Most teachers I ask say no. It doesn’t matter if students are wealthy, middle class or poor, they say. Then I ask other questions: Does what’s happening in the world affect the schoolhouse? Social media? Prejudice? Teachers always answer yes to these questions. Which brings us back to social class. Social class is a powerful force in any society and affects every aspect of people’s lives, including education.
Even if teachers are not aware of it, social class is operating in their classrooms. And it is another form of unconscious bias. Most teachers and administrators are unaware that they hold a preference for or against a particular class. And it’s not so much that you may not like people or students from a particular class. It’s more about markers or indicators of class, like attitudes toward education, ways of speaking and dressing, the neighborhood people live in, the kind of car they drive…you get the picture. These markers are often the way that class manifests itself, the way that class is seen. It is these markers that people respond to during personal interactions, whether these interactions are on the cricket grounds, in the workplace or in the classroom.
“Social class is a powerful force in any society and affects every aspect of people’s lives, even including education.”
Let’s examine the ways that social class operates in classrooms and suggest ways to foster an inclusive approach to social class. But before we do all that, social class is one of those terms that everyone says and thinks that everyone else knows what they mean when they say it. So let’s say what we mean by ‘social class.’
Social Class
A social class (I use a sociological definition) is a group of people who occupy a similar position within the economic system. People within a class share similar wealth, influence and status. Wealth is a combination of the monetary value of the things people own and their income. Status concerns standing in society, and things like prestige and respect. What a person does for a living is an important part of his/her social class, as one’s job often determines some of the markers or indicators of class we talked about above and access to things like education, housing and healthcare.
“What a person does for a living is an important part of his/her social class, as one’s job often determines …access to things like education, housing and healthcare.”
There is some disagreement about the number of social classes in the United States. Most (sociologists) agree that there are 5: The elite or the upper class; upper middle class; lower middle class; working class; and the poor. Each of these classes has sub-classes within it. Each class also denotes a different set of jobs with differing access to wealth, influence and status. Each class also has its markers, those attributes that signal to people within the same class (and those outside of it) that one is a member. (Yes that means that you can fake membership in a class). For more details about social class in the U.S., check out this Resource.
Class in the Classroom
Everyone brings their class to school with them. Including the teacher. And the teacher’s social class is always present in the classroom, especially if he is not aware of it. Here’s some common ways that class bias operates in the classroom.
Students and their families are in the same social class as me
True story. Paula (fake name) was an energetic teacher who ended a career in law to be part of a US-based program (you can probably guess which one) that trains teachers to work in poor, urban schools. The first year, she decided to teach social studies using a yearlong portfolio that featured various forms of assessments, fieldtrips to cultural institutions and in-person family-teacher conferences. Great stuff! However nothing went as planned. Some students didn’t return consent forms. Others didn’t bring money to pay for fieldtrips and only half the family members showed up for conferences.
“Everyone brings their class to school with them. Including the teacher.”
After one class session, Paula explained the situation to me then lamented, “I know this must sound bad but I feel that these people just don’t care about their kids’ education.” Paula assumed that low conference attendance, incomplete consent forms and no financial support were indicators of how much families cared about their children’s education. Yes, there are times when these indicators may well signal how much families value education but most of the time they don’t.
Here’s 3 possible reasons why.
1) Sometimes, family members can’t attend conferences (often scheduled to begin between 4pm to 6pm, at the end of the teachers’ day) because they can’t get time off work to attend these events. Some jobs, especially low wage hourly jobs, and jobs in the retail and merchandising, and food preparation industries only pay workers for the hours they work. There is no such thing as ‘paid time off.’ These industries employ the majority of Americans.
2) Many families don’t have traditional 9 to 5 jobs. Many people work the 11pm to 7am shift, the 3pm to 11pm shift and the whenever-they-can get-a-shift shift. Family members are either asleep, getting ready for work or at work at the time when most parent/family conference are held.
3) Some families can’t afford to pay for fieldtrips. In my own experience, some families have more than one child attending school and reserve funds for the child who is in a higher grade (closer to graduation so they can work). I’ve met siblings and cousins who take turns attending trips and other events that require funds.
“…In some states, as many as 33% of school age children are in families living in poverty.”
