Course:EDCP333/2013Groups/socialclass

From UBC Wiki

Social Class

Group Members

  • Ashleigh Cook
  • Sean Fraser
  • Sarah G
  • Zach Robertson

Introduction

This wiki is a resource for both student and educators in reference to social class.The wiki explores social class in the education system, the classroom, and society at large.

Is Public School Truly Public?

Teachers as an alienated workforce

The teaching profession has suffered from proletarianization as the profession has been deskilled. Reasons for Deprofessionalism and Proletarianization First, "as education levels rose among the general public, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals began to lose their status as the only educated, literate members of the community...The same holds true for teachers, who are now faced with parents whose education is often considerably better than their own."[1] Second, "computers have become increasingly sophisticated, so that by the mid-1980s they were handling much of the routine workload for lawyers and other professionals. The same holds true for teachers, who are not only faced with a flood of educational software, but also have to contend with educational video.14 Who needs reading specialists, for example, when parents can simply order "Hooked on Phonics" for their kids?"[2] Third, " new occupations have arisen--legal secretary, paramedic, dental technician, teacher aid--whose own training overlaps with, and cuts into, the professional's former knowledge monopoly. Who needs an expensive kindergarten teacher with a four year degree, when one can hire a much cheaper day care worker with a two year certificate?" [3] "So, while teachers have been busily arguing over whether they should be considered professionals, sociologists have written the professions off as, at best, a temporary historical anomaly."[4]

Education as Daycare for Corporations Paid for by the Workers

Education is still performed under an industrial model.

Curriculum as Upper Class Propaganda

  • The myth of meritocracy
  • Individual competition instead of collaboration

Models of Social Class

Three or Three Tiered System

The classic three or four tiered class system involves is made up of the lower, middle, and upper class. Accepted by many modern western societies today this system is also seen as four tiered adding the working class or the working poor a group that on a hierarchical level exist between the lower and middle class. They are however quite often lumped in with the middle class. Like many systems it is based the level of prestige one holds. That said prestige is mostly based on wealth but is also attached to the profession one holds. These two factors in turn effect your placement on the social hierarchy.

"The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor are there just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep 'em showing up at those jobs." George Carlin

Lower Class

The lower class is seen as those stuck in a cycle of poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. While unemployment is not a necessity for this class poverty, whatever a society deems as such, most definitely is. This class is quite often seen to lack agency and is easily exploited and at the whims of those above them in the social order.

Working Class

The working class can both inhabit the middle and lower class depending on the definition. Usually, however, this class is made up of individuals who’s employment is based on manual labour and have minimal education. While the unskilled workers of this class (dishwashers, maids, or cashiers) often have a lack of advancement due to their careers many of the ‘blue collar’ or skilled working class (carpenters, plumbers, electricians) often have high social ability and make more money than some middle class professions.

Middle Class

The middle class ideally makes up the majority of individuals in many western countries. Simply defined middle class is the group of people that inhabit the social hierarchy between those below the poverty line and those that control massive personal fortunes and high prestige in the upper class. For this reason quite often the working classes are lumped into the middle class. While other definitions separate the middle and working classes on education and the types of jobs. The middle class being more educated and usually better paid. The middle class ideally has a high amount of social and economic security.

Upper Class

The upper class is a group that comprises a small wealthy minority. Usually broken into two sub categories the lower upper and upper upper. The lower upper classically is ’new money’ often made through business venture or investment. Their wealth is new and therefore their family does not hold the same prestige as the upper upper’s ’old money which has been around for generations allowing for higher prestige. This ’old money’ is seen as a sort of aristocracy in North America and a real existing aristocracy in Europe and much of the Old World.

Other Social Class Systems

Marxist Theory or Marxism

Based off the teachings of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engles Marxism is a societal system that works to an ultimate goal of a classless society where the distribution of wealth is based on ones needs. The end goal of Marxism is called communism, it is in this stage that the classless society emerges. In the twentieth century Marxist ideas were enacted first by the Soviet Union.

Feudalism

Feudalism is a societal system based on the holding of land in exchange for labour. The system is based mostly on land ownership (or the lack of) for the basis of social hierarchical relationships. Feudalism is very hierarchical with a king at the top that is placed there by divine intention. Below the king is the nobles who have pledged allegiance to the king. Underneath the nobles are the vassals or knights who exchange their allegiance to the nobles in exchange for lands. Finally at the bottom of the social order are the serfs who are ‘tied’ to the land and must by birthright work that land.

