Wednesday, October 01, 2008
The Educated Elite
David Brooks article entitled "Karl's New Manifesto" makes a lot of ridiculous accusations about the educated class in America, and this is just unfair to a group of people who work hard and are rewarded for their hard work.
The information age elite exercises artful dominion of the means of production,This claim makes it seem like the best schools in this nation are intentionally making it more difficult for the poor to attend their schools when the truth is that these schools have actually made it easier for these students to attend then ever before. The truth is that these schools are extremely difficult for anyone to attend and the high schools that the poorer students attend are not prepared to turn out ivy league students, but if a student in those school districts is able to rise above what life has handed them and is able to perform at the ivy league level then the school is actually more likely to accept them then someone from a more wealthy school district. But the fact remains that people still feel like society is holding them down when the truth is that it is easier then ever for poorer people and minorities to go to college and get out of the situation that they are in. Now while this is not exactly on the subject of what this class discusses, it was one of the readings and I was enraged when reading this article because i feel that instead of coming up with excuses as to why people cannot get out of their situations, they should be showing people how they can get out of their situations.
the education system. The median family income of a Harvard student is $150,000.
According to the Educational Testing Service, only 3 percent of freshmen at the
top 146 colleges come from the poorest quarter of the population. The educated
class ostentatiously offers financial aid to poor students who attend these
colleges and then rigs the admission criteria to ensure that only a small,
co-optable portion of them can get in.
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What you say is true, but you are unfairly criticizing David Brooks. Read the article again, he does not really disagree with you. What he is satirizing is the ideology of the educated classes.
Is there an educational divide in the U.S.? What is the connection between the educational divide, the digital divide and class status today? Do our public schools prepare poor children to compete in a digital economy? Do the wealthy have a competitive edge? Are their children better prepared for success? Is the divide getting bigger? Or is cheap computing levelling the class structure?
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Is there an educational divide in the U.S.? What is the connection between the educational divide, the digital divide and class status today? Do our public schools prepare poor children to compete in a digital economy? Do the wealthy have a competitive edge? Are their children better prepared for success? Is the divide getting bigger? Or is cheap computing levelling the class structure?
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