School Knowledge

The working class school...

I asked the two fifth- and two second-grade teachers in each school what knowledge was most appropriate for the children in their classes. Most spoke of school knowledge in terms of facts and simple skills. One fifth-grade teacher said, for example, "What these children need is the basics." When I asked her what the basics were, she said, "The three Rs--smple skills." When I asked why, she responded, "They're lazy. I hate to categorize them, but they're lazy." (B&S, p. 422)

There were occasions when the teachers did seem to make attempts to go beyond simple facts and skills and to transmit more elaborate conceptual knowledge. (B&S, p. 424)

The executive elite school...

When I asked the two fifth-grade and two second-grade teachers in this school what knowledge was important for their students, most referred to intellectual processes such as reasoning and problem solving. One said, "They'll go to the best schools, and we have to prepare them." Another said, "It's not just academics; they need to learn to think. They will have important jobs, and they need to be able to think things through." (B&S, p. 425-6)

My question is...are the stereotypes that the teachers are making about these two different types of schools setting the students up for either success or failure? How important of an impact does the teachers' attitude play on the students' success? If the teachers approached teaching the working class school students the same way as they approached the executive elite students, would the students be more apt to succeed?