Democratic Inequality at St. Paul's School
04 / 17 / 2014
In these days, it is not a problem to join a high prestigious boarding school. It is how comfortable we are when joining such elite schools as we came from different background, race, class, ethnicity, and/or sexuality. St. Paul’s School (Concord, New Hampshire) is one of those high prestigious schools in the United States. Although it is an open place to all races, classes, and ethnicities, some students can be uncomfortable at it due to the inequality that occurs from the pre-existing privilege that some other students have. In short, St. Paul’s is an open school, but it is unequal and uncomfortable for some of us.
Although St. Paul’s School is more diverse now in terms of race, color, and class, it is still hard for some students to adapt themselves with the school’s situation. They still feel uncomfortable and unequal to others at the school. Back to the history, St. Paul’s and other elite schools were occupied by aristocratic people who had inherited their social positions and dominated the society because of their fortune, class, and/or family titles. They were at ease and comfort of getting into such schools. This palpable inequality is not the case now. St. Paul’s went into a new form of inequality. It is what Khan calls Democratic Inequality in which meritocracy replaces aristocracy (Khan 8.) The new era of St. Paul’s School contains students of different colors, races, and/or classes, but they all have one common thing, meritocratic privilege, which is in this case Fortune. They are diverse, but they all are rich students. Khan states, “In 1951 blacks made up approximately 0.8 percent of the students at elite colleges. Today blacks made up about 8 percent of Ivy League students; the Columbia class of 2014 is 13 percent black – representative of the black population in our nation as a whole. A similar change could be shown for other races, and women today are outperforming men, creating a gender gap in college attendance in favor of women. Without question our elite educational institutions have become far more open racially and to women.” (Khan 5.) This is an obvious example on how elite schools including St. Paul’s School became more diverse nowadays. This diversity is good, but is it enough to fix the inequality inside the school? No, middle-class students and students who are from different backgrounds feel unequal and uncomfortable compared to those upper-class students who are always privileged at the school. They are meritocratically privileged based on their fortune, not on their talents, hard work, or any other reason. They feel fine and comfortable to be at St. Paul’s because this is their normal position they inherited, generation after generation. This is what makes elite schools, no matter how diverse they are, unequal and uncomfortable for some students who are from different class/background as they have not experienced being in such schools before. They struggle to adapt themselves to the privileged students’ situation, and this is absolutely uncomfortable task.
With how much ease would one is able to carry out the practice of privilege is actually depending on one’s own hierarchy. The upper hierarchy he occupies, the more ease he carries out the practice of privilege. Hierarchies are natural, but that does not mean that they are always ascribed through inheritance, as we understood them in the past. They are achieved. They are like ladders, not barriers, and it means that anyone can climb up/down as long as he knows how to interact with those above (and below) him in a very particular way (Khan 15.) Learning the skills of interaction is one of elite schools’ responsibilities. St. Paul’s School teaches students how they develop and cultivate their hierarchies and in turn, their privilege. It does not care about their heritage (who they are) but instead on their experiences (what they have done). This is what Khan calls, The Shift from the Old Elite to the New Elite (Khan 15.) With that being said, it is not easy for one to learn such skills and adapt to a new position. This is why some St. Paul’s students feel uncomfortable adapting to their new position at the school. Even if they are rich, they do not have a sense of belonging to this place because they came from different world, culture, and/or environment that are not the same as the privileged students’ ones. Stan (one of St. Paul’s wealthy students) said, “I worked hard to get here …. Not everyone does this.” (Khan 47) He thought that he worked hard to make that advance in his school and nobody easily does this. In fact, everyone at St. Paul’s can do this except very few students who decide to leave the school. Those are not failures; they just cannot fit into the place. They may work even harder than Stan. It is not about working hard at all. They just cannot climb up the ladder to well carry out the practice of privilege. If they did succeed in social mobility, they would be at ease and well handle the practice of privilege and in turn, they would feel comfortable and easily achieve what privileged students achieve.
St. Paul’s School, like any other elite school now, is an open and diverse school, but unequal and uncomfortable for some students. Its privileged students think that their achievement is due to their work, not their wealth and to their talents, not their lineage (Khan 199.) Indeed, it is due to their privilege whether this privilege is entitled (old elite) or achieved (new elite.)
Works Cited
Khan, Shamus Rahman. Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2011. Print.