Caste System

The caste system is a hierarchical social class system where your place in the order is based solely on your occupation that is in tern based on heredity. In this system there is little to no social mobility up or down. Furthermore the classes are supposed to be segregated from one another. The caste system is most commonly related to Hinduism in India but there are varying versions of it in many different cultures. The rationale behind this social stratification is justified on the idea of divine nature.

Class in Education and Schooling

Class Reproduction in Schools

Paul Orlowski, “Social Class: The Forgotten Identity Marker in Social Studies Education.” In this article Paul Orlowski examines the evolution of the state mandated social studies curriculum from 1941 to 1997 in British Columbia in its discourses in relation to social class. The second part of Orlowski’s examination of ten social studies department heads in Vancouver and their views of working class issues pertaining to social studies. Further, the views of the department heads are based upon three dominant ideologies in Canada, liberalism, socialism, and conservatism. Orlowski claims these three ideologies are the basis for “modernity (Orlowski, 2008, 31).”

What Orlowski is concerned about and what he wishes to remedy is the lack of dialogue about class consciousness (29). By examining the evolution of the curriculum he sees a general trend away from conservative ideology towards a more liberally minded voice. However, class never plays a prominent role and in the 1997 edition “did not consider social class to be a factor in the identity construction of an individual” (34). To balance this exploration of ‘formal’ curriculum Orlowski interviewed ten social studies department heads. In his general survey Orlowski discovered the teachers agree that there is a lack of representation of working class issues but do not agree on what should be done about this lack of representation (42). Most however thought it was not that important with only one teacher claiming it was central to a person’s identity (43). Orlowski concludes that a more class conscious curriculum at least in teacher education must be put in place for teachers to begin a meaningful discourse on the subject.

Orlowski’s argument is very poignant especially in the wake of the Occupy Movement. While it isn’t a great awakening it is a sign of a general frustration of social inequalities and in turn a new desire to see such a dialogue started in society in general. Orlowski is attempting to open a dialogue that simply put most people don’t want to talk about because it is uncomfortable to do so. For a dialogue to begin, I believe, Orlowski was correct in stating that the change must be from the top. Otherwise we’ll all avoid the obvious comfortableness of social inadequacies in our society.


Rich Gibson, "Why Have School? An Inquiry Through Dialectical Materialism" http://richgibson.com/whyhaveschool.pdf

Gibson argues that the current system of public education is a tool of the capitalist state. Basing his critique in the United States, he connects how the economic system and the interests of those at the top of it shape schooling. He describes the capitalist system as “a reality that works best when hidden”. To such a system, any education that promotes serious critical thinking and an awareness of social class would be a threat. The Marxist method of dialectical materialism informs Gibson’s analysis. Through this he states that the severity of inequality and its resulting effects, also known as the contradictions of capitalism, will necessarily produce change. The how and why remains to be seen, as "Dialectical materialism is not a crystal ball, but a navigation tool to the past, present, and future." (3) Gibson goes on to describe how this threat is neutralized by education policies such as increasing class sizes, restricting the freedoms of teachers, layoffs, pitting schools to compete against each other, standardized testing, curriculum development, and the privatization of schools. He references the current climate in the United States as being in a state of imperialist class warfare, and that this sets the agenda of education. (2) He argues that schools exist to “baby-sit and warehouse” kids so corporations can dodge paying for day care, and to inculcate the skills and ideological training that capitalism requires: nationalism, individualism, submission to authority without question, the next generation of “workers, warriors, or war supporters”, who will not learn class consciousness and accept a future of alienated labour. (6-7) Why Have School? is more of a critique of, and call for awareness to, the current reality than it is a vision of the future or program of action. Gibson’s proposed solutions seem based in a collective consciousness and willingness to act and make sacrifices collectively. A threat he sees to this is how resistance is divided into fractional subgroups focused on singular identity concerns of “race/nation/sex/language”, and that these movements avoid or banish discussions of capitalism or class. He claims such movements will never present a real threat to "a ruthless enemy with a long history of rule and a centralized command" (17-18). A strong resistance would need to work together “must recognize that class remains the key issue at hand, of course mediated by issues of race, language, sex, gender, nation.” (18) Critics of Marxist theory might challenge Gibson’s ranking of oppression and claim to the primacy of class struggle, or point to his privilege in gender, race, language, and nationality. Whether or not class is truly the primary category of oppression, Gibson is right in that we can no longer afford to ignore the “whole truth” of capitalism, and we have to bring a critical awareness and deconstruction of capitalist democracy into our schools.



