QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT OF BOWLES AND GINTIS AND REFLECTIONS ON OTHERS IN THE CLASS

These questions cover all three readings assigned.

• Assignment 6A. Total value = 200 points.

  6A is due Wed. April 19th.

  6A. On the institutional basis:

  1. 50 points.
  2. 150 points.

  6A: Bowles and Gintis argue that educational reformers (and radicals) err in not taking into account the role of economics in having created the plight of the school. This is not a question of money, at least not in the sense of not having enough money to run the schools in some ideal manner. Rather, what Bowles and Gintis are getting at is that the STRUCTURE of our economic life demands that the schools have many of the things that many of us regard as shortcomings.

  This entails that the economy is a more powerful driving force in our society than the schools, and thus the schools much knuckle down to the mandates of the economic structures since they are more powerful than that of the school.6A: Bowles and Gintis argue that educational reformers (and radicals) err in not taking into account the role of economics in having created the plight of the school. This is not a question of money, at least not in the sense of not having enough money to run the schools in some ideal manner. Rather, what Bowles and Gintis are getting at is that the STRUCTURE of our economic life demands that the schools have many of the things that many of us regard as shortcomings.

  1. (50 points): What argument do Bowles and Gintis make to show that there is such a thing as the "structure" of the economy, and what arguments do they make to show that this structure does in fact mandate the structure of the social institution of education within our society? Make this argument in your own words, but get to the heart of their ARGUMENT itself and make it clear.
  2. (150 points): Assess this argument. Are Bowles and Gintis right? If you say yes, you are affirming that you can't make any argument against them, thus any good argument that Corbett or anyone else makes against them will count against you. If you say no, then you must make a compelling argument to show how you defend your claim. The better the argument, the higher the grade.

• Assignment 6B. Total value = 150 points.

  6B is due Fri. April 21st.

  6B. Measure of success

  1. 75 points.
  2. 75 points.

  6B. The measure of success. There are three people sitting around talking. Corbett, either Bowles or Gintis and YOU. Corbett says this:

  "Mr. B or G, most of us have been shown arguments that show that the more schooling one gets (that is, the more credentials one amasses) then the more likely it is that one will earn more in one's later life. This argument makes an assumption: namely that there is a high correlation between years of schooling and credentials achieved and earnings over life. If further assumes that OTHER correlations are of a lesser power. So, for example, it may be shown that men out earn women, or that right handed people out earn lefties, or that people who seem to meet a higher degree of the Greek ideal of beauty out earn people who don't. But the defenders of school say two things:

  1. The correlation between schooling and credentials and earnings is higher and more reliable as a predictor of future earnings.
  2. That since schooling is something we can choose to do (unlike being male or beautiful), that this fact shows that our society rewards those who merit it, that is that our society is a meritocracy."

  B or G replies: "Yes, Corbett, that's what the establishment says. And they are right to a certain extent. There is and can be shown to be some correlation between years of schooling and piles of credentials and earnings. That is so. But, the data obscures two things:

  1. That there is a DIFFERENT measure which we have uncovered which has a HIGHER degree of reliability to predict future earnings for any individual;
  2. That the measure we have shown to be the BEST predictor of future earnings is NOT in any way meritocratic, thus we have shown that the U.S. is not a meritocratic society."

  Now, at this point you jump in and you do two things:

  1. You say: "Okay, Mr. B or G, this is what I understand your argument to be:" And at this point you give in your own language a brilliantly clear and accurate account of the argument (the reasons) that B and G have for their thesis that there is an different predictor than schooling or credentials which has a higher reliability to predict future earnings. (That will earn you up to 75 points.)
  2. And you add: Here is my assessment of your argument. At this point you assess their argument. Are Bowles and Gintis right? If you say yes, you are affirming that you can't make any argument against them, thus any good argument that Corbett or anyone else makes against them will count against you. If you say no, they you must make a compelling argument to show how you defend your claim. The better the argument, the higher the grade. (That will earn you up to 75 points.)

• Assignment 6C. Total value = 150 points.

  6B is due Wed. April 26th.

  6C. What is it that schools really do?

  1. 50 points.
  2. 100 points.

  6C. Bowles and Gintis are convinced that the FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE of the school is such that it is not aiming at any of the many glorious things educators have said over the years -- make people critical thinkers, teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, prepare them to earn more in their lives, making them intelligent citizens and so on.

  1. Rather, they argue that the REAL purpose of the school is X (you need to fill in that blank with a clear exposition in your own words), and that we can see that this is so by attending careful to Y (you need to fill in that blank with a clear exposition in your own words. The Y is the ARGUMENT Bowles and Gintis make for X). Each of those is worth 25 points. (Total 50 points)
  2. And you add: Here is my assessment of your argument. At this point you assess their argument. Are Bowles and Gintis right? If you say yes, you are affirming that you can't make any argument against them, thus any good argument that Corbett or anyone else makes against them will count against you. If you say no, they you must make a compelling argument to show how you defend your claim. The better the argument, the higher the grade. (This argument can earn you up to 100 points.)

• Assignment 6D and 6E. 50 points each, total value = 150 points.

  6D and 6E are due by Mon, May 1st.

  6D and 6D: For each write a critical response to something written by Corbett or another student which was posted to you on e-mail.

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