As we talked about in class today, what are your ideas about the way teachers treat students according to their social class? Why do you think that teachers might do this?

As said in class, I believe that teachers that do this might want to move up themselves in the social class. If they can get in with the elite group, then maybe one day they can be there themselves. However, I would hope that teachers would treat students equally. That is my goal going into teaching, and not to prejudge or judge students based on their family and their income.

I never remember running into students being treated differently based on their social class. Maybe because my school was from the 4 neighboring neighborhoods so we all pretty much grew up the same and were on an equal playing field. Of course some students had more and some had less but it was never extremely apparent in the classroom. I felt my teachers were very down to earth and treated students equally. Of course the trouble makers and students who were disrespectful were called out more by the teachers and the teachers weren't afraid to throw them out. But if you respected your teacher and they respected you everyone was expected to do the same work and act the same way. Maybe I chose not to see any differences but looking back it was a great school experience. I hope teachers can see past where their students have come from and do their job teaching, not judging.

Casey Gill

I agree with what has been said so far. I think one reason that teachers give more attention to the higher income students is because they see it as a way to move up in their social class. They think that if they treat those students well, and the students therefore like them, they increase their social class. Also, I think that some teachers think that it is somehow worth their time to pay extra attention to the higher income students if it means their own status increases and that by giving extra attention to lower income students, they are not gaining anything in terms of social class.

That being said, I don't think that teachers should treat any of their students badly or with disrespect, especially if the reason is because of their social class. If a teacher is paying extra attention to a student it should be because they need extra help with their schoolwork and not because they come from a high income family.

I believe that it is unfair to treat students differently simply because they are of different socioeconomic status'. I believe that children raised in a home with little to no income are capable of being just as respectful and disciplined (if not more so) than students from affluent families. I have found in some cases that it is the wealthy students who have trouble because they feel as though they are better than other students. Just because someone's parents have money does not necessarily mean that they are going to make much of themselves or that they are better than other students. Similarly, in lower class families students are not always destined to be lower class trouble makers. If you have high expectations for all of your students I feel that they will perform better than if they know that you just want to pass them out of your class.
I agree with what has been said about teachers wanting to raise their own social status by being kinder towards the more affluent students. When I become a teacher I hope that I will be blind to a student's social status and instead focus on their strengths in a way that will help each student be successful.

I have never personally experienced teachers treating students according to their social class, but from what I have heard everyone saying in class it is a very common occurrence. Honestly I really do not understand why teachers would do this because we are suppose to be a progressive society and if teachers are doing this then we are hindering any progress in social skills in this country. I Believe that this would be a great hindrance for the students learning and the quality of our teaching therefore I plan to avoid this problem as a teacher by ensuring that all of my students are treated fairly.