Visit to Philadelphia High School

            In general, I am very excited to visit the high school after fall break, because we’ve been discussing education and class for quite a while using just our own personal experiences and our readings. I’m looking forward to actually perhaps witness first-hand some of the theory and experiences we’ve talked about in class. I’m hoping we’ll be able to sit in for a little bit on a typical class at the high school as well as talk with the students about their experiences and backgrounds. The thing is, I’m figuring that part of going to this high school is to see the interactions of education and class in action, but I don’t want to assume which socioeconomic class the students are from. At the same time, I know I probably will not feel comfortable enough with these students who are basically strangers to ask them their class. It reminds me of our first day in class when we were asked to classify ourselves and no one chose to name their socioeconomic class.

            If I could ask the students we will be meeting anything, I would want to ask them about their home lives, the process of applying to the high school, how this high school is different from other high schools where maybe other kids from their community go to, and their plans for the future and if this differs from plans students at other high schools have. I would also like to know what their classes are like, how the teachers run the classrooms, and what teaching style has worked best for them in their own opinion.

            In addition to be exciting for our visit, I am a bit nervous about visiting the high school because to this day, I am still intimidated by groups of teenagers no matter their class, race, ethnicity, gender, or any other classification.