Experiencing the Outcomes of Economic Inequality in the Day-to-Day Workings of the Classroom

Abstract

Everyday children in the public school system are asked to complete assignments—sometimes these assignments will be carried out in the classroom and at other times they will make their way into the family household as ‘homework’. Regardless of where the work is done, families are increasingly expected to supply the resources for successfully meeting the criteria specified in the teacher’s instructions. But not everyone has easy access to required resources, either at home or at school. Building on the principles of popular education where one learns from reflecting on lived experiences, this chapter explains the dynamics of an in-class simulation exercise designed to explore how economic inequality can influence grade attainment and educational outcomes. I emphasize that it is in the process of debriefing the exercise that students are exposed to theoretical concepts and ideological frameworks concerning education and social inequality. The exercise and follow-up discussion are designed to illustrate how subtle, but very real, economic inequalities are perpetuated through unequal opportunities in the public school classroom.