The other day in class, a classmate took on the ambitious task of presenting on Schooling in capitalist America by Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis. The presentation was a little depressing because of the message of the book. The authors argue that schools are a direct reflection of the capitalist society and as a result only reinforce the class structure. If someone is from the lower class, education will not give him or her a better chance at success. If someone is from the upper class, education will just reinforce his or her position in the upper class. The only way that the education system can change and act as an agent of change is if the capitalist society changes.
It could be argued that the authors see the class system as relatively fixed. The class system might be interpreted in the image below. The interesting thing about this image is that it was copyrighted in 1911. Has anything really changed since then? Is society still stratified like this?
On the level that reads “We Fool You,” are the religious leaders. I am going to dive into that debate. But what I would like to ask could educators be on that level too? Can educators, if they are trapped in a capitalist system and possibility perpetuating the contest mobility paradigm, actually do anything but reinforce the dominant class structure? If Bowles and Gintis are right, are educators just fooling their students into believing that an education will lead to success?
It could be argued that the authors see the class system as relatively fixed. The class system might be interpreted in the image below. The interesting thing about this image is that it was copyrighted in 1911. Has anything really changed since then? Is society still stratified like this?
On the level that reads “We Fool You,” are the religious leaders. I am going to dive into that debate. But what I would like to ask could educators be on that level too? Can educators, if they are trapped in a capitalist system and possibility perpetuating the contest mobility paradigm, actually do anything but reinforce the dominant class structure? If Bowles and Gintis are right, are educators just fooling their students into believing that an education will lead to success?
This is not going to be a mind blowing comment, but I just wanted to say, "Nice," I liked the picture.
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