Globally Elite

Wow, What a Ride: An Overall Reflection of the Research Process

Thomas Barry / Globally Elite / Chile, curriculum, Elite, elite schools, eliteness, homogeneity, homogenous, privilege, research, research process, social class, values /

December 4, 2016

While I have completed a number of research projects during my time at Colby, my research partners for this project have arguably been the best ones ever. Each of us has our individual strengths, and I am very grateful to be a part of a balanced group. Collectively, we have rejoiced in moments when the research process has clicked…

… And persevered together when it hasn’t.

Early on in the research process, our group struggled to narrow our focus. In our initial research proposal, our group decided to focus on studying the impact of parental figures on the lives of Croft School students. When we realized there was not enough data on the Internet to analyze the Croft School through this lens, we decided to shift our focus to extracurricular activities. With this focus in mind, one of my group members effectively conducted three interviews with our assigned Croft School student. Shortly after finishing these interviews, my other group partner chugged along and transcribed all three interviews. Interviewing and transcribing are two of the most time consuming parts of this research project, and my partners did an amazing job.

While getting these interviews done was awesome, I was slightly disappointed to learn our student interviewee was not heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Doing a lot of research on two research topics and not having either pan out was definitely discouraging.

However, not being paired with a student who was deeply invested in extracurricular activities was actually a blessing in disguise. It forced my group to learn one of the most important rules of research– letting the data tell you what is important and what to focus on. We soon realized that one of the strongest connections between our class readings, Internet research on elite schools, and our interviews was the theme of homogeneity. Thus, we made homogeneity our research focus, and ran with it.

The Croft School is homogenous in a number of ways. First, the school provides a standardized, homogenous education to all its students; the curriculum is rigid and does not give students very many opportunities to take electives. Second, the social class standing of students at the Croft School is homogenous since most come from upper class backgrounds. Third, the Croft School fosters a particular environment, and upholds specific values, in order to develop a certain type of student — one that is well-rounded, responsible, prepared to attend university anywhere in the world, and equipped to become a trustworthy leader in the future.

mfl0305l — Definition of Homogenous – of the same kind or nature; essentially alike.

After completing our paper outline, my group felt confident in its thought progression. However, when Adam took a look at it, he saw a gap between our literature review discussion about the growth of inequalities around the world, and our claims regarding the impact of homogeneity at elite schools such as the Croft School. While making this connection was difficult, required a lot of brainpower, and required us to use a theory we had not been directly exposed to in class, my partners and I now feel confident that we can finish our paper with this new thought progression.

To be honest, I had not considered what it has meant to be part of a larger research project until Adam asked us to reflect on this question. However, after giving this question some thought, I now have some answers. Since each group in our class is analyzing the Croft School, albeit through a different lens, it has been very helpful to learn about where my classmates have gathered information on the school. Being part of this larger research project has also given me the opportunity to learn more about the elite schools Adam, his previous students, and his research team have explored and analyzed. It has been interesting not only to learn about these schools, but also to look at the similarities and differences between the Croft School and other elite institutions around the world. It feels awesome to be part of a larger research project, and I cannot wait to read more about the Croft School when Adam and his research team publishes research on it sometime in the future.

Besides learning to let the data tell me what to focus on, I have learned a number of valuable lessons during this project. The most important lessons I learned, however, were about my own Eliteness and privilege. I am now more aware of my privilege; how my social class background led me to Colby; as well as the ways I have perpetuated social inequalities — in terms of how I used to see the world, and where I go to school. This awareness has encouraged me to think more deeply about the ways I can impede the perpetuation of inequalities. While I do not have all of the answers to this question yet, I look forward to generating, learning about, and acting on some of them in the future.

Elite Institutions and Local Communities: What’s The Connection?

Elizabeth Huber / Globally Elite /

November 30, 2016

As our our semester long research project at the Chilean School comes to a close, I am left with some unanswered questions. Mainly, these questions are about how elite institutions insist on maintaining ties with their local communities while marketing themselves as global citizens; the ideologies behind elite institutions often conflict with the ideologies and practices of local communities. The benefits of being a global citizen are obvious to me: individuals can be more included in a worldwide setting, thus competitive in an economy that is becoming increasingly global due to a rise in technology and communication. Simultaneously, the label of global eliteness implies that you have the cultural, economic, and social capital to be successful in such a diverse environment.

