I wish more people thought about the effects of class on education

• May 10, 2025
• shorts  

I’ve been thinking a lot about how one’s background influences one’s experiences in education (and, in turn, what advice one gives to the next generation). Two people can have wildly different experiences in the same course, with the same instructor, at the same institution, and if you look deep enough the culprit is often socioeconomic differences, which tend to also line up with differences in academic achievement (but not always… it’s complicated).

I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with this, but I really wish more people talked about this. I feel like I started thinking along these lines in grade 12 a little bit, and now these days I’m constantly reading academic texts and books about the effects of class on education.

I really want to write a more accessible piece about this at some point, but where would I even publish such an article?