Jack and the Beanstalk: Disparity and the American Dream

Note: This is the latest in a series of essays I have been working on as I struggle with the complexities of what it means to be human and to live a socially just, environmentally sustainable and spiritually fulfilled life. I'm a dreamer and optimist, by nature and by choice, but I am also a realist in that I am not oblivious to the struggles and inequities experienced by myself and others around me. So, before you judge me too harshly or think that I have "lost faith" or am anti-American, I simply ask that you suspend judgment until I have posted some of my other work which might provide a more complete picture of my thought processes. Also keep in mind that I am unable to expound on certain ideas at times, simply because of the limitations in length of the essay. So, if you have a question, please feel to ask: "What did you mean? or where are you coming from? Or did I understand you to say...? or Could you clarify...?"

Thank you,
Jana (Gigi)

Jack and the Bean Stalk:

Disparity and the American Dream?

For the purposes of this paper, I will address chapters 26, 27, and 28 of Schools and Society (Ballentine & Spade, 2008) in reverse order. In my opinion, the issues of spending, education, and No Child Left Behind are a result of the hidden assumptions of meritocracy and the American Dream. These underlying myths are the driving forces behind the American education and university system, in which students have been promised guaranteed success. Johnson writes that “If the American Dream of meritocracy is our country’s promise, public education is what ensures that promise to all children” (Ballantine & Spade, 2008, p.274).

The myth of the American Dream built on meritocracy says that no matter who you are or where you come from or what your family background or position or financial situation is, you can “succeed” if you work hard enough. Success in America is most often defined by one’s wealth or ability to accumulate things like houses, cars, boats, degrees, power, or influence. Like Jack from the children’s tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, generations of Americans have traded the family cow for a promise of guaranteed wealth.

Looking back on my own education from a position of privilege, I am grateful for the opportunities afforded to me, but I am beginning to understand the hidden message of our educational system: “Do well in school, so you can do well in college, so you can get a good job, so you can be successful, buy stuff and be happy.” Our schools and universities have adopted massive marketing strategies to sell parents and students the American Dream, a consumer mentality which has pushed our ecologies to the limit, led to greater disparities in socio-economic levels, and vast inequities in our communities.

In chapter 27 of Schools and Society (Ballantine & Spade, 2008), Condron and Roscigno see disparities in spending as a major cause for inequities, saying that schools made up of mostly poor students are often characterized as run-down, dangerous, unhealthy, or overcrowded. They found that race, though it did play a part in inequalities, was not as significant a factor as social class. From my own experience in predominantly white schools, socio-economic status was hugely significant for many of my peers. Many of them did not have parents who read with them at an early age. As Johnson pointed out in chapter 28, forty percent of impoverished adults hold at least one job (Ballantine & Spade, 2008), leaving little time or energy to read with young children. Those students who were from outlying towns whose constituents lived in poverty, were most likely to score poorly on standardized tests and to drop out of high school.

Based on the amazing marketing strategy and name of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, one would assume that students like the rural poor from my high school would never drop out again. Though the ostensible driving purpose behind NCLB was accountability and an attempt to bridge the achievement gaps in education, the trend toward an economics-based, greed-driven, mechanistic business model of education was already under way. Starting with the “greed culture” of the 1980s, followed by the “global competition” mentality of the 1990s, it’s not too surprising to see the merger of the education system (already perceived as mechanistic, that is, like a factory whose product is “good students”) with the capitalist business model, including its rewards and punishment system.

In my opinion, the greatest myth perpetuated by NCLB with its data collection, assessments, numbers crunching, and timelines, is that teachers are the ultimate determination in whether a child “succeeds” or not. I’ve seen more than a dozen elementary teachers, friends and colleagues, quit from the stress of the requirements of NCLB. They gave up, tired of “walking around on eggshells” and trying to “teach to the test”, while seeing their students continue to flounder for any of a hundred reasons which are out of the teacher’s control. The hidden “truth” or myth of NCLB is that schools have all power and control over a student’s ability.

While I don’t deny the incredible power exercised by teachers in shaping children, this narrow view ignores the complexity of human systems. A whole systems approach to this vast problem would show that within even one given school system, there are thousands of relationships and dynamics which influence a student: home life, socio-economic status, abuse, circles of friends, acquaintances, neighborhoods, teachers, principals, hierarchical structures, race, gender, divorce, conflict, religion, siblings, disabilities, media, sports involvement, extracurricular activities, district funding, teacher compensation and qualification, school building/environment (safety, aesthetics, surrounding neighborhood, class size), teacher-teacher dynamics, culture of respect and love, or a culture of violence and hate, social capital, emotional intelligence of peers, etc. These are only a fraction of the elements which contribute to or which detract from a student’s ability to learn.

In the old story of Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack traded the family cow for three magic beans. In today’s culture, those magic beans would be primary school, secondary school, and post-secondary school. All Jack has to do is climb the beanstalk to reach his dream of wealth (the ability to purchase things) and success (power, influence). Wealth and success are rarely associated with contentment with one’s circumstances, good health, emotional and social intelligence, or healthy relationships. If inequities in society are to be addressed, including those in education, we have to acknowledge all of the dynamics (opportunity, chance, privilege, etc.) which brought Jack those magic beans.

I am by no means advocating that we stop dreaming or that we stop working hard or that we just give up. On the contrary, I think dreaming or imagination is the key to envisioning our future; a future with fewer inequities, more opportunities for all, and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, I’ve written several children’s poems on the subject, such as Dreamin’ (Garner, 2009).

They say that it cannot be done.
They say don't even try.
They say that I am only one.
They say all dreams must die.

They say not even Attila the Hun,
though he was a brave sort of guy,
would ever attempt what others shun.
They say I am aiming too high.

But they don't know what I know-
no matter what they say.
And little dreams begin to grow
in spite of the "no's" anyway.

They say that dreams are for sleepin',
that day dreams will just make me fall.
But I know that even pipe-dreamin'
is better than no dreams at all.

Finally, I believe we have to redefine success, wealth, and the American Dream as that which is more socially just, environmentally sustainable, and spiritually fulfilling. When we have changed the concept of the American dream, then we can address some of the inequities created in our schools by that myth. Maybe it’s time we became mythmakers and poets and dreamers.


References

Ballantine, J.H., and Spade, J.Z. (2008). Schools and Society: A Sociological
Approach to Education (Third Edition). Victoria, AU: Wadsworth.

Garner, J. (2009). Imagination’s Door- Poetry and rhymes for kids. Retrieved October
27, 2010 from www.imaginationsdoor.com.