Anyon, Jean. (1981). Social Class and School Knowledge. In Curriculum Inquiry 11. (pp. 3-42). http://www.jstor.org/stable/1179509

In a study of five elementary schools in New Jersey, Jean Anyon found that the prevalent social class of the school impacted what students understood about knowledge. Anyon asserts that “even in an elementary school context, where there is a fairly “standardized” curriculum, social stratification of knowledge is possible” (Anyon, 3). Anyon defines social class as what work you do and your relationship to the systems of ownership and authority. The study differentiated the five schools into four categories: two working class, one middle class, one affluent professional, and one exclusive elite. These five schools were characterized by the jobs that the parents of the students held. The parents at the working class schools were mostly unskilled or semiskilled workers with a minority being skilled workers. The parents at the middle class school held skilled blue and white collar jobs and traditional middle class jobs such as teachers, middle managers, or accountants. The parents at the affluent professional school were highly paid doctors, lawyers, and executives. The parents at the final school, the executive elite school, were advanced corporate executives (Anyon, 5). The schools all had the same state curriculum yet there were distinct differences between what the students and teachers viewed as knowledge. At the lower class school, knowledge was limited to “facts” that were dictated to the students by the teachers (Anyon, 7). Anyon noted “a dominant theme that emerged in these two schools was student resistance” to teachers and that few of the students thought of going to college (Anyon, 11). The middle class school students had higher expectations than the students at the lower class schools and many were preparing for college (Anyon, 13). The dominant theme that emerged in the middle class school was possibility for the students (Anyon, 16). The affluent professional school was characterized by the teachers having the students think for themselves and the dominant theme was individualism, or as Anyon phrases it, narcissism (Anyon, 21). The students at the school also expressed “an attitude of antagonism toward ‘the rich’” even though they came from affluent families (Anyon, 22). The final school, the executive elite school, was characterized by excellence and the students there had to “toe the line” as they prepared to be the next generation of leaders (Anyon, 30). The schools also had different access to resources and the textbooks that the schools used were different as well. The lower and middle class schools had older textbooks and could not supplement the textbooks as well as the other two schools. This article demonstrates that class divides still exist and that the school system contributes to those divides. Even though there is an attempt to standardize the curriculum, the access to knowledge and the attitudes of teachers and students reproduces class systems within education. It is an unfortunate reality and is not something that is discussed enough; however, Anyon does a good job of addressing it in the study. The article does lack an attempt to suggest solutions to the problem As well, this is an American study and so it would be interesting to see if the Canadian education system is doing a better job of providing an equal education to all its students. Also, the study does not address home life enough because this also reproduces class structure. Not only do the students at the more affluent schools have better resources at the school, their parents have more education to help their children learn and they often have higher expectations for their children as well. Unfortunately, it is difficult to deal with this problem under the current system and especially as teachers are forced to do more work with less of a budget.



Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 203-228). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

In the article "Shut up! He might hear you!" The authors argue that there is a "tendency in our society to believe that activities that strengthen or maintain the status quo are neutral, or at least non political."[5] Especially in the area of social studies there seems to be this ideal which states that's teachers should be just sticking with the facts, guarding against any biases and remaining neutral in their stances and how they go about educating students (Ross, p.2).[6] However, it is curious that no one sees neutrality as being political. In fact, it would seem to make sense that in a subject like social studies, the very act of not taking a stance or remaining neutral is inherently political. If we look at a country that states it's neutrality in world politics, like Switzerland, they make a political and rationale choice to remain neutral. This argument comes into play especially when teaching about social class, it impossible to gloss over a topic like social class as a system of the past. Social class ends to be taught in schools but perhaps not in the way it might have traditionally been done, or so argues the authors. Teaching class in modern times should be less about the class system of organizing people by income or status but rather approaching it from "a more Marxist concept of class as a relation to property."[7] A Marxist interpretation of class would be a greater understanding of how "the capitalist class owns the property, understood as the means of production, while the working class does not; it owns only it's labor power, which it must sell to the capitalists in exchange for wages that are less than the value of the commodities that workers produce(Ross, p.7)."[8] Teaching about class in this way is applicable to our moderns times especially as "the gap between the richest and the poorest countries are widening."[9]

