Please talk to me about cultural capital...

[breakdown19]

What's important?
This thread has been initiated by the fact that a friend is off to an exhibition today while DH and I are catching up on work (both self employed)
It made me wonder whether we are doing enough for our kids.
NB I have deliberately started this in chat not AIBU as not really looking for a fight.

I think cultural capital is important for children's general education and development, but there are many ways of accessing it. It doesn't have to be exhibitions if that's not your bag, it could be music gigs, travel, outdoor spaces, DIY, radio, etc. It's more important that you share something with enthusiasm than drag them round things you don't like yourself.

Just a variety of different experiences I think. Music, theatre, historical, nature-based. Doesn't even need to be outside the home - it can be the books you read or documentaries you watch on TV, or growing vegetables.

Like Iglesias says, I think the thing that makes the difference is enthusiasm. Share the things that you love; enable them to taste enough different experiences to work out what they love; support them to pursue their interests.
I’d also say try not to have preconceived ideas about what they will or won’t find interesting. Just let them access and enjoy things in their own terms and in their own way. And yes, it can be more about conversations than day trips.
I had some really interesting discussions with my children about architecture because they started pondering which Minecraft YouTuber would have designed each of the different buildings.
Also, encourage them to understand that there are many hobbies/interests that you have to be bad at for a long while before you can be good, and that enjoying what you do is more important than being the best at it.

I've noticed the grammar schools round here seem to put some emphasis on this, they all run programmes alongside A Levels with a series of lectures on things like ancient Greeks/Romans/Egyptians, medical ethics, myths, introduction to various religions etc.

The reason your friends are going to an exhibition and you are not is NOT because you lack cultural capital! It's not simply going to stuff and ticking it off a 'cultural capital' list.

It's more nuanced than that. It's being interested enough to want to go (even if you can't because of work), it's reading papers and talking about things more in depth, it's being aware of how to access broader experiences, and crucially it's about realising that such experiences ARE for the likes of me.

The biggest barrier is not lack of knowledge of art movements/architectural styles/Victoria poetry etc. It's feeling that art/architecture/poetry is not for me.

Thus the best thing you can do for your kids is to make sure that they are comfortable going to theatre/galleries/reading Shakespeare/broadsheet newspapers etc.

It's the small things I think are noticed more rather than general knowledge. Knowing what to wear to different occasions e.g. no open toes shoes at a job interview. What a finger bowl is (don't drink it!) What to do with the hot towel given to you at the end of a meal or on a flight. These things will seem common sense to some but completely alien to others.

Well said @titchy
OP it's about showing an interest in the world around you & following paths of interest & enabling your children to do likewise.
I grew up in an economically depressed ex industrial town in the 70s & culture capital was very thin on the ground.

I was incredibly lucky as my father came from a poor but very bright family & his elder siblings pulled themselves up by their boot straps & he, as the youngest, benefited from that as they had books etc..
My father went on to encourage that in me & we always had books in the house- crappy murder mysteries or Catherine Cookson romances from my maternal granny. But I read them indiscriminately and somewhere it just became a reality for me that books were a real source of joy / escape. Eventually I discovered literature & read my way through hundreds of books (library!) & my dream was to own a wall of books (which I do, and some!)
From that I discovered history / poetry/ art & have made my career in the arts.
Looking back it seems impossible that I could have done so really.

Most of the houses of my wider family & friends were devoid of books or music or art apart from tv / radio.

My dcs lives are unrecognizable from mine at the same age as they've been exposed to so much - travel, history, art & there are times when I actually sort of envy them. It's all perfectly normal for them (as it should be)
Finding things you love to do together - nature, science , history etc And doing it regularly & enthusiastically is the key I think

I have been thinking about starting a thread like this, op.

I think I would like my 8 year old to experience: -

Theatre

Museums
Cinema
Camping
Castle visits
Having a birthday party of his own
Art galleries
Beach outings
Kite flying
Farm / Zoo visits
Music gig
A holiday abroad
Aquarium
Learning to swim /cycle

Some of which we have done. Some of which we haven't got round to yet.

I would like to hear what other people are doing.

I have just found out a local university holds lots of free art exhibitions.

I went to an event last weekend at a local theatre. It was a cheap pay what you can afford event, due to them getting lottery funding. I thought it would be good for ds to experience something a bit different. Turns out I loved it just as much!!

Our library does lots of events too, so that's a good place to look for ideas.

titchy explains it very well.
I personally believe that reading is key. Reading widely, including a range of newspapers, gives people an insight into different worlds and cultures and can spark a range of interests.

I've done some research into the link between cultural capital and university choice and the key is making sure people understand that it's something they could do and that people 'like them' can and do go to university.

Personally, I love going to theatres, museums, ballet, sporting events, National Trust and English Heritage buildings and travelling and have always enjoyed this with my 3 children, all through their growing up years. As adults my 2 son's will tell you they hate all museums (exception of NHM), never go to the theatre, ballet although do like Sports and travel. My dd on the other hand loves the theatre, National Trust, English Heritage, and travelling. Just taking them with you to events, no matter how enthusiastic you are or even if they seem to enjoy at the time does not guarantee they will like these things as adults. I clearly recall my 2 sons at castles dressing up as kings with crowns and in knights gear and playing at jousting using wooden horses. Shooting archery, doing all the lovely interactive activities but still they never go as adults.

