Bubbles Within the Bubble
As I have been in the early stages of exploring the information included in this study, the light has shined on one theme. There is a social ‘bubble’ that has been created both within the Croft school and more broadly, within the community. The overarching bubble consists of socioeconomic divides within communities that these students experience in their daily lives. Although our research focuses primarily on divides within the school itself, I want to acknowledge the broader divides students experience that represents Chilean community more broadly. This community divide has caused them to have minimal social interaction with lower social classes outside of school. Students express that the extent of their interactions outside of their bubble are ‘three times a year building houses in the community’ and that these exchanges are framed as the ‘upper-class “helping” the lower class,’ creating an uncomfortable environment for students interacting with lower classes. It positions students to be in roles of power, despite the effort to integrate them into the community. These outcomes showcase how Chilean culture approaches socioeconomic divides and provides context for why students may not interact with ‘outside’ individuals.
The ‘bubbles within the bubble’ are explained through the Croft itself. Not only do students describe their lives as being a large ‘bubble’ but they also describe other ‘bubbles’ within their lives such as how various friend groups are created, career paths taken and academic expectations, as well as athletic involvement. One student described how his friend group evolved, saying his friends come from similar backgrounds that are not super rich and how their parents influenced their friendships. This is intriguing because it underscores how middle-class students navigate an extremely upper-class environment. Another student expressed that their friend group is split socially between some partying all of the time and others staying in. She said that she likes to do both but has separate friends for each. Furthermore, she describes how students can act arrogant and disrespectful which she doesn’t like to surround herself with. As far as career paths and expectations, they explained it as the students will probably work for their fathers company and framed it as jobs getting handed to them. Expectations in academics are very high, and you are expected to enter into a prestigious career. If you do not abide by these norms, you are outed from the ‘bubble’. Career paths and academics exemplify how this elite bubble provides its students with hefty advantages and how you are expected to uphold a level of loyalty to the ‘bubble’. Lastly, athletics create an inner bubble by way of involvement. Some students are heavily involved in varsity athletics which provides them with friends and other elite status within school while others choose to dance or swim recreationally. Sports at the Croft school take precedence and can influence social groups and sense of belonging in the school.
The Croft school similarly represents Colby. At Colby the same types of bubbles exist where Colby students do not interact with the community much and also form bubbles within the Colby community itself. Colby is a very rich and secluded circle within the Waterville community (our ‘bubble’ on the hill), rarely interacting with outside community members. Within Colby, the same bubbles exist based on fields of study, athletics, career paths, and friendships. There are major divides among athletic involvement on our small campus, almost creating an idea of an ‘in/out’ group. Our areas of study and chosen career paths tend to divide us due to shared interests and perceived prestige of these choices. Friendships are often built on these foundations and from observation, also form based on socioeconomic backgrounds. Croft and Colby create and reproduce elite exclusionary practices both within the broader community and in the school by way of these ‘bubbles’.