It is important that we teach about class in our schools today, there are so many avenues upon which we can delve into a discussion about how the gap between the richest and poorest is widening and how movements like Occupy Wall-street happen because it is okay to stand up for what you believe in. Inequality and poverty is no longer just talked about in the context of what is happening in other developing countries, it is a problem here in Canada and should be addressed in schools. The fact that last year in 2012 Canada's top CEOs earned $44,366 in the first three hours of the work year needs to be addressed, especially as this number is actually the average wage for the full time working for the entire year.[10] It is for these reasons that teachers should stop trying to maintain the status quo and guard against bias, and teach students what the controversial topics mean to them and ultimately what they could choose to do about the, in the future. Hopefully this would create a generation of active citizens that stand up for themselves as well as others in an educated and constructive manor.

Public vs. Private School

As the public school system is starved of funds and class sizes rise, more parents are trying to move their children to independent schools. This feedback loop has contributed to the rapid growth of the private system. In 1977, 4.3% of B.C. students were in an independent school. By 2012, that number has almost tripled to 11.6%.[11]

This trend, related to the sway of reports from the neo-liberal think tank the Fraser Institute, has resulted in declining enrollment in public schools. The cumulative effect of school closures, layoffs, and the displacement of education funding is one of the major problems in B.C. education.

Market-based solutions are increasingly touted as the future of education in Canada and the United States. The privatization of education will entrench inequalities of social class. "The myth is that children enter the testing room as equals, the harder they prepped, the better they will do. The reality is that the more their parents earn, the higher the scores."[12]

BC Curriculum PLOs which relate to Social Class

While we have found many relations between that IRP and social class, it seems that most of the subjects deal with historical events and only scrap the surface of what is going on with social class and status at the time. At best most of the IRPs are only making a loose connection to social class and a onus would be placed upon the teacher to place emphasis upon learning about social class. Another problem with the curriculum and the IRPs is that the majority of them do not relate to a modern critical look at social class and how it relates to poverty within Canada and even more so, within British Columbia.

Grade 8

SOCIETY AND CULTURE: CIVILIZATIONS FROM 500 TO 1600

  • Identify factors that influence the development and decline of world civilizations.
  • Compare daily life, family structures, and gender roles in a variety of civilizations.

POLITICS AND LAW: CIVILIZATIONS FROM 500 TO 1600

  • Demonstrate understanding of the tension between individual rights and the responsibilities of citizens in a variety of civilizations
  • Describe various ways individuals and groups can influence legal systems and political structures.

ECONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY: CIVILIZATIONS FROM 500 TO 1600

  • Compare basic economic systems and different forms of exchange.
  • Compare the changing nature of labour in rural and urban environments.
  • Describe the impact of technological innovation and science on political, social, and economic structures.[13]

Grade 9

SOCIETY AND CULTURE: EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA FROM 1500 TO 1815

  • Analyse the relationship between Aboriginal people and Europeans and explain the role of each in the development of Canada.
  • Describe daily life in Aboriginal communities, New France, and British North America.
  • Analyse roots of present-day regional, cultural, and social issues within Canada.

POLITICS AND LAW: EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA FROM 1500 TO 1815

  • Define colonialism, imperialism, and nationalism.
  • Analyse factors that contribute to revolution and conflict.
  • Analyse the contributions of the English, French, and American revolutions in the development of democratic concepts.

ECONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY: EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA FROM 1500 TO 1815

  • Assess how economic systems contributed to the development of early Canada.
  • Analyse effects of colonialism on trade and conflict.
  • Evaluate the effects of the Industrial Revolution on society and the changing nature of work.[13]

Grade 10

Identity, Society, and Culture: Canada From 1815-1914.

    • B1: Analyse Canadian society from 1815 to 1914 in terms of gender roles, ethnicity, daily life, and the arts.
    • B2: Evaluate the impact of interactions between Aboriginal peoples and European explorers and settlers in Canada from 1815 to 1914.
    • B3: Evaluate the influence of immigration on Canadian society from 1815 to 1914.
    • B4: Describe the factors that contributed to a changing national identity from 1815 to 1914.

