Customer Reviews

Dividing Classes: How the Middle Class Negotiates and Rationalizes School Advantage

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This book is interesting because of the author's choice to focus on the middle class. Despite the fact that you may disagree with this approach (as i did in the beginning) it pushes one to think about the class positionality of the middle class and one's self as well. I would especially read this book if you are in the middle class and have children who will be or are in school now.

Dr. Ellen Brantlinger has done a fascinating case study on the impact of social class on mothers' and teachers' perceptions of government-run education in an economically diverse small Midwestern city (presumably the author's hometown of Bloomington, IN). The book really made me examine how social class has influenced my own beliefs about education.

However, I was extremely frustrated by Dr. Brantlinger's assumptions about the underlying reasons behind her subjects' responses. She kept attributing very negative motivations to the upper-middle-class moms without providing any convincing evidence to back up her accusations. Dr. Brantlinger reads classism and a desire to continue social inequality into everything the wealthier moms say, in a way very reminiscent of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson when it comes to racism.

I really like the book. Her research is done with a select population of women, most of whom went to private schools as children. Thus there is an inherent bias but I think it brings a tangible light to the real divide that continues to grow between classes in America. This was a required reading for a Masters in Education class.

Dividing classes reaises many questions regarding how the middle class views school advantage. Through interviews and personal experiences, the author describes her positive and negative experiences with the educational system. We found this book gives rise to many controversial issues some with which we agree as well as some issues we disagree with. While the author does give concrete examples, we believe SES is not the only predictor for educational success.