After reviewing the pieces we have read over the course of the semester thus far, three articles jumped out to me with one large connection. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”, “What is a 21^st Century Liberal Education”, and “Montessori Education – American Montessori Academy” all focus on students and how they are taught/ how they learn. Two of the articles go in depth on certain styles of educating students while the third focuses on the social class structure and how that effects the differentiation of education. There were three common themes in the articles. The first one being the environment in which students learn. In “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of work” the “Elite” class has the upper hand on education. They are designed to “develop one’s analytical intellectual powers.” This is a key concept that the Montessori education system has nearly mastered. They allow the students to have a “learning triangle” between the student, teacher, and learning environment. I believe that empowering the students allows for their intellectual potential to reach its peak. When an individual can teacher another person a piece of information it not only allows for the person receiving the information a new insight on a topic, but also allows the person who taught the material to further mature the knowledge in their mind. Now of course, the system isn’t perfect. In order for a student to be successful at a Montessori school they need to be driven, capable of critical thinking, and the ability to lead others. Not all students in these schools have these imperative qualities, nor can they be taught through years of schooling; they must be born with them. I feel that the Montessori school is on the right path towards educational success. They are providing students with the environment to reach their full potential. For those students that don’t have an option or qualifications to go to a Montessori school, they are still able to find environments that nurture their potential and teach the valuable qualities that ensure a successful future. I personally have always gone to a liberal education school based in an elite class ecosystem. I was fortunate enough to receive a Montessori, Liberal Education mix. I loved having a general knowledge of the world but a more intimate relationship with the subjects that sparked my interest and my wanting to learn. After reading about articles and realizing that the learning environment is one of the most crucial elements to a student’s success, I am left wondering, why haven’t all schools adopted a hybrid of Montessori and liberal education models, and then bring them to the forefront of the public education system? Why is it that only select student’s get to have a Montessori education, and that a vast majority of students must wait until college to receive a full liberal education system? It seems pointless to have a public education system that doesn’t allow each and every student to reach the pinnacle of their intellectual abilities. If the public education system was able to teach a full liberal education to every student then every student would need college and then a college degree would hold the same weight as it did 20 years ago. A degree wouldn’t be a necessity for an entry level position any more.

The next theme, which stood out more than any other, was that of being socially responsible. In each piece, it talks about social responsibility regarding the student. From a young age, every student in every school, across every social class, has a preconceived notion of what they are going to amount to in their pubescent, leading into adulthood, lives.  “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” goes in depth into what each child is expected to achieve based on what socioeconomic group in which they are a part of. A child that is raised in a working class family is only taught simple punctuation and rarely can make educational decisions, due to the fact the teacher makes them all for the students, because they are not looked at as being able to overcome the social stigma placed on them and better themselves for a successful future. Whereas the Affluent Professional Schools and the Elite Schools, are automatically pushed to be the best they can be. They are taught to inquire, to ask questions, and politely dismiss a classmate’s query if it is deemed incorrect. The teacher is merely there to steer their thinking and inquiries in the right direction. This shows that students, depending on what class they are in, either are allowed to have their own voice, or have to merely follow the decisions made by the teacher. This country was founded on freedom of speech and freedom of expression, yet schools are the one place where those rights are suppressed and where those that express themselves are punished. Why is that? Why is it okay to tell a child they are wrong for what they say or do, and to punish them for wanting to go about learning a different way? I now see why having a liberal education is limited to college students. College students are deemed more mature and capable of holding intellectual conversations, whereas secondary education students aren’t deemed eligible. Every student is capable of achieving higher intellectual learning then their class deems them able to. That is why those students go off to college; to increase their knowledge base. Why not just allow them to take more rigorous courses at a younger age?  

After thinking about my previous theme I was able to see another. These articles focus on the students of the upper crust. The only article to mention the lower classes was “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”. For me, this solidifies my belief that this country tends to focus heavily on those that are able to become self-sustaining, positive benefactors to society. It is my belief that yes, those that are capable of achieving higher levels or success than others be nurtured, but I also feel as if those that are in a lower class also need to be nurtured. If they aren’t nurtured then we are wasting millions of dollars on sub-par education and should be held responsible for the lack of cognitive development of these students.   Why does this country put a label on a student before they are even given the chance to prove they are deifferent?