Blog Assignment 5: “The Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Anyon

     When reading Rose’s narrative of being placed in the Vocation Education and then later moved on to the College Prep, I began to question why the Vocational track is easier than College Prep. The goal of both tracks is to have education and a career, so why are they different? The answer to this question became clearer after reading Anyon’s research on teaching methods used in different economic statuses. In her research we find that the working class students are primarily told this is the ‘right’ way to do X. They are then taught not to question that ‘right’ way. It comes down to constant rote memorization and rule following. According to Anyon’s research, “Most of the rules regarding work are designations of what the children are to do; the rules are steps to follow… Work is often not evaluated according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.”


     In the educational system examined by Anyon, we can continue to see the differences in class that Rose eventually had to try and overcome. Anyon explains that in research done by Bowles and Gintis shows “students in different social-class backgrounds are re- warded for classroom behaviors that correspond to personality traits allegedly rewarded in the different occupational strata-the working classes for docility and obedience, the managerial classes for initiative and personal assertiveness.” Therefore, a student who is praised for ‘rule following’ will in turn be taught how to be ‘working’ to ‘middle’ class with the ‘affluent’ and ‘elite’ being rewarded for forward thinking.

     For Rose, it appears this is what happened to him and his fellow students. Rose’s own assessment is that “Students will float to the mark you set…Vocational education has aimed at increasing the economic opportunities of students who do not do well in our schools.” He goes on to say how some manage to succeed, but more often than not, “The vocational track, however, is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected.” This statement still brings causes me to ask why? Why should the Vocational track be so easy? Wouldn’t it be better to teach critical thinking skills to ‘worker bees’? Learning how to see small problems and fixing it would allow work to be completed more efficiently.

    The increased efficiency, in theory, would give more time to the CEO and other management for creating new ideas and company expansion. Then again, if workers could think for themselves, then the fear may be that the CEO is not needed. As humans, we seem to like to know where we are in the pecking order. Maybe our educational system is set up to keep the pecking order and peace? Even so, should Vocational Tech be the dumping ground of the mediocre? To me, all tracks in education should have the same basic goals: to educate, to think critically, to peaceably solve problems, and to provide for an economically secure future.