https://decasia.org/academic_culture/2009/02/16/class-bias-in-higher-education/ critical anthropology of academic culture Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:04:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.1 https://decasia.org/academic_culture/2009/02/16/class-bias-in-higher-education/#comment-979 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:04:36 +0000 http://decasia.org/academic_culture/?p=450#comment-979 […] blog decasia brought this excellent blog on Class Bias in Higher Education to my attention. Can’t […]

]]> https://decasia.org/academic_culture/2009/02/16/class-bias-in-higher-education/#comment-978 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:47:15 +0000 http://decasia.org/academic_culture/?p=450#comment-978 I liked this blog post because there is one particular student in my lit mag class (ah, ex-class, since I am no longer enrolled in the class) and from “day one” she would not even look at me. She ignored me. As the fall semester went on, she warmed up a little to me. But she still kind of ignored me, made me feel slightly less interesting (less important?) than everyone else in the class, whom she addressed more often than me. Then, this semester, she really warmed up to me when she learned that I’d submitted several poems/essays to the magazine. Maybe she figured there is something to me, after all, if I am a writer. However, when feedback was being offered (last week) on my essays, her praise of my pieces was lukewarm, at best. She was one of the editors-in-chief from the last issue/volume–I can never remember what it is called, volume? issue? I’ll go with Volume. I am still completely baffled about it. At times, last semester, she made me feel dumb when I would make certain comments. I am new to the world of proofreading and editing so I would often suggest italics where none were needed and so on. She was usually happy to point out my errors and she would add, “I have NEVER seen it done that way. Never.” The strange thing is, I must be about 8-10 years older than her and I have several college degrees under my belt. Not that anyone can tell this about me, since I show up to class in my worst clothes (clean, of course, but not flashy, laid back, just like everyone else at the magazine). Still, doesn’t it show? That I am educated and all, smart and all? And even when it does show, as clearly my sweet poetry reveals, why do I still get this cold reaction from her? Not that I crave warm attention from anyone, but I think maybe the idea of “class” and “background” has something to do with the way she has treated me. The strange thing is, it never occured to me to ignore her. Or anybody else, for that matter. I was just happy to have the chance to work on a magazine. But right now, my big goal is, START ignoring people. That way, I’ll seem mysterious and less eager to please. And maybe I’ll even seem CLASSY. Ok, I need some new clothes. 🙂

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