Governance: Canada from 1815 to 1914.

    • C1: Describe the evolution of responsible government in Canada in terms of government structure and key contributing events - Describe the causes of the 1837-38 Rebellions, including land issues, discrimination, unequal taxation, class conflict.
    • C2: Analyse political, economic, social and geographical factors that led to Confederation and to the development of Canada's provinces and territories.

Economy and Technology: Canada from 1815 to 1914.

    • D1: Assess the impact of Macdonald's National Policy on Canada.
    • D2: Analyse the influence of the following on Canada's economy from 1815 to 1914 - resource development and decline, technological innovations.
    • D3: Describe the development of British Columbia's economy from 1815 to 1914.

Environment: Canada from 1815 to 1914.

    • E2: Analyse how geography influenced the economic development and settlement patterns in regions of Canada from 1815 to 1914.
    • E3: Evaluate attitudes and practices in resource development in British Columbia from 1815 to 1914 and their impact on contemporary resource management.


B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package, 2006.[14]

Grade 11

Human Geography

  • Compare Canada's standard of living with those of developing countries, with reference to poverty and key indicators of human development.

Society and Identity

  • Assess the development and impact of Canadian social policies and programs related to immigration, the welfare state, and minority rights.
  • Explain economic cycles with reference to the Great Depression and the labor movement in Canada.
  • Describe the role of women in terms of social, political, and economic change in Canada.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the challenges faced by Aboriginal people in Canada during the 20th century and their responses, with reference to residential schools, reserves, self-government, and treaty negotiations.


BC Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package, 2005.

Civic Studies 11

Informed Citizenship

  • Demonstrate a knowledge of historical and contemporary factors that help define Canadian civic identity, including roles of individuals in society, governance, rights and responsibilities, culture, language, heritage and community.
  • Identify historical roots of the Canadian political and legal systems including British parliamentary systems, political philosophies and parties, British Common Law, French Civil Code and British North American Act.
  • Describe the key features of prominent 20th and 21st century political and economic ideologies, including communism, conservatism, fascism, liberalism and socialism.
  • Compare human rights and provisions in Canada and internationally with respect to Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, BC Human Rights code, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Civic Deliberation

  • Evaluate the relative abilities of individual principles of democracy (including equality, freedom, selection of decision makers, rule of law, and balancing the common good with the rights of individuals) with respect to selected 20th and 21st century cases in Canada.
  • Analyse key provisions of the Canadian social safety net and their impact on Canadian society, including employment insurance, health insurance, CPP/OAP, social assistance, family allowance/child tax benefit, and workers' compensation.

BC Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package, 2005.

Grade 12

History 12

Conflict and Challenge: The World of 1919

  • B1: Explain the significance of nationalism and imperialism in the world of 1919 .

Promise and Collapse: 1919-1933.

  • C1: Compare the basic features of fascism, communism, democracy.
  • C2: Describe circumstances that led to the rise of the fascists in Italy, including social and economic turmoil, Mussolini's actions and policies.
  • C3: Explain the rise to power of Hitler and National Socialism in Germany, with reference to conditions that generated support for Nazism, Hitler's actions and policies.
  • C4: Evaluate ways in which Lenin and Stalin transformed the USSR, with reference to the Russian revolutions, the Russian Civil War, the New Economic Policy, "socialism in one country".
  • C5: Describe the relationship between colonial rule and emerging nationalism in Palestine and the Indian subcontinent. *C6: Describe social, economic, and political developments in the United States in the 1920s, including prohibition, the changing role of women, urbanization, mass production, consumerism, isolationism and laissez-faire policies.

Turmoil and Tragedy: 1933-1945

  • D1: Assess the causes of and responses to the Great Depression.
  • D2: Evaluate the circumstances and events that led to World War II in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Transformation and Tension: 1945-1963

  • E1: Assess critical developments of the Cold War.
  • E2: Describe the emergence of China in world affairs.
  • E4: Explain the role of nationalism in the post-1945 decolonization of India and Indochina.
  • E5: Explain key developments in the struggle for human rights in South Africa and the United States.