What is not as obvious to me, however, is why these elite institutions place such an emphasis on involving themselves in their local communities. And as a natural extension, I began asking myself why I insist on involving myself in the local community. If being elite is about the exclusivity and accumulation of power, then why do students at elite institutions like Colby concern themselves with issues in Waterville, Maine? For example, an internship at a banking firm in New York will undoubtedly give me prestige in the form of money, connections, networking opportunities, etc. The benefits of this work are undeniable. On the other hand, and at the serious risk of sounding really bad, what will volunteering as a CCAK mentor do for me in the accumulation of power? With President Greene’s recent investment in downtown Waterville as our our example, why does Colby place such an emphasis on involving itself with the local community?

The complicated relationship between being globally elite while simultaneously being involved in the community is not unique to Colby. In fact, this relationship has been present in nearly every reading that we have completed this semester not to mention it has been very apparent in our student case studies at the Chilean School. For example, our student has lived on two different continents and views himself as a global citizen. He is well traveled, financially comfortable, and attends an elite institution. At the same time, he engages in community service work in his community. WHY? What will serving meals to the homeless at his church do to affect his accumulation of power? In exploring this question, I have produced a few possible hypotheses.

First, the word charity came to mind. Could it be that elite individuals and institutions involve themselves in their local community as an act of charity? Or do they do it for some form of personal satisfaction? Perhaps, our Chilean student or President Greene are so adamant about being involved in the community because it justifies their power. In his work, Pierre Bourdieu calls this process “legitimization”; after our recent investment in Waterville, local residents may acknowledge that Colby is elite, but because of the way in which we exert our power positively in the community, they may not hold resentment towards our institution.

Another possible reason that I produced was the assertion of power. In other words, helping those who are in need of your monetary resources, advice, mentorship, volunteer hours, etc. puts the “helper” in a position of power and reinforces a hierarchy. I don’t necessarily agree that this is the reason for community involvement (at least I hope it is not), but it is worth mentioning because it examines power relationships that may happen at a subconscious level. Perhaps there isn’t an explicit rhetoric that elite institutions help their local communities because “they’re better than them and want to prove it”, but assisting local communities without including them in the exclusive elite institution is only a bandaid: it helps the community in the moment, but does nothing to affect real change in terms of power relations.

Regardless of the reason, the balance between global citizen and local citizen has been an interesting yet perplexing dynamic. And like many of the topics that we explored this semester, my classmates and I have been able to examine it from a personal perspective. Because I attend an elite institution, I can ask myself: why do I include myself in the local community? I suppose part of it is a natural guilt that comes with attending an expensive college in the middle of a low-income community. And another part is that I truly enjoy working with the students that I volunteer with. And though we hate to admit it, part of it is probably the reference we get to put on our resume. Regardless of the reasons, one can not discuss the relationship between global and local citizens without exploring the influence of power.

How blind are we to privileged?

Marco Zamarron / Globally Elite / be the change, Chile, Croft School, privilege /

November 22, 2016

How can you not see your privileged?

How do you go through life not seeing that your house is bigger than that of your peers?

How can you walk right past your brothers and sisters that are out on the streets begging for money?

How can you eat and throw away half your food knowing how many people out there are dying of hunger?

How can you not see the bitter reality?

These are all great questions but the real question is, what happens when we do realize how privileged we are? Do we change the way we live to reflect our newfound knowledge? Do we go out and give change to every homeless person we see or just a couple? Do we keep reminding ourselves about our own privilege or do we talk about it for a couple days and then forget about it? After we leave our social justice class or our elite schooling classes do we go out in to the real world better understanding our privilege and how we can help others or does it all go flying out the window as soon as we step into the hallway?

People of color, like myself, have lived through life being oppressed; beat down, harassed, persecuted, and preyed on. When we talk about reproduction of elite we are talking about institutions like Colby. We are those students that come from underprivileged neighborhoods and backgrounds that we talk about in class. We are those kids who have had all odds against them from the beginning yet we have had to adjust and grind in order to get to where we are. We know how privileged we are to be at a place like Colby. We know how we are being taught to be elite and how to handle that title of elite-ness. The difference is that if you ask any of us what we plan on doing after Colby you will see that we plan to go back to the communities where we came from and bring more of our “kind” out of the shadows. We will use our elite-ness to bring forth a change in this world. We will not stand by idle and wait for someone who is considered “old money” to bring this change for us. We will take our cumulative knowledge and go out to change the world around us. The issue with the world is that sometimes we are not blind to our privilege but we ignore it. We rather turn the other way around when we see a homeless person begging for money. We rather not think about how some kids out there will never make it out of middle school. We focus so much on ourselves that we never really open our eyes to the real world. Sometimes we need to step back and look at the broader picture and bring about that change that is desired by thousands, if not millions.