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04 / 17 / 2014
In these days, it is not a problem to join a high prestigious boarding school. It is how comfortable we are when joining such elite schools as we came from different background, race, class, ethnicity, and/or sexuality. St. Paul’s School (Concord, New Hampshire) is one of those high prestigious schools in the United States. Although it is an open place to all races, classes, and ethnicities, some students can be uncomfortable at it due to the inequality that occurs from the pre-existing privilege that some other students have. In short, St. Paul’s is an open school, but it is unequal and uncomfortable for some of us.
Although St. Paul’s School is more diverse now in terms of race, color, and class, it is still hard for some students to adapt themselves with the school’s situation. They still feel uncomfortable and unequal to others at the school. Back to the history, St. Paul’s and other elite schools were occupied by aristocratic people who had inherited their social positions and dominated the society because of their fortune, class, and/or family titles. They were at ease and comfort of getting into such schools. This palpable inequality is not the case now. St. Paul’s went into a new form of inequality. It is what Khan calls Democratic Inequality in which meritocracy replaces aristocracy (Khan 8.) The new era of St. Paul’s School contains students of different colors, races, and/or classes, but they all have one common thing, meritocratic privilege, which is in this case Fortune. They are diverse, but they all are rich students. Khan states, “In 1951 blacks made up approximately 0.8 percent of the students at elite colleges. Today blacks made up about 8 percent of Ivy League students; the Columbia class of 2014 is 13 percent black – representative of the black population in our nation as a whole. A similar change could be shown for other races, and women today are outperforming men, creating a gender gap in college attendance in favor of women. Without question our elite educational institutions have become far more open racially and to women.” (Khan 5.) This is an obvious example on how elite schools including St. Paul’s School became more diverse nowadays. This diversity is good, but is it enough to fix the inequality inside the school? No, middle-class students and students who are from different backgrounds feel unequal and uncomfortable compared to those upper-class students who are always privileged at the school. They are meritocratically privileged based on their fortune, not on their talents, hard work, or any other reason. They feel fine and comfortable to be at St. Paul’s because this is their normal position they inherited, generation after generation. This is what makes elite schools, no matter how diverse they are, unequal and uncomfortable for some students who are from different class/background as they have not experienced being in such schools before. They struggle to adapt themselves to the privileged students’ situation, and this is absolutely uncomfortable task.
With how much ease would one is able to carry out the practice of privilege is actually depending on one’s own hierarchy. The upper hierarchy he occupies, the more ease he carries out the practice of privilege. Hierarchies are natural, but that does not mean that they are always ascribed through inheritance, as we understood them in the past. They are achieved. They are like ladders, not barriers, and it means that anyone can climb up/down as long as he knows how to interact with those above (and below) him in a very particular way (Khan 15.) Learning the skills of interaction is one of elite schools’ responsibilities. St. Paul’s School teaches students how they develop and cultivate their hierarchies and in turn, their privilege. It does not care about their heritage (who they are) but instead on their experiences (what they have done). This is what Khan calls, The Shift from the Old Elite to the New Elite (Khan 15.) With that being said, it is not easy for one to learn such skills and adapt to a new position. This is why some St. Paul’s students feel uncomfortable adapting to their new position at the school. Even if they are rich, they do not have a sense of belonging to this place because they came from different world, culture, and/or environment that are not the same as the privileged students’ ones. Stan (one of St. Paul’s wealthy students) said, “I worked hard to get here …. Not everyone does this.” (Khan 47) He thought that he worked hard to make that advance in his school and nobody easily does this. In fact, everyone at St. Paul’s can do this except very few students who decide to leave the school. Those are not failures; they just cannot fit into the place. They may work even harder than Stan. It is not about working hard at all. They just cannot climb up the ladder to well carry out the practice of privilege. If they did succeed in social mobility, they would be at ease and well handle the practice of privilege and in turn, they would feel comfortable and easily achieve what privileged students achieve.
St. Paul’s School, like any other elite school now, is an open and diverse school, but unequal and uncomfortable for some students. Its privileged students think that their achievement is due to their work, not their wealth and to their talents, not their lineage (Khan 199.) Indeed, it is due to their privilege whether this privilege is entitled (old elite) or achieved (new elite.)
Works Cited
Khan, Shamus Rahman. Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2011. Print.
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