Social Class Educational Structure in Brave New World
Social Class Educational Structure in Brave New World
Nathan Dominique
West Forsyth High School
5/4/2015
Social Class Educational Structure in Brave New World
Introduction
Social stratification, or dividing people into classes, was and is still prevalent in society in many ways. In every form division acts as an inhibitor for what certain citizens can do, but it helps form a stable class structure as there is little mobility. Namely, stratification is most evident in the various realms of education: elementary, secondary, and post-secondary. The opportunities of specific classes to achieve feats in education is often extremely disproportionate (Benson,1989, p. 159) leaving lower classes at the bottom of society. What determines the placement of an individual is often their knowledge and wealth, basically his or her ability to be productive. Aldous Huxley, as well as many other authors of his day and the days to come, would realize how deeply dependent the educational system had become on social status and class. In this paper the social class structure 's affect on education will be examined in England during the time period when Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World, in Brave New World, and then both will be compared as well as assessing the future predictions of Huxley. In all of these topics class structures exerted a profound impact on the opportunities of individuals in education and benefitted mainly the superior heads of society in order to promote stability through education.
Social Stratification in Education from 1922-1932 British Schools. British schools were stained with vast discrepancies throughout this time period. The rich were represented more in grammar schools than were the poor. In fact I found that only 10% of working class children attended Grammar schools compared to 67% of the wealthy professional children (Benson,1989, p.159). With the presence of such discrepancies opportunities were stripped from lower classes.
Nathan Dominique
West Forsyth High School
5/4/2015
Social Class Educational Structure in Brave New World
Introduction
Social stratification, or dividing people into classes, was and is still prevalent in society in many ways. In every form division acts as an inhibitor for what certain citizens can do, but it helps form a stable class structure as there is little mobility. Namely, stratification is most evident in the various realms of education: elementary, secondary, and post-secondary. The opportunities of specific classes to achieve feats in education is often extremely disproportionate (Benson,1989, p. 159) leaving lower classes at the bottom of society. What determines the placement of an individual is often their knowledge and wealth, basically his or her ability to be productive. Aldous Huxley, as well as many other authors of his day and the days to come, would realize how deeply dependent the educational system had become on social status and class. In this paper the social class structure 's affect on education will be examined in England during the time period when Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World, in Brave New World, and then both will be compared as well as assessing the future predictions of Huxley. In all of these topics class structures exerted a profound impact on the opportunities of individuals in education and benefitted mainly the superior heads of society in order to promote stability through education.
Social Stratification in Education from 1922-1932 British Schools. British schools were stained with vast discrepancies throughout this time period. The rich were represented more in grammar schools than were the poor. In fact I found that only 10% of working class children attended Grammar schools compared to 67% of the wealthy professional children (Benson,1989, p.159). With the presence of such discrepancies opportunities were stripped from lower classes.