Merely resisting school can reproduce the class system it aims to escape
Evidence
As many writers have found, another important part of working class identity is formed as an opposition to school and its worldview. British sociologist of education, Paul Willis (1977) looked closely at a group of working class boys in England, called by themselves “the lads.” Like many young people in contemporary schools, the lads vigorously challenged the school’s attempts to control them. They rejected the work they were assigned, questioned school authority, and made fun of those who did follow the school’s demands. But in their very resistance to school, the lads left themselves with no options except the same working class jobs their parents did, thus ironically reproducing the class system despite their resistance. Just saying “no” to an oppressive situation doesn’t necessarily keep it from exercising its effects. The lads said “no” to school for themselves, but didn’t challenge the way of thinking or the system that underlies it—they didn’t challenge capitalism, and even less did they challenge the logic of domination. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1062
Categorization
- XREF: Ties to the book’s running theme that resistance without critiquing the logic of domination fails — central to eco-justice pedagogy across all four polyad courses. — connects to: Students internalize class position so deeply they choose lower tracks voluntarily — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1034; Differentiated schooling reproduces rather than abolishes class divisions; Classrooms either reproduce or resist systems of oppression through education. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 332 (+1 more)