Classy

Will sent me in search of The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell as part of our ongoing discussion about class and how it figures into the charter school debate. Here's a bit about this book:

Successful people, he avows, are “beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up…. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t.”

Put differently, “Success is the result of what sociologists like to call ‘accumulative advantage.’ ”

His book sounds interesting enough, but I wasn't overly impressed with what I read about it. However, in the process of looking into that book I found this one:

Unequal Childhoods by Annette Lareau. Here's a bit about her book:

"Lareau's work is well known among sociologists, but neglected by the popular media. And that's a shame because through her close observations and careful writings — in books like 'Unequal Childhoods' — Lareau has been able to capture the texture of inequality in America. She's described how radically child-rearing techniques in upper-middle-class homes differ from those in working-class and poor homes, and what this means for the prospects of the kids inside."—David Brooks, New York Times

The most compelling reason, in my opinion anyway, that the GCA charter proposal be rejected, is that this school for self-selected students of parents with cultural and financial resources will exacerbate the class divide in Gloucester.

I have a hard time with the applicant claim that all types of Gloucester parents will apply to this school--mostly because every parent I've talked with who is or was interested in the GCACS is college educated, resourceful, engaged (some parents do not have the time, money or social wherewithal to be engaged in the way that many of the parents I've spoken with are). According to Peter Van Ness, the school will (hopefully) reflect the diversity of the district. According to Annette Lareau, there are poor parents who will not be attracted to a school like the GCACS for all kinds of reasons.

Let's take a hard look at those reasons and then figure out how we can best serve all of Gloucester's kids. Let me know if you've read either book--I'd be interested in hearing your opinions and reviews.

Best,

Jane