Paula is from a middle class background, but worked in a poor, urban neighborhood. She expected the families of students to have the same resources and privileges that she and her family enjoyed when she was a student. She expected the families of her students to act according to middle class norms. She cares deeply about her students but is unknowingly and biased for a middle-class upbringing like her own.
To give a sense of the reality, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2013-2014 school year, 21% of US public school students were in families living in poverty. That’s almost 11 million children, ages 5 to 17. And that’s just the national average as in some states as many as 33% of school age children are in families living in poverty. Further, 50% of students in US public schools qualify for free or reduced- fee lunch.
Put another way, on average, 1 in 5 students are in families living in poverty. And 1 in 2 students qualify to have free lunch or subsidized lunch, because of family income. These students are predominantly Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native or Pacific Islander.
Compare that to teachers in the US. According to the NCES, in the 2011-2012 school year, 76% of US teachers are female and predominantly white (about 82%). More than half of them have graduate degrees, with an average salary of just over $56,000.
Put another way, depending on where they live, 1 in 2 teachers in the US are, at least lower middle class. And if they live in a two-income home, the total household salary can be more than $100,000.
I know what class they belong to
As said above, social class is often seen through certain markers like ways of speaking and dressing, the neighborhood people live in, the kind of car they drive and where they go to school. These indicators may signal class most of the time, but not in every case. For example, the NCES statistics support the idea that students in poverty tend to be Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native or Pacific Islander. But every student from a family in poverty isn’t Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native or Pacific Islander.
“Race and/or ethnicity are not indicators of social class. … These ideas are tough to discard.”
Race and/or ethnicity are not indicators of social class. Everyone knows this, but, in my experience, it’s one of those strongly held beliefs that even some experienced teachers can’t shake. Yes, race/ethnicity, even in a scholarly sociological context are hard to separate. But one isn’t always an indicator of the other. I’ve heard teachers…with my very own ears… also equate class and intellect. Class and honesty. Class and college preparedness. Class and violence. These ideas are tough to discard.
It’s easy to talk about bias against poor and working class families. But what about bias against the children of wealthy families? Teachers and administrators often expect wealthy families to cover the lion’s share of events and to give large donations. When these families decline, they’re often seen as stingy or uncaring about the welfare of the school. It’s unfair to expect these families to give more support than other families just because…they have it.
Bias for wealthy families include giving preferential treatment to their children through inflated grades or lax disciplinary measures. It’s unfair to the other students and their families. Bias is bias. Whenever a person or group receive a benefit, another person or group receives a sanction
Content
Last spring, I taught elementary math methods. Most real life examples in the text had to do with things like skiing, tennis, camping and lacrosse. These are all activities that are likely done by people in the middle and upper classes. And likely reflects the class (or the preferred class) of the authors of the text. Nothing’s wrong with this. It’s problematic when some students in the class can’t complete an assignment or understand a concept because the content is biased for a particular class.
Strategies to Reduce Class-based Bias
Some of these strategies you’ve seen before.
1, 2, 3 and 4. Adopt a learning approach and a reflective approach to teaching. Talk to other teachers and review student files and records. You can get the details in this post, Unconscious Bias in Teaching: Family Structure.
- Talk to students. Find out what’s going on. Since you don’t know why it is they haven’t brought funds for a fieldtrip or why they can’t bring cookies for the bake sale, be sure to ask questions and/or have discussions in private. Never in front of the whole class.
- Find alternative ways to meet with families. One teacher used Skype to talk to parents. You can download Skype on most smartphones. And everyone has a smartphone. Another teacher made monthly calls to parents instead of in-person visits. One really dedicated teacher (doesn’t mean you’re not dedicated if you’re not doing this) made home visits at times that guardians were available.
“Alienated families make for alienated students.”
Alternatives to in-person meetings, which even 9 to 5 families find difficult to accomplish, show families that don’t fit into middle class norms that they are viable, appreciated members of the school community. If you don’t reach out to, you end up with alienated families, who, in K-12 education, have never met a single teacher or administrator until graduation. Alienated families make for alienated students.
- Be sure that everyone has the background information needed to complete assignments and classroom activities. Ask if students understand the assignment before you let them complete it. Or, better yet, have a pre-assignment that ensures that students have the tools and knowledge they need. And best, have students themselves find out the information they need before they begin an assignment or classroom activity.
I’m sure you have other suggestions for reducing unconscious bias related to social class. I hope you’ll share them below.
Teach like you mean it!
