In a world that caters to the elite, there are systems in place that reinforce existing class hierarchies. This elite class reproduction is ingrained in systems as well as the students themselves. While reading interview transcripts from the Croft School there was a common theme of not needing to study or work because it doesn’t matter. This caused me to ponder the idea of education without motivation. Without future goals of contributing to the workforce, pursuing higher education, or being a responsible citizen, what is the point of attending an elite school? Is this thinking the capitalist curriculum ingrained in my brain as a participant of 18 years of the United States education system, or is this a valid concern? If the goal isn’t education, and the students show little care or concern, then why go?
When interviewing a 17 year old female student at The Croft School, details on social life and hierarchy at the school emerged. When asked about social groups Maria states, “There’s always the popular ones, the ones that hate studying. They have very bad grades. They only go to school to hang out. They go to parties”. Then going into further detail, Maria mentions how these students are usually a lot richer than the rest of school. They don’t need to study or go to class because there is no reason to. She says, “ Some of us, like me, study very hard because we need really high grades to enter university. And others not so much because they can enter easily”. The student interviewed here alludes to wealth and privilege playing a role in entering college, and not needing to try or get good grades to do so. Maria illustrated the lack of care or concern that some students have for trying in school, and how she has noticed it’s relation to social class.
There are several interesting concepts here. First, the Croft School is an elite institution catering to the elite. There is no middle or lower class representation. And yet, these students still distinguish themselves on attitudes and social class. All of these students continue their education in high school because of these connections. Student X mentioned, “ I think that they have more opportunities because of contacts… often people from the (Croft School) are the bosses of big companies and important places and sometimes legal companies… it’s a very big network and we have lots of advantages”. Elite institutions, even without the education, create a network of highly wealthy elite families. Families want their children to attend elite institutions to increase their access and social capital.
Bourdeiu discusses social capital as a series of resources based on group membership, relationships, networks of influence, and support systems (Bourdieu 1986). The Croft School provides opportunities for students to connect and meet others in possession of wealth and opportunities that can then be passed down to the next generation of elite Croft School graduates. Not only does this help students and their families, but it also cements the school in having elite status. Cultural capital, both institutionalized and embodied, comes into play. Students at the Croft school receive an elite institution diploma, as well as a set of behaviors and expectations on how to remain elite.
Finally, returning to my last point, schools have several objectives, both spoken and unspoken. While growing up in the U.S. I do believe that schools have a role in preparing students in an economic sense, schools also contribute to the development of social and cultural capital. In this case, although students should want to be educated for purposes of education, the Croft School provides students with a variety of other objectives that contribute to the success of elite students and families. So yes, attending an elite institution without care or concern for academic success or one’s future, is in this case worth it.
This phrase is what a student from the Croft school, an elite school in Chile, explicitly mentioned in an interview when asked about their school experience. This student is not alone in these feelings of isolation. In fact, when speaking with students attending global elite high schools this was a common theme. But why is this the case? Elite schools are supposed to give students all of the tools they need to succeed. They pride themselves on being above other schools and even their own geographic communities, creating physical, mental, and emotional separation. While this sense of “eliteness” is coveted, it has certain effects on the students and community of the school. What is the impact of this isolation and separation on those students?
The Croft school lacks socioeconomic and ethnic diversity. As mentioned by many students, the Croft school feels like a bubble. It provides a sense of security for students, but also keeps them away from other parts of society. Student A, a 17-year-old who has attended the Croft School for 12 years, commented that her friend group is entirely made up of similar ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students at the Croft school are not exposed to people from different social classes, primarily because of the no scholarship policy. The interactions that students have with different socioeconomic classes are either through community service or those that work or clean the school or their houses.
When asked, one student had no idea if there was any diversity at the Croft school, and assumed that everyone there was equally as wealthy as she was. She states, “Croft students don’t have friends in the poorer parts of the city.” There are massive separations between the school, and lower social classes, seen both geographically and through the students’ opinions and perspectives. This creates a strong division between wealthy, elite students, and lower-class citizens. It impacts day-to-day life, separating social life by social class.
Another student mentions the Croft school itself is divided into three main groups, primarily separated by social class, separating the elite among the elite. At the top of the Croft school are the jocks or popular guys and girls. This category is seen as the richest, must play sports, and seem to be at school more for social endeavors than wanting to further their education. In the second group are the “neutrals,” who will accept anybody. This subclass is once again elite in terms of Chilean society, but not wealthy or privileged enough to be in the popular group. Finally on the bottom of the Croft social pyramid are the geeks, made fun of for their commitment to school. The student mentions there is usually some intergroup mingling as they have grown up together, but there are many, primarily in the popular group who refuse to talk to those not in their group. Even though students attending Croft school are almost all in the top 1% of wealth in Chile, there are still sub-hierarchies and similarities between Chilean society and the elite school.
Students seem to be divided into two main categories. The first is happy with the way the Croft school operates and has no desire to interact or explore social class. The second, which is the larger of the two groups, has a desire to break free from this bubble. While most love the Croft School, there are entrenched feelings of isolation from the rest of society. Most of these students have attended the same school with the same people for longer than 10 years. With intense academic pressure and stress, accompanied by social pressure and wealth being a norm and expectation, students have little understanding of the outside world.
Returning to my first question, the impact of isolation and this bubble-like state of living creates an unhealthy dynamic for students in elite schooling. Especially when branding as a “global” school, these institutions must provide opportunities for students to witness and explore social class dynamics outside of the small community they are living in. A few ways to do this are by diversifying the school through scholarship programs, letting students leave the Croft school and enter the city, and having school and class-sanctioned discussions on what social class is and why it exists.
