The essay titled “Social Class and the hidden curriculum of work” written by Jean
Anyon, describes in detail a study performed in the state of New Jersey with five elementary
schools. The essay describes the differences between the curriculums of work provided to 5th
graders from five different elementary schools in the state of New Jersey. The study was applied
in two working-class schools, one middle-class school, one affluent professional school, and one
executive elite school. The essay targets to explain to the reader the “hidden curriculum of
work” applied to schools all over the country, which prepares students only for the kind of work
their parents participate in. The essay explains how the social class plays a part in the kind of
education a child receives, the way they are talked to by teachers, and the decision making they
are allowed to do. Jean Anyon describes social class as “a series of relationships” and she defines
it as “the way a person relates to the process in society, which goods, services and cultures are
produced, and ones relations to the system of ownership, to other people, and to ones own
productivity” (227). Anyon uses this concept of social class and applies it to the five different
elementary schools in order to portray how social class does ultimately have an impact on a
child’s education. The essay provides support to the theory of the “hidden curriculum” by stating
observations done by researchers, quoting students as well as teachers, and also including a
Overall the essay written by Jean Anyon states the dramatic differences in the education
provided to students based on their social class. Students in the working-class schools are
allowed almost no decision making, and they follow a very high structured class with no
flexibility and no negotiation. Anyon’s research reveals that “their present schools work is an
appropriate presentation for future wage labor that is mechanical and routine” (247). On the
other hand children on the opposite end of the spectrum, children in the executive elite schools,
are allowed plenty of decision making and plenty of flexibility on the way they want to
accomplish their work and when they want to perform it. Children at these schools feel as though
their opinions are highly taken into consideration and are allowed to make decisions on their
own. The dramatic differences in the schools as you move up the ladder in social class are
extremely alarming.
Children are limited to an education depending on the social class they are born into. This
limits children’s ability to move up the social class ladder and therefore making it harder for
children of a working-class school to one day become part of the Elite class. I found it very
unfair how children in the working-class schools were given no flexibility and were not allowed
to solve problems on there own rather they had to follow a series of steps to get to the answer.
The working class schools also made the children feel as though they had no say in any topic
concerning their education and were not allowed to have their own ideas or opinions. In the Elite
class schools however children are given an overwhelming amount of flexibility compared to the
working class schools. The Elite schools are more about what the students want than what the
teacher decides. Anyon states in her essay that “the executive elite schools gives its children
something that none of the other schools does: knowledge of and practice in manipulating the
socially legitimated tools of analysis of systems” (248). This indicates the clear advantage that
children in the executive elite class have over children in the working class because they are
given more tools to succeed as well as more knowledge over certain topics.
I feel the essay provided very truthful information about the school system in the United
States; however some measures could have been added to better support the structure of the
Anyon’s argument. First I believe the study should have included different states other than New
Jersey to show that it is an issue country wise as opposed to state wise. The study should have
also included observation from higher level of schooling such as middle school and high school
to show how the “hidden curriculum of work” carries on through the child’s educational carrier.
Lastly, a follow up on the children after they graduated high school and entered the work force
would have provided the reader with additional support to better conceptualize how the hidden
curriculum affects the children in the long run. Other than that I found the article to be very
insightful and interesting. Jean Anyon clearly expresses a serious concern the educational system
Anyon, Jean. "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work." Writing Conventions. Eds. Lu