Class Rules: Exposing Inequality in American High Schools

by Peter W. Cookson Jr.

Class Rules  challenges the popular myth that high schools are the “Great Equalizers.” In his groundbreaking study, Cookson demonstrates that adolescents undergo different class rites of passage depending on the social-class composition of the high school they attend. Drawing on stories of schools and individual students, the author shows that  where  a student goes to high school is a major influence on his or her social class trajectory.  Class Rules  is a penetrating, original examination of the role education plays in blocking upward mobility for many children. It offers a compelling vision of an equitable system of schools based on the full democratic rights of students. Book “This highly readable and original book illuminates why we don’t have open class warfare in our society, despite huge inequalities. Peter Cookson shows how schools reproduce classes through institutional practices that forge class-based consciousness. He also suggests how education might be changed.”

— Caroline Hodges Persell , professor emerita of sociology, New York University “Cookson does a superb job of analyzing the powerful forces in our schools that reinforce the racial, ethnic, and social-class structures our nation hopes to overcome. Breaking out of one’s social class was always hard but may now be harder than in previous decades. Cookson reminds us of what high schools can be, the great equalizers, institutions for promoting America’s finest values.”
— David Berliner , Regents’ professor emeritus, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University

Genres: Education, Teaching

145 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2013

About the author

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is the author or co-author of over fifteen books about social inequality, education and the American upper class. Currently, he is managing director of Education Sector in Washington, D.C., and teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University and Georgetown University. He is also president of Ideas without Borders, an educational consulting firm specializing in 21st century education, technology and human rights.

Peter's book "Preparing for Power: America’s Elite Boarding Schools" is widely recognized as a sociological classic. His recent book "Sacred Trust: A Children’s Education Bill of Rights" captures his commitment to social equality. His latest book "Class Rules: Exposing Inequality in American High Schools" examines the powerful effects of social class on education.

"The Red Cadillac" is his memoir of the pain and humor of growing up in the topsy-turvy world of show business, poverty and old money.

He holds a Ph.D. in the sociology of education from New York University, a Certificate of Advanced Study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Masters Degree in ethics and world religions from the Yale Divinity School.

He writes and blogs regularly, most frequently at http://www.quickanded.com.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book for about 2 years now. I received it when I entered the first reads giveaway. It's a subject that I am interested in. That being said I still have not been able to get through the first chapter. It is very dry, lot of information to take in, and vocabulary that I was not familiar with. The first time I started reading I just jumped in and read. However, the words were just going in one ear or eye and out the other. I then started over by making annotations and taking notes. However, that still didn't work. I will try again eventually.

Even though I was unable to make it through the book I believe that there is a lot of good information in it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very eye-opening read on the disparity between high schools around the nation. Cookson argues that the high school a student attends is the best indicator of the social status they will have as an adult, using examples from 5 different high schools, from an elite boarding school with some of the most privileged children in the country, to an urban school in the Bronx where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

For each school, Cookson provides a breakdown of the factors that give the students their class consciousness, including family backgrounds, the perception of authority, the curriculum offered, self-identity of individuals within the school, even the physical building itself. Despite all being public schools except the boarding school, a different culture became deeply rooted within each school, associated with either the upper class, upper-middle class, middle-class, working class, or the lower class. The subconscious assumptions each student left with about their role in society would essentially dictate their lives as an adult.

Public education, "The Great Equalizer" according to Horace Mann in 1848, was intended to allow the intelligent and hard-working to move up in social class, regardless of their social background, creating a meritocracy of sorts. However, with schools strongly replicating the class system, the current education system is doing the complete opposite, strengthening the barriers between social classes and allocating the best resources to whoever wins the birth lottery. Cook details his plan for overcoming this inequality in the last chapter, which involves bottom up involvement from teachers and other community members, rather than relying on the actions of policy makers who often don't understand the whole picture.

As a high schooler student myself, Class Rules gave me a new perspective on the education reform debate and American society. Most of us will only have one high school experience, making us unaware of other environments. but Cookson's book provides insight into the education and lives of other social classes.

[Gary Braham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic, heavily footnoted, even citing his own previous books many times. It's a pretty short book, only 145 pages, but takes a while to read. Especially the introductory chapter where he sets up his work. The five chapters on each school were very interesting, and could have even been a bit more in depth. He emphasises the how and why the schools are different, but I'd like to know more about it, and what would happen if you just moved students from one school to another. I couldn't totally agree with his conclusions and possible solutions to the different levels of schools and class. It's more than just a creation of the school. I've also seen too many students move in between the classes to accept that one is bound by where they are born. I recieved a free copy of this book through Goodreads first reads program.

[Maryellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Much of what her says is based on others research combined with his observations. He implies too much throughout the book, strictly based on a few observations.