Elizabeth Noyes

If you had asked me 3 months ago what it means to be elite, I would have told you a similar, albeit less well-formed, answer that I would give today about wealth and privilege. However, if you had asked me if I was elite, my answer would be a hesitation but ultimately followed by “no”. After studying the true definition of what it means to be this seemingly elusive term of elite, I realized that regardless of my position before I got to college, the sheer factor that I attend this institution and will earn a bachelor’s degree from Colby College makes me irrevocably ELITE.

I spoke in my first blog post about the strange space I filled as a not wealthy student at a expensive, Catholic high school, where I was unsure of my status based on the relative wealth I possessed based on the peers I was surrounded with. And although upon entering Colby I did not, and still do not (college student problems), possess the economic capital that many of my classmates have, with a diploma from Colby, I now possess the social and institutional capital that comes with the cap and gown including networks, knowledge, and prestige.

As a senior, this eliteness of a Colby degree is not something I am complaining about… In the competitive job market of the “real world”, an elite education is what puts you above the rest of the applicants. So why is being elite so bad? Is there a negative stigma that comes with being elite that stems from elites being oblivious to their dominance? So are we to think that because we are aware of our privileges that we are somehow exempt from the elitism? It’s impossible to deny our eliteness as we sit in a classroom situated on a beautiful campus paying $60,000 a year to be here. And even though I am on financial aid and have student loans totaling a scary amount of debt, my eliteness gives me the confidence and assuredness that I will pay back those debts and be okay. And at the end of the day, isn’t that exactly what elite means??

Once I stopped trying to deny my eliteness, I realized that I can embrace it, learn from it, and do the best I can to use it for good. I feel particularly responsible to use my eliteness to further my successes because of my dad and his background. When my dad was 7 years old, his father died. His older brother and sister were already out of the house because they were much older than him. This left my dad, a young child, as “the man of the house”. With only one parent working, my dad and my Memere struggled financially. So, when my dad was 18 he dropped out of high school to join the navy. With just a GED, my dad entered the work force in the federal aviation administration branch of the government. Through hard work and perseverance, my dad now is able to provide for my family and prides himself on this. Because my parents have sent me to Colby, I feel a sense of responsibility in producing economic capital to pay my parents back for all they’ve done and more.

Last week we had the chance to read a few articles about elite schooling specifically in Chile. I was excited to apply what we have learned about privilege and eliteness to the context of the Chilean school we are researching. In our reading of Madrid’s “’What are you going to do with all this information?’ Life history method and the formation of hegemonic masculinities in elite private schools in Chile” I was particularly struck by how the elite schools in Chile participate in the reproduction of the elite class. There are only 20 elite schools in Chile and 84% of the CEOs of the top companies in Chile were educated at one of these schools.

He also talks about how the political figures and leaders of Chile are deeply wound with the elite private schools of the country. These schools are becoming more and more tied to politics as can be seen in how many fathers of the elite class attended these schools (~16%), how many current elites attended these schools (39%) and how many children of the elites attend or attended these schools (65%). This is a prime example of the economically dominant majority exercising their control over those without such power. The number of generational elites attending these schools is growing which makes the achievement gap larger as it becomes more and more difficult to infiltrate the political positions in Chile if you do not come from one of these elite private schools which is only possible if you are a member of the upper class. This is specifically pertinent to Croft School in which applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from someone associated with the school for admittance. At the Croft School, no financial aid is offered. Therefore, regardless of academic achievement, non-elites cannot infiltrate this elite, exclusive institution if they cannot afford the steep fees of approximately $17,500 a year ($7,500 one time incorporation fee and $10,000 in tuition). This offers limited hope of using these elite schools as a vehicle of class mobility by denying lower income students the ability to take advantage of the opportunities that this school could provide. Madrid calls these schools “class organizers” in that they separate the elites from those who are not elite. These schools also form networks with alumni, staff and students that will benefit the students economically in the future, thus ensuring their graduates success.

The socioeconomic homogeneity that is created at these Chilean elite schools is a product of these factors. This provides limited diversity in the student body and therefore limited opportunities to learn to be a global citizen, a motto boasted by many elite schools, including the Croft School. It will be interesting for us to learn what happens to students once they graduate and if the connections they have made through the school influence their career paths both in terms of which they choose to embark on and how their status as members of this elite community aids them in this process.

