Blog Response to Jean Anyon

Claudia Mendoza
English 1100_3J
Prof. Young
24 September 2015

Do you agree that Social Class is related to Education?

     Jean Anyon decided to conduct a research on Education according to Social Classes. In her research she includes Behavior in a classroom, attitude towards learning grammar, and attitude towards science. According to Anyon, the education of the schools students attend to differ based on Social Class. She separates Social Classes and Schools by four categories. These four categories being: Working Class, Middle Class, Affluent Profession School, and Executive Elite Schools. These categories go from the "poor" to the "rich", and based on how these social classes can influence the type of schools your child attends. Having reviewed "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" by Jean Anyon, I disagree with her claims that teachers provide different instruction. 

     She doesn't have all the data in her research wrong, but one weak spot for this research would be the time. This was release on 1980 and we are now in 2015. When I attended elementary school, middle school, along with high school it was from 2002 to 2015. It is about 20 years apart from the research to when I started attending school, you may say it's not much but the difference may be vast because of the advancements of society. 

     I attended elementary school, School #18 in Paterson, NJ. It was a Working Class School. It may have been similar to how Anyon described but it was also different in a way that would contradict her general outlook on a Working Class school. Some rules that apply in working class schools are "no talking back", and "follow rules". These aren't different than my school, or any schools I attended. School #18 may not have been the best school in Paterson at all, but you learn a lot of things from there. There were a lot of issues with behavior in my school but we had all we needed. We had Texas Instrument calcuators, and we were one of the schools that first had a Smart Board. I don't know how schools ran back in 1980 but now the government is very involved in education and gives "poor" schools a big budget.
     As far as teaching skills, I'd say my teachers were pretty good. They taught well, taught us to use our creativity in our writing and even math! They taught ways to remember the multiplication table easier, and made us write journals to enforce creative writing. They asked a lot of questions, which at that time was annoying because, I couldn't exactly explained how I solved a problem, I just did it. They made us work independent as well in "centers" which are groups. School #18 was a good school as far as I'm concerned. They teach differently than what Anyon would describe the education in a working class school.
     She mentions that teachers focus more on students' behavior when they're from working class, and I'm going to be honest, that may be correct. That's why they bring in teachers that are more tougher to working class schools. My school had teachers that would legit throw a book on the floor if we didn't listen. As far as talking back, the teachers at School #18 would call someone to take the student to the office. If it's a bad case, they would suspend a student. The teacher's though, wouldn't focus vastly on our behavior, they would focus on our improvement. It would be unfair if they only focus on behavior. Moving on to a middle class school in 8th grade,  was very different. It wasn't crappy looking like school #18, it was big, and it had lockers. They taught well, but I realized sometimes School #18 made it easier by teaching us tricks to remember stuff.
    I believe all students should have the same type of education though. I don't see why they can't teach us the same stuff if at the end education will get everyone far. It just depends on the students' potential and their effort. If they want to really go ahead and become someone big in life they could. Just as how a kid can go from the ghetto to wearing Audemars Piguet; a rich kid can go from wearing Louis Vuitton since birth to wearing a construction uniform.


   
 

School #18 Auditorium 


   

Quotes from Social Class and Education

     3 Quotes from Social Class and Education

     "In one of the working-class schools, the class had a science period several times a week. On the three occasions observed, the children were not called upon to set up experiments or to give explanations for facts or concepts. Rather, on each occasion the teacher told them in his own words what the book said. The children copied the teacher's sentences from the board."

     "Work tasks do not usually request creativity. Serious attention is rarely given in school work on how the children develop or express their own feelings and ideas, either linguistically or in graphic form."
 
     "Their criteria were: whether the student spoke clearly, whether the lesson was interesting, whether the student made any mistakes, and whether he or she kept control of the class. On an occasion when a child did not maintain control, the teacher said, 'When you're up there, you have authority and you have to use it. I'll back you up.'"

My opinion on Students' Rights To their Own Language

Claudia Mendoza

English 1100_3J

September 11, 2015 

Opinion: Students' Rights To their Own Language 

     "We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect, diversity, and uphold the right of students to their own language." This was the decision made in the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication in 1972. Should college students use diversity in their writing? Yes, they should. Believe it or not when students use nonstandard English or a different language, they sound like themselves, and not a robot. Their soul resonance sounds throughout the sentence. It sounds as if they put their identity into their writing. 

     In America, we have FREEDOM OF SPEECH, or so they tell us we do. In movies, actors say "Fuck you motherfucker, this is bullshit", "Yo momma...", , and Sofia Vergara says, "AY DIOS MIO" in her Columbian accent. The writer is the one who wrote it though, movies ain't free, and it takes a lot of people to make a movie. So why can a film writer express himself/ herself through a script and we(college students) can't? Bullshit. A film writer's vision is their movie. Why can't I make my movie with a BIC Atlantis, and FIVE STAR paper? 

