The Role of Social Class And Social Status In Teaching And Learning

The Many Sides of Education

Role of Social Class and Status in Teaching and Learning

The Many Sides of Education

Role of Social Class Status in Teaching Learning

The right to learn is a basic entitlement which is accepted by everyone as being equal . A closer look at the contemporary academic institutions and the personal experience of students and teachers will reveal that education is perceived differently by people belonging to different social classes . This is not to say that all people of a certain class think or feel alike . It

is a generalized scrutiny of the function of social class and status in the area of education

Most people , especially sociologist , may not agree with the view that belonging to a certain class has any impact on the life of the child outside his own home and particularly in his school . This is further fuelled by the ideology of classlessness in American society , the reluctance of Americans to define themselves as working class or upper class and the lack of dramatic class divisions in political debates (Lareau 1 . Still , it is absolutely necessary to face the nuances of the problem in to arrive at a solution that will guarantee better learning conditions for the generations to come

Social status becomes important when we consider the fact that teaching is not a one-way process . The role of parents in the learning program cannot be overstated . It has been noted that some children come to school on time , are punctual with their home work , eat their breakfast at home , always dress neatly and are well mannered . But other children lag behind on all these issues and sometimes even forget to bring their lunch money . This is due to dissimilarity in parenting as well as class differences . The process of schooling and the role of parenting are interlinked . Most of the upper class parents take an active part in their children 's education . They monitor their child 's daily work participate in school activities and arbitrate when there is the possibility that the child is not getting enough attention from the teacher . This is where upper class parents differ from their middle class counterparts . Middle class parents will use all their skill to make sure that the child reaches his potential . They will do everything possible to make their child learn but they will not try to influence the system because they firmly believe that the teacher knows what is best . While the upper class parent has reservations about the abilities of the teacher , the working class parent expect the teacher to be all-powerful

The minute , they hand over the responsibility of education , working class parents expect the teacher to use her professional expertise to bring out the best in their child . Unlike upper class parents , working class parents view the teacher from a completely different angle . They presume that teachers have undergone 'specialized training , having a `backstage ' of specialized information and knowledge , having a monopoly on the area of expertise...