Social stratification in my high school Essay Example

identified. Jocks (annoyingly enthusiastic youths with a lot of school spirit), Burnouts (working-class kids who aren't on the college track and don't see much value to school), In-Betweens, and Nerds/outcasts. How these classifications impact every segment of the society at every stage of their life, is explained through a fascinating story of self-expression.

The counselors, parents and teachers would find the contents of the book worthy to be applied to real-life situations The composition of students in the school, in which my two children study, the Springdale School, is the perfect example of the model developed by Penelope. The main road of the area, stretching about three kilometers divides the society as well. On the right side of the road, the upper middle class, and the businessmen live in multi-storied buildings and bungalows. They are the Jocks of the school.They must be admitted to the school-- that is the immediate goal set forth by the parents to the children as soon as the child attains the age of four. As Penelope puts it, “In other words, by middle school, we replicate the adult values in our schools and children are positioned in relation to their parents' positions - "the perpetuation of class inequalities through the funneling of children into their parents' place in society, and the enculturation of children into hierarchical social forms through explicit and implicit educational practices" (Penelope, 1989, Chapter, 7).

On the left side of the road, the families stay in slums and one-room tenements and their children are groomed to children of artisans, daily wage-earners, taxi drives, petty shop owners, etc. live. Their goals in life are not homogenous but heterogeneous, depending upon

the conditions of each family. The Burnout kids mostly have no fixed ambitions, their parents are not educated enough to counsel them, and they take life as it comes and adjust their careers according to the circumstances.

Conclusion:A class becomes the replica of the adult society outside. Perfect understanding and interaction between the two groups of students is not always feasible. Comparison of the standard of living and standard of life between the groups is unavoidable. The social tensions in the society are bound to find their expression within the class room. May not be in an aggravated form! Both the groups have the immense benefit by the daily process of student –teacher interaction between the students of various groups.