     Diversity teaches us facts about different situations and an outlook of everything a student has experienced. If a student wants and needs to explain a situation in their own way, they should have the right to. You can't force them to sound monotone. Where would the fun be from writing or reading? If I was doing a paper that I enjoyed I would like to write freely on my emotions and past. I wouldn't like to sound like Siri only stating facts based on statistics, or not sounding like myself and sounding monotone. Words are used for emphasis and to express emotion on the content. 

    Like I mentioned previously, words have the power to express emotion on the content (prompt). "Wouldn't you know

We been hurt, been down before
Nigga, when our pride was low
Lookin' at the world like, "Where do we go?"

Would you rather have Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' lyric's rage as: Didn't you know? We've been hurt and down. When our pride was hurt we were wondering, 'where do we belong in this world?'", it doesn't sound bad but his emotions of rage and desperation to get his point across isn't there. What the people felt when their pride was low can't be comprehended with Standard English.

"What's the price for a black man life?

I check the toe tag, not one zero in sight
I turn the TV on, not one hero in sight
Unless he dribble or he fiddle with mics"

January 28th by J. Cole, real words, but if you were to put this in Standard English, it'd be sounding like a plain and boring debate on why during the Ferguson incident, there was no black heroes (like the president), but only basketball players, and rappers that spoke out about it on TV. You wouldn't feel the disappointing and aggressive sound of Jermaine's lyrics. That's why we have music in the world, and if they have a positive message in the song people tend to listen and hear with their hearts more. So why can't OUR writing be the same? What if there's a writing prodigy to be discovered throughout college?, but couldn't be discovered because teachers would have us write in Standard English.

     Now I ain't got no gavel, but I believe that the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication did the right thing in 1972. They were specific on how teachers should respect and allow students to express themselves using diversity with Foreign language and non-standard English in their writing. If we didn't have this solution, there'd probably be a less number of interesting books in the world to read today. 

   

My identity

Claudia Mendoza

English 1100 3J

Prof. Young

Identity Essay

            Identity makes you, it’s your characteristics, your uniqueness, the perception from others, and it’s WHO YOU ARE. Parts of your identity are elements that you were born with and taught. It is your religion, your age, your social class, your job, your gender, your origin, your race, and your culture. It is what others see once they see you for the first time. Identity IS the distinct characteristics that define you as a unique individual as well as from the perception of others. Gloria Anzaldua, a Chicana lesbian feminist, wrote an article called “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. It’s an article about her language, which people seem to clean out, but to Anzaldua her language is her identity. To me, my gender is my identity.

            “I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. I will have my voice: Indian, Spanish, white. I will have my serpent’s tongue – my woman’s voice, my sexual voice, my poet’s voice. I will overcome the tradition of silence” (Gloria Anzaldua, How to Tame a Wild Tongue, page 261). Women shouldn’t feel the need to be silent when not spoken to or when trying to express a thought. The quote above is a perfect example of how women shouldn’t be scared to hide their voice, thoughts, and actions. There’s supposed to be equality in the world. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t believe I’m going to aspire to how others think women should be or act. My voice is MY voice and I shall use it how I want to, even if it’s something you won’t like to hear, or things “ladies shouldn’t say”. There are traditions that have an absurd rule that men are the head of the household and whatever they say should be followed. For that reason, men are “supposed” to be head of household and the only ones who work, the only ones who are superior to everyone in the household. Times have changed, but there are some households still following this misogynistic tradition. I’d say things have changed due to how many single mothers there are out in the world working for their family, alone, with no one’s help and still manage to raise their kids right. Women can work too, and they can also be head of household, they’re not weak and they can still manage to take care of the house and raise their kids’ right.

            The thing I hate the most is when people try to make women feel inferior. For me, it’s very riveting when men underestimate women, most of the time they’re proven wrong or if not they at least realize the drive and determination women have. “I just love bossy women, I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody’s passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn’t mind leading” (Amy Poehler). I’m proud to be a woman, I take pride in what I am. I am proud that I can create life inside of me, that my body is durable to allow up to 57 del (unit) of pain. I am proud to have a broad mind that allows me to handle work and family. That’s why gender is everything to me, I look up to my mother and all the women that are strong enough to pull through life without the help of a man. I believe on equality, both my mom and dad, are authoritative figures in my household, but they have the same position and authorization for all of us who live with them.

            Ultimately, my identity is that of gender, that of feminism. I have a sexual side, a responsible side, a side with ambition, intelligent side, a creative side, strong side, and a nurturing side. I, like men, have goals and I’m going to achieve them. I’m not going to hold back from my creative mind just because it might be overrated. I’m a big girl now and I say I’m going to make it to something. I can do whatever I want, whatever my mind aspires to, because I CAN. I know who I am, it’s about time I show it, and how much I’ve grown. I am a feminist, we make our own sense, we believe in the equality of the sexes in all realms. This is why feminist psychology opened broader realms for psychology. My identity is my gender, and how as a woman, I can explore the world and conquer it; and it means EVERYTHING TO ME.