Now that we have found our bearings and delved into what makes up an “elite” school, it is time we start looking specifically into our School, the Croft School. Doing so has been challenging, as our primary source of information is the school’s website, which obviously only features the remarkable attributes of the school and gives absolutely nothing that could be even construed as being negative (naturally, though they are trying to attract only the most elite students…). However, as critical researchers we are actively seeking unbiased reports. So far, the information I have learned about the school from their website can be summed up in the following:

1. The Headmaster’s Message: “We want to form young people who will be useful to the country and are trustworthy.”

This short and concise message actually conveys a lot in terms of the values of the school and its student body. Their #1 purpose is to make their students useful to Chile. This is interesting because Croft School is a British school that typically sends its graduates on to prestigious English institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, so one might think that the goal of these students is not to be stedfast Chilean citizens when they plan on leaving the country following their time at the school. Hmm very interesting…

2.  Their work in Social Service, which falls under their emphasis on Pastoral Care.

The information on social service is included in the website’s tab on Pastoral care, but solely to say that the heads of each “Pastoral Team” are delegated the responsibility of its organization. This is particularly interesting to me because my research group is focusing on how eliteness plays into community service. We are under the impression that elite and wealthy people at Croft School often believe that everything should be done for them and therefore are not invested in giving back to their communities. The lack of information on how students at Croft School volunteer their time may be proving our assumptions correct.

3. Admissions information is given in only Spanish.

The Croft School’s website is set primarily in English because of its affiliation as an English school and their adherence that all students be bilingual at the school. Interestingly though, the only tab written in solely Spanish is their admissions information. There is an option to toggle between Spanish and English on the site, however even when in the English version, Admissions information is not given in English. This may give a clue as to the primary language of most families who are submitting their children’s applications for admission. The school is sending a message to applicants that Spanish is valued, even required, to get in, however once admitted to the school (all the information given on the website is in English), English will be the primary language spoken. Maybe this is me looking for something that isn’t there, or maybe it’s truly a subliminal message the school is sending to its parents and students… Only time (and more research) will tell.

Overall, their website gives some background information but not nearly enough detail as what we will need to construct our case studies, so we have therefore been exploring other venues. I have found trouble in this area because of a language barrier (no hablo español) but luckily each group has their own resident Spanish speaker (excelente) so as we find more sources, we should be able to use them for our research.

In studying elite schools and how they shape an individual, it is interesting and important to look back on my own educational experiences as they have made me who I am today. I went to Catholic school from K-12. I did not attend the same school for 13 years however, but went to elementary school from K-6th grade, junior high for 7th and 8th grade, and high school for 9th-12th grade. Even as a kid, I understood there was a degree of eliteness in going to these schools that my friends on my recreational basketball and softball teams did not have at the public schools in Nashua. I had a simple understanding of this at a young age though, being that the only difference was I wore a uniform and took religion classes.

Once I reached high school, I realized that there was an air of superiority that came with private schooling. When people asked where I went to school, I was hesitant to tell them because I didn’t want them to think I was wealthy and stuck-up. The truth is, my parents sacrificed a lot for me to go to a private high school to get a better education than the one I would have received at the public school in my city. We lived paycheck to paycheck but I experienced a weird dichotomy in that I wanted the rich kids at my high school to think I was like them, but didn’t want to be perceived as snotty to everyone else.

At Colby I have had a similar experience in trying to fit in with the upper-class crowd while simultaneously trying not to seem pretentious to the world outside of Colby. Before I got to college I was under the impression that I went to a preppy, affluent high school. But that was before I learned of the elite schools scattered throughout New England that so many of my classmates have graduated from. They went to exclusive boarding schools that boasted beautiful athletic facilities and high-level academia unparalleled to any other high schools in the country. Just a reminder, these are high schools…

They boast extremely high graduation rates and impressive college acceptances. They are known to be the best of the best, and for a price. The understanding I formerly had of private schools was based solely on my own Catholic school experience. I didn’t even know these schools existed because they were so far out of my league, financially. Colby’s student body is filled with graduates from these schools though and the preppy, affluent person I was so afraid to be has been out shadowed by them. I now find myself having to defend what I grew up thinking of as an elite education with the fear that people may view me as inferior within the Colby world.

Upon self-reflection I have found that the lens with which you look at schooling based on your own educational experiences shapes your opinions. For me, the prestige I once believed to possess I no longer feel belongs to me… and I don’t know whether to be relieved or worried. I no longer feel the need to establish my middle-class status but do feel the need to assert myself as well-educated amongst my classmates who went to “better” high schools.

Regardless of relative eliteness regarding my secondary education, the fact that I attend Colby College automatically places me among the elites when I graduate. It is important for me to use this status as a way to help those in need and focus less on how others may perceive my assumed wealth, and more on what I can do to be perceived as a good person. One of my favorite quotes is “Go into the world and do good. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.”