Anyon Critical Interpretation Statements

Oliver Robinson Critical Interpretation Sentences

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Pg. 226. “The article attempts a theoretical contribution as well, and assesses student work in the light of a theoretical approach to social class.”

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-Here Anyon is telling the reader how the findings are all about social class and are purely theoretical. As a reader this does not give off the confidence an authors may have in their piece of writing. Anyon also uses the word “attempt” as if she is unsure whether or not these fifth graders will show any evidence to back up her social class theories.

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Pg. 227. “A person’s social class is defined here by the way that a person relates to the process in society by which goods, services, and culture are produced.”

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Anyon is giving her definition of social class so that later in the essay she can refer her findings back to this model. After seeing the children relate to certain things in the classroom, Anyon used this definition to be able to show how the different class of school teaches the students. To a reader this may be seen as Anyon’s definition so that her analysis can be legitimized.

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Pg. 229. “Social class is a lived, developing process.”

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This statement can sum up why Anyon is choosing to observe children to find out about social class. Anyon knows it is a lived process so that the children in the different classes will act and be taught different. The

second part of that sentence however makes the reader wonder when does development stop? If these children are only in the fifth grade it would not be right to assume they will never develop into a higher class. And developing process means that one day, with a few adjustments, a child in the working class schools could develop into a child that fits right in with the middle and higher class settings. –

Pg. 231. “However, the examples of school work which follow will suggest characteristics of education in each social setting that appear to have theoretical and social significance and to be worth investigation in a larger number of schools.”

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In this sentence what Anyon says is that although her findings matched her predictions there is no way of definitively determining whether or not social class is determined in schools. I am glad that this statement does not appear at the end of the essay otherwise it would have been a waste to read. Anyon clearly states that in order for a true test to be conducted more schools need to be involved. Even then it is not clear.

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Pg. 237. “Their questions are tolerated, and usually answered perfunctorily.”

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I believe in this sentence Anyon is being too harsh on the teachers response. She is referring to the middle class school teacher’s ability to interact with her students. This is merely an opinion of a teacher’s response. Anyon is creating these statements so that, from a reader point of view, it seems the higher the social class the better the teachers. There is no evidence to prove this, and even before the essay Anyon describes

each teacher as one of the best and having taught for no less than four years.