Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work Reading Response

In the executive elite schools, it is a much different teaching style then lower caliber schools. They focus on peer to peer learning and looking past the question. For example, in history the teacher would ask questions such as "What mistakes did the citizens of Athens make?" This forces students to develop a hypothesis, not just memorize a bunch of facts. They do this with almost every subject, and it seems to work looking at where the students end up in life. The students were given so much freedom when answering questions, sometimes the room would get boisterous and the teacher would have to fight for control of the room. Overall I think this is the best way to teach children at all levels.

I think the author did a very good job in his research and conclusions. He separated the schools based on obvious class. I noticed that he seemed to think the children in the executive elite school were ruder and more bossy. I think at the age he was reviewing shows leadership. He did a very good job at paying attention to the little things too like how the 5th grade students would come in early to read or catchup. I don't even see this in some high school students. I think he should have gone to more schools. It seems like he only went to one of each of the classes schools. He could have gone to multiple elite executive schools to see if there were any differences. Other then that I think the author did a very good job in his research.

I definitely agree with the author. I was a little skeptical before reading the article, but after reading it I can definitely see similarities. You can see what the teacher is leading the students to become. They focus on leadership and critical thinking for the position in a job similar to their parents. School is where most kids find their identity. When teachers lead the students in a path of leadership, the students will tend to follow that path.

"You must control yourself," "you are responsible for your work," you must "set your own priorities."

I picked the line above because it shows exactly what the school is following. The students are given extreme freedom. They are allowed to leave the room as they please and take supplies as they need. This was much different from my school in 5th grade. We always had to raise our hand and ask the teacher before we did anything. The teachers at the executive school push the students to think for themselves. The schedules are so tight at the school they need to work the entire time they are allotted to complete their assignments in time. I would have loved to go this school because I am responsible and I think I would do very well in this type of learning environment. I like to think out problems the way they do and I like freedom. I think I would have done much better in high school if I had this type of instruction in elementary and middle school.