Progress and Uncertainty: 1963-1991

  • F1: Explain the significance of conflicts in Vietnam and the Middle East
  • F2: Analyse changes in Chinese communism
  • F3: Analyse the late stages of the Cold War

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package, 2006.[15]

B.C. First Nations Studies 12

  • C2 - assess the economic, social, political, and cultural impacts of contact with Europeans on BC First Nations during the period of the maritime fur trade
  • C3 - assess the economic, social, political, and cultural impacts of contact with Europeans on BC First Nations during the period of the land-based fur trade up to Confederation
  • C4 - analyse post-Confederation government policies and jurisdictional arrangements that affected and continue to affect BC First Nations
  • C5 - analyse the varied and evolving responses of First Nations peoples to contact and colonialism
  • E1 - describe challenges during the 20th century that led to the emergence of contemporary Aboriginal leadership, including reference to:
    • Aboriginal veterans
    • Aboriginal women
    • Métis
    • Aboriginal leaders and organizations
    • the Indian Act (with successive amendments)
  • E2 - compare traditional and contemporary First Nations systems of governance
  • E3 - analyse contemporary legislation, policies, and events affecting the self-determination of Aboriginal peoples

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package 2006[16]

Comparative Civilizations 12

  • B1 - describe concepts that define the study of civilizations
  • B2 - analyse elements and characteristics that contribute to the identity of civilizations, including
    • structures of power and authority
    • belief systems incorporated into daily activities
    • systems of social organization
    • conflict, war, and conquest
    • influence of the natural environment
    • methods of cultural transmission over time
  • C1 - analyse how the arts express civilizations’ cultural elements, including
    • belief systems
    • social organization
    • language
    • power and authority
    • order and harmony
    • archetypes
  • D1 - evaluate the components of value systems within and among cultures, including
    • religion and mythology
    • morals and ethics
    • heroes and role models
    • philosophical viewpoints
  • D2 - analyse the diverse values and beliefs of civilizations

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package 2006[17]

Geography 12

  • D6 - explain how climate affects human activity
  • D7 - analyse interactions between human activity and the atmosphere, with reference to
    • global climate change
    • ozone depletion
    • acid precipitation
  • F1 - assess the various considerations involved in resource management, including
    • sustainability
    • availability
    • social/cultural consequences
    • economic consequences
    • political consequences
  • F2 - assess the environmental impact of human activities, including
    • energy production and use
    • forestry
    • fishing
    • mining
    • agriculture
    • waste disposal
    • water use

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package 2006[18]

Law 12

  • A6 - analyse the impact of the following on Canadian society:
    • the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    • human rights legislation
  • B1 - evaluate principles of criminal law, including elements of a criminal offence, parties to an offence,

and types of offences

  • B2 - analyse processes of criminal law, including
    • rights of the accused
    • interests of the state
    • arrest and trial procedure
  • B3 - analyse the goals and processes of sentencing
  • D4 - analyse issues related to family law, including
    • cultural expectations
    • societal values
    • economic factors

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package 2006[19]

Social Justice 12

  • A1 - demonstrate understanding of concepts and terminology of social justice, including
    • anthropocentrism
    • equity and equality
    • ethics
    • diversity
    • dignity and worth
    • hegemony
    • human rights
    • oppression
    • peace
  • A3 - apply critical thinking skills to a range of social justice issues, situations, and topics
  • A4 - analyse selected social justice issues from an ethical perspective
  • A5 - assess how belief systems can affect perspectives and decisions in relation to social justice issues
  • A6 - conduct a self-assessment of their own attitudes and behaviours related to social justice
  • A7 - demonstrate attributes and behaviours that promote social justice, including
    • recognizing injustice
    • fair-mindedness
    • embracing diversity
    • empathy
    • taking action
  • B1 - describe social injustice based on characteristics including
    • age
    • marital or family status
    • mental or physical ability
    • political belief
    • race and ethnicity
    • religion and faith
    • sex
    • sexual orientation
    • socioeconomic status
  • B2 - analyse causes of social injustice
  • B3 - describe consequences of social injustice
  • B4 - analyse specific examples of injustice in Canada related to characteristics such as
    • age
    • marital or family status
    • mental or physical ability
    • political belief
    • race and ethnicity
    • religion and faith
    • sex
    • sexual orientation
    • socioeconomic status
  • B5 - analyse the roles played by legislation, the courts, public policy, and other forms of government action in promoting or failing to promote social justice in Canada
  • B6 - analyse social justice issues related to globalism and globalization
  • B7 - assess the contributions of particular individuals and groups who are identified with struggles for social justice
  • C1 - assess various methods and models of promoting social justice
  • C2 - apply systemic analysis to propose solutions to specific cases of social injustice
  • C3 - implement an appropriate plan for action on a selected local, provincial, national, or international social justice issue
  • C4 - assess lifelong opportunities related to social justice

