It's not where you go, it's what you do there and after: A response to the latest attack on Cultural Poverty

As Cultural Poverty begins to be seriously considered by ever expanding circles, it was only a matter of time before it came under the same attacks as Aspirational Poverty did in the early 2010's- except this time the classist undertones are pushed not by the topic, but by the commentators! 

For ease, please give this article a read first. I'm still waiting on the journal it comments on to come out- though if any of you fine folks out there have an early copy, let me know because it'll be gladly received! 

Are Museums "Middle Class"?

Quickly then, shall we consider first what it means to be "Middle Class"? Let's say that broadly it means a very strong household income and housing situation that translate very non-academically to something akin to:

-The weekly shop done at Waitrose

-A semi detached or detached owned property in a "nice" area

-Affordability for two to four children

-Access to private education for one of these, but in a great school catchment area for public schools

-Access to private tuition

-More than one car for the household

-Combined income of 90k per year.

Disagree with this? Great, do your own list and post it below! I literally just looked at middle to executive wage packets and housing prices for the home counties. I also grew up around people with exactly this set up so, yeah. 

Museums are generally free to enter and have been since the Renaissance era in the UK. In London, where the bulk of cultural spending takes place you can find a free museum around nearly any subject matter studied in schools. In addition to this many museums have skilled, knowledgeable staff replete with learning resources you can have for free. These staff, will talk to your children FOR FREE. Displays are made accessible for all levels of learner and changed regularly.

I don't really understand how you can class museums therefore as a "Middle Class" activity when they seemed to be actively designed to help the working poor out as much as possible? 

Perhaps then the article needs to be a bit more clear on what is so "Middle Class" about a museum? Do they mean to say that only wealthy people get something from art, culture or academia and that the Epsilon working class should be content with the Soma of daytime television? Would just love to know this because I feel like the bias of these academic researchers is leaking through into their findings like a dodgy water bottle into my bag.

It's not where you go, it's what you do there and after 

Okay so, next up in this adventure of an article, it points out that these culturally enriching activities are facilitated by parents, rather than schools. Talk about alarm bells ringing right here! This is so cringe it makes me feel like the writers of this journal article were high off of an overdose of foie gras. 

So, lets begin with an obvious statement here. Cultural visits to places of academic interest are an awesome day out for the family. However, if you want to get the most out of it, with a GCSE in mind, then you need to go as part of a school trip. Why? Well, to state the obvious (because the article authors clearly need this to be stated) teachers tend to know more about exam mark scheme requirements and topic areas than parents. I'd like to cite some academic evidence for this but they rarely publish papers on subjects with answers so obvious they can be seen from space.

Second statement is that assumption than at least some people live outside of London. 

In rural communities with limited access to museums all class levels a trip to museum may involve a lengthy journey with limited topic choice. I live in a town with an amazing, small council run train museum. Do these kids do a module on steam engine mechanics? Doubtful (cool idea though) so yeah, of course it's got limited impact on a GCSE Biology paper. It might just make them start to think about a career in the railways though... 

I would loved to have seen a C.P investigation on how school trips impact learners, both in terms of happiness, willingness to learn and in terms of grades. What we got was a thinly veiled attack on one of the few British institutions not yet privatised. I bet you if that happens museums will be turned into Middle Class outings because they'll be the only people able to afford it!

Literacy matters- so why ignore it's decay?

One thing this article does talk about that I agree with is the subject of literacy and how a love for reading as a family can increase grades. I teach GCSE English resit and if I've heard a student tell me once that there are no books in the house, I've heard it enough times to make me reconsider training as a gravedigger to increase job serotonin levels (a joke, I love teaching, please do not make me work in a cemetery, I have a bad back and I'm scared of zombies.)

Reading books, I often tell my students, is like lifting weights for your mind. You don't read often? Each time you pick up an book it'll feel like a massive effort. Read frequently? You'll get better and it'll be easier to do. The sad truth here is that the educational system at GCSE levels actively pushes learners away from reading- but not in the way a lot of people believe.

I've heard people talking about how the selection of literature is fairly uninspiring to many learners which is true in some cases - find me one kid inspired by An Inspector Calls and I'll buy you a pint! No, the real injustice to literacy levels is the simple fact that after taking and failing ones English Language GCSE in school, you're made to do it again... but take and fail literature and you're forever told "You don't need to resit it, it's not as important as Language!"

Put that into context like this: You read a book about a dystopian future in which fake news dominates the landscape (1984) and begin to think deeply about your own relationships to facts. You're then told "That's not that important- however if you can't pick out 3 adjectives from this 1910's article about soup you're a failure! Do it again or you don't get to go to university!"

Conclusion

If you came here looking for stale academic rebuttal, I'm very sorry. Like a museum, I am free, full up on weekends and possessed with frantic changes to subject matter on a daily basis. I teach in, what feels like the trenches of this war on literacy and culture. Attacking museums and the notion of class does nothing but damage the learners. Besides if i've said it once, I've said it a dozen times:

Bring back Literature into the GCSE English resit spec. Extracts don't cut it and it's damaging the culture, creative proccesses and opportunities of our young people!