Yes we went out to dinner with some friend and my oldest said "I've never been anywhere that takes my coat before"

I want them to vaguely know what to do no matter what the occasion - of course we can't prepare for everything but that kind of thing

Mine are 14/11 and 8 so I am sort of in a sweet spot about actually being able to take them places. I would love them to travel more but we don't have the budget

Also, definitely agree with everyone else about being well read. DS adores reading and has done since he was small. Charity shops and libraries have really helped us out financially!

To add to the aforementioned, some free and relatively cheap or free 'cultural experiences' are:

Playing music of all genres - including classical, opera, folk, world.

Gardening.

Nature walks.

Reading - library visits.

Having a small, erudite collection of books at home.

Family picnics and get togethers - family values (however you perceive them in modern times) are a cultural ticket ime.

Spending on experiences rather than things.

@caringcarer I think you can't predict whether any of this will stick with your dc or not but the main point is they have experienced it & know it's there & available for them if they ever decide to take an interest again. And possibly they will if they have dc of their own.

Is this things that make well rounded adults? Not to be found on the curriculum?

A few more things that I would add to my list are: -

Learning an instrument
Learning another language
Going to an auction

I am bringing my DCs up in a similar way to how I was brought up. I've never thought of it as cultural capital, but aged 8 and 10 they:

Have visited art galleries and museums (history, science, ...) and historical sites in several cities in 3 different countries (soon to be 5 by September).

Are bilingual - this is key as we want them to experience the culture of both our countries

Have been to the theatre several times in both countries

Read books in both languages

Are learning about history and traditions in both our countries and others around the world (through discussions and TV programs)

Do a couple of different sports each. We have a piano and they play around on it but as they are dyspraxic and haven't shown a lot of interest I haven't got them lessons yet.

Have travelled to several different countries - both for the nature and the towns.

Have done many walks in forests and mountains and moorlands etc.

Have visited zoos, aquariums and watched lots of nature programs.

Its all been gently introduced as things to try and to do and then we've followed their interests (history and animals). Both my DSes have ADHD so we have always needed to be very active with them at the weekend and in the school holidays so it all adds up. Plus we live in Paris with many museums on our doorstep and my parents are very enthusiastic at taking them to new places.

The OFSTED idea of cultural capital is quite simplistic and actually doesn't necessarily help children do better at school / go to uni etc.

In fact, Bourdeiu identifies more than one aspect to cultural capital.

Taking your kids to the theatre and museums is tick box cultural capital that doesn't achieve much.

Cultural capital that does have an impact is parents who are engaged in their child's education and focussed on supporting them.

Wrote an essay which covered this at uni a few months back. I'm not giving specific arguments here, but that's the general gist of the latest research.

This kinda argues some of it:

amp.theguardian.com/education/2022/mar/12/museum-visits-do-not-improve-gcse-results-study-reveals

Before Covid I would have said activities that involve shaking hands, losing graciously (clapping the winning sport team or the winning orchestra in a competition), doing your best even if you’re not captain or first violin.
I think as someone said it’s being confident and not assuming something isn’t for you. That could be theatre or paddle boarding.

If you can just expose them to a wide range of activities and experiences that they can build on and extrapolate to other things in life.

It's not just about doing the fancy stuff. It's having the skills(even on a basic level) to navigate such things /environments and not feeling completely out of depth in it.

It's about having exposure to various things even if they're not necessarily an interest, or a big thing in your home.

Encouraging and valuing education is a given surely in a house that is even talking about cultural capital?
Widening experiences and life outlook?
I always find my mum's sisters quite interesting, one inherited the family business and had lots more cash floating around than us, they had a holiday home.

But they are so different to us ! They only want to two holiday destinations and have barely gone anywhere else.
Don't have any wider interests and seem Very focused on car's etc.
Absolutely zero interest in arts, theatres, gallery.
We had far less £ but somehow seemed to live life on a different plane.

For my own DC I've had a challenge, lack of ££ thanks to Tesco clubcard vouchers we've managed to access safari parks, castles etc.

For me it's just opening up the world for them?
Lots of different interests..

I definitely agree that it's exposure. For us we wanted the DC to understand that the world is not constricted to their bubble of school, park and family. It's knowing there are different places and ways of living. It's knowing the impact of history on today's world. It's being aware of the environment and animals.

Having a wider view than just your own situation and living environment.

We've never done anything to tick boxes. We just want our DC to discover the world.

Restricted not constricted, sorry.

They also regularly watch the news and discuss things with us. The recent elections led us onto discussions about the far right, far left etc. Who wants what. What other countries do and have done in the past.

And - more to the point- Bourdieu was a Marxist.

It cracks me up wen the government and OFSETD parrot half understood Marxist theory!

There are many types of capital - parents who stuff kids full of cultural capital may well miss out on the idea that their DCs may be missing social capital almost as a direct result.