B.C. Ministry of Education, Integrated Resource Package 2008[20]

Resources

  • "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn - A look at the history of the US through the eyes of the common people rather than economic and political elites. This resource could be used as an entrance into discussions on alternative histories and the idea that an elite social class has controlled the telling of history.
  • Vancouver Mapped - A resource containing maps detailing different demographics across Vancouver including housing costs, income etc. The resource could be used to look at the class divisions within the city.
  • Star Power Game - The rules for Star Power, a class simulation game that could be played with a group of students to show how class divides take hold and shape a society.
  • Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History - This website contains "history mysteries" that can be used in the classroom and some can be looked at through the lens of social class. The different mysteries deal with the Montreal social elite, Cold War espionage, race relations in British Columbia etc. and include a lot of primary sources which students could look at to see whose stories are being told and whose are being left out.
  • Social Class Calculator - What Class are you? This resource allows you to take a survey to find out what class you are in the BBC's new modern social class model.
  • A Facebook History of the World - A humorous take on the history of the world via a Facebook timeline looks at many major events associated with class. While this resource has some inappropriate language, the accessibility of the Facebook model and the humor make this resource an excellent tool to use as a hook into different topics.
  • People Like Us - A PBS film and interactive website looking at social class in the US. This resource deals with US society and could be used in History 12 or as a comparison study for social class in Canada.
  • The Merchants of Cool - A PBS film looking at how marketing targets teenagers. This resource can be used to look at how social class directly affects the students through marketing and the consumer world they live in.
  • Statistics Canada Website - The website contains information on demographics in Canada and can be used to provide information on social class in Canada.
  • BC Poverty Reduction Website - The website looks at how to create a BC Poverty Reduction plan as BC is one of two provinces without one. The site would could be used to look at how social class affects us in BC.
  • Child Poverty in BC Video - A video looking at child poverty in BC and how poorly the province is dealing with the issue. This video could be used in conjunction with the BC Poverty Reduction website.
  • Winnipeg General Strike Role Play activity - This activity has students write and perform a role play about the Winnipeg General Strike in order to take the perspective of a worker at the time - see Winnipeg General Strike lesson plan
  • City Building Activity - This activity has students build a city with three different levels of materials for three groups. Each group has been predetermined to either upper, middle or lower class. Resources reflect their class and make it easy to see the vast difference between the haves and the have nots. - see French Society lesson plan

Lesson Plans

French Society & Social Class Lesson Plan

The Great Depression Lesson Plan

Winnipeg General Strike Lesson Plan

Socio-Economical Bus Ride Lesson Plan


References

  1. http://www.uleth.ca/edu/runte/professional/teaprof.htm
  2. http://www.uleth.ca/edu/runte/professional/teaprof.htm
  3. http://www.uleth.ca/edu/runte/professional/teaprof.htm
  4. http://www.uleth.ca/edu/runte/professional/teaprof.htm
  5. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 203). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  6. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 204). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  7. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 210). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  8. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 210). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  9. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 211). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  10. Ross, E. W., & Queen, G. (2013). “Shut up. He might hear you!” Teaching Marx in social studies education. In C. S. Malott & M. Cole (Eds.). Teaching Marx across the curriculum: The socialist challenge (pp. 211). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  11. http://www.fisabc.ca/sites/default/files/Enrolment%20Ind%20Public%20Comparison%20%202012.pdf
  12. Gibson, Richard. "Why Have School? An Inquiry Through Dialectical Materialism", 14.
  13. 13.0 13.1 [1]
  14. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006ss_10.pdf
  15. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006history12.pdf
  16. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006bcfns12.pdf
  17. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006compciv12.pdf
  18. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006geography12.pdf
  19. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2006law12.pdf
  20. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/social_studies/2008socialjustice12.pdf