analyzing research more in depth. This quote is trying to prove that there are fundamental academic differences between boy and girls. However, I feel that a lot of this research directly connects with our society and how we hold different expectations for girls and boys, and through those expectations we nurture them differently. While we give girls pink note books and crayons we give boys blue, red and black cars and action figures. Although there might be a direct biological difference between learning styles I believe that a lot of it has been influenced by us.   

2. “What kind of message does it give when you tell a group of kids that boys and girls need to be separated because they don’t even see or hear alike?"

I especially liked this quote. Separating children based upon a 50 year old study that states adult men and women see and hear different is completely shameful. Why would we want to separate children because of their seemingly insignificant differences?

3. “There are just too many exceptions to the rule”.

I very much agree with this quote. Gender is much more complicated than we make it out to be. Not everyone is going to neatly fit into a boy or girl category and a lot of us definitely do not fit neatly into our gender roles (masculine or feminine). There are many kids that fall somewhere between the socially constructed boxes that are biological sex, gender identity and gender expression. So what will then happen to those kids?

While reading this article, I found myself offended by some of the things that were said and written. For example: how the students were depicted in Michelle Gay’s fourth grade classroom during a “tide science experiment”. We live in a society where we should just stop separating each other by our differences; biological or not. We should be able learn how to interact and accept others differences weather they are spiritual, cultural or biological. One of the most powerful things about learning is to be able to see and learn things through multiple perspectives.