The Bubble Effect

Amy Furusho / Globally Elite /

November 21, 2016

From our discussions in the past few classes, it is clear that homogeneity and lack of diversity are trademarks of elite schools and institutions. This refers not only to the lack of racial diversity, but also the socioeconomic homogeneity. The Chilean School is no different. After listening to the interviews, the lack of diversity and the consequences that this brought became more and more apparent. In our interviews, our interviewee mentioned her school environment to be “the same, most kids are from the city, only a small percentage is from other countries, all the same socioeconomic [status].” She goes on to state how the uniform ethnicity of the Chilean School brings with it uniform culture, values, and ideas.

She distinctly described the social class tensions and the preconceived notions the wealthier groups had towards the less privileged groups and vice versa. She also documented the violence and the aggression the groups had towards each other. Interacting only with people of a similar socioeconomic class creates the bubble effect often described at Colby. This inevitably leads to the division and distinctive divide between those at the Chilean School and those outside of it.

From a social equality point of view, this “bubble” is detrimental as it serves to separate and further promotes the lack of integration. It also serves to narrow one’s perspective as being in a bubble seems to shut out everything else aside from what the individual is dealing with. However, within the elite circle, this “bubble effect” is a method of reproducing elites and maintaining socioeconomic superiority through keeping all forms of capital within the bubble. Additionally, this “bubble” may be a source of security for elites.

From listening to the interviews, one part that stood out to me was when our interviewee mentioned who made her most aware of her social class. She stated she had a friend who was very open minded and was friends with people all over Santiago. Our interviewee stated that this friend knew people even from the poorer communities and sectors of the region, which was not something that happened often. This too implies the lack of integration and stark separation of people in different socioeconomic positions.

Punishment at Croft School

Emily Taylor / Globally Elite /

November 20, 2016

Over the past month, my research team has been conducting interviews with a student, Alejandro, who attends Croft School. He provides us with first-hand accounts of what it’s like to attend a globally elite institution. The student was very vocal throughout the three interviews and was not afraid to disclose his true feelings about Croft School, especially concerning administration and punishment. The student we interviewed happened to be the president of his class, which leads me to believe he is highly knowledgable about what happens within the institution.

When asked if he was willing to defend his own views in the classroom, Alejandro replied that he stands by his own opinions even if they differ from others, but that if a student were to express their differing views in the classroom, they would be punished. He reported to us, “When they go to decide your punishment when you do something bad, you go to a meeting with the counsel. If you are respectful, he normally gives you like a less harsh punishment but if you start to say like I disagree, or I didn’t do anything wrong, he gives you a very harsh punishment, in my opinion.” What is a very harsh punishment? According to Alejandro, the worst punishment is conditionality with the school. In other words, the student would no longer be able to represent the school.

What lessons do these practices teach to the students of Croft School? Possibly, that it is okay to have your own opinions, but only if those opinions align with the values of the elite. For example, voicing disagreement with the faculty of the elite school may be seen as disrespectful or uncooperative instead of a form of expression or opportunity for discussion. Perhaps this teaches the students that it is better to silence your own voice in the moment for the sake of your future success.

What does it mean to have the highest form of punishment, apart from expulsion, to be disassociation with the school’s name? Being associated with Croft School is what classifies these students as elite. Alejandro expressed the pressure he feels from his parents to succeed in school and attend a quality university. Graduating from Croft School, being attached to the school’s name will strengthen the student’s applications and increase the likelihood of being accepted into an elite university. Influenced by the social pressure they feel from their parents and peers, students may be easily manipulated to blindly follow the school’s values without considering if the school’s principles align with their own morals.

In Alejandro’s opinion, it is not just himself and his classmates who are affected by the threat of punishment, but also the teachers. When asked to describe a typical teacher at his school, Alejandro characterized the educator as “really worried” about getting in trouble themselves. In this student’s opinion, the typical teacher at Croft School is more focused on avoiding punishment from the school than they are with being nice and talking to their students. However, Alejandro did not elaborate on the type of punishment the teachers could face.

Throughout my conduction of research on Croft School and elite schools in general, I have learned that it is important to approach the practices of the school with a critical lens. Interviewing a student who holds some negative views about his own school provides ample opportunity to do so, and provides Alejandro with an outlet to express his unfiltered beliefs (something you know this student may need if you read my last blog on pastoral care).