Sorry, it’s a Middle Class one; but with A levels and possible teacher bashing thrown in for good measure.

[AmySosa]

DD is doing Sociology A level.

Several occasions now she has come down scratching her head over stuff her tutor has said.

Tutor has defined Middle Class as wealthy and doesn’t have to work. She’s doubled down on this several times. Today she asked them to guess at class based on accent, and the plummy cut glass accent was MC. She has said anyone who needs to work for a living is Working Class, Middle Class is wealthy and doesn’t need to work and Upper Class is Titles and Royalty.

Now, I really only have DDs word for this so far. But this is wrong, right?

I know class is a shifting concept but surely WC is (broadly) manual jobs, MC is professionals and UC is inherited wealth? Tutor seems to be conflating MC and UC.

DD wants to bring this up but I thought we’d get opinions first. Is the Tutor WRONG or is this a Sociology A level grouping of modern classes?

A bit off-topic, but the level of obsession with interest in class in the UK never ceases to amaze me.

Well yes but it’s a pretty fundamental part of Sociology so if this really is what the tutor is teaching and it’s as off base as I think, then I’d like to know.

I did Sociology A level about 24 years ago so things might have changed.

Seems very odd - I don't teach sociology but there is some overlap in my subject, and any mention of class also needs to come with the explanation that definitions shift, that at any one time there is more than one way of defining class, and that all these definitions are of course, subjective. I would hope that Sociology of all subjects would interrogating these definitions in some detail!

Tutor is wrong. Class is far more fluid these days with plenty of cash-poor middle and upper middle class people and plenty of well paid working class people.

The teachers view is very black and white and very dated. Aside from complaining to the teachers line manager I’m not sure what you can do, but you can reassure your DD she’s not in the wrong. It’s not the 1960s anymore where working class people were in service or down the mines, and (upper) middle class people were barristers, clergy or went to Sandhurst.

Our economy today is far more varied in terms of jobs and opportunities; class today is less about income and more about upbringing, choice of decor, holidays and your general taste.

Her tutor doesn't know what they're talking about. To the extent that I would be seriously worried about their competency to teach this subject at all, never mind at A Level, and would be raising it with the school quite quickly.

Tutor is an idiot. I would have a chat, either directly or with their boss. Just make sure your dc has their facts straight first!

Also, only the very, very richest don’t need to work- that’s some of the aristocracy (though lots of nobility and gentry do work) and what is probably more appropriately termed the “super rich”.

Most middle class people absolutely do need to work, but they’re not all working class.

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

Her tutor doesn't know what they're talking about. To the extent that I would be seriously worried about their competency to teach this subject at all, never mind at A Level, and would be raising it with the school quite quickly.

Agreed. That sounds very wrong

Yes it would worry me that the tutor had got it so wrong!

Tutor is wrong. Many years ago I stopped attending Sociology lectures at university and self studied insteead after the lecturer wrote 'Industrialisation = Big Machines" on the board!

In the context of Marxist analysis yes she’s correct, there’s the workers and the capitalists (broadly). Those who own the means of production do not work.

But it seems she has applied this a bit more widely than this...

It doesn't seem to be a commonly used definition in sociology literature, e.g. revisesociology.com/2016/08/04/social-class-definition-introduction/

Is she giving a deliberately outdated Victorian era definition to see when and how the students will challenge this, and then start a debate? Maybe about the fact that class definitions are fluid?

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

Her tutor doesn't know what they're talking about. To the extent that I would be seriously worried about their competency to teach this subject at all, never mind at A Level, and would be raising it with the school quite quickly.

Wow! You managed to evaluate a professional's competency from a third-hand internet post? Maybe you should look for a job in educational management with appraisal skills like that.

Or just shut up.

That sounds SO wrong that I would think your DD has the wrong end of the stick and has misunderstood! Are there any class materials or lecture videos you can review? (I'm assuming she's distance learning). Or maybe your DD can drop the tutor a line and say she wanted to be sure she understood them correctly?

Is there a text book or some other reference that DD can look at? That will give her ammo confidence to question the definition.

What sort of grades has this teacher historically achieved?

Well first off she's wrong, but secondly surely A level sociology doesn't include an 'identify the class' exam? Shouldn't it be more like 'x defines class as this and y defines class as the other' and then a conversation about the differences and what to students think?

Well, the "basic" classes are upper, middle, and working. However, there are lots of class models and economics is only one way (with its own flaws) of differentiating between classes. I'd hazard the guess that they're specifically revising/learning an economic model but will study/revise other models too eg Hutton, Hope-Goldthorpe, etc. I know there are lots of exam boards but I had a quick skim of the AQA spec and it seems fairly broad.

She is possibly teaching it from a perspective. As PP said that view sounds like classical Marxist theory of class in which the working class are all those who work to generate profits for others; the middle class own the means of production and exploit the labour of the working class but don’t do the actual work themselves and the Upper Class are gentry who live off who they are and what they inherited.

Sounds like it’s the very start of teaching classes and they’re starting with a basic idea before expanding into different theories and how they’ve evolved?

Most people can't objectively be pigeonholed into any particular class any more, certainly not by using income, education, occupation, interests, accent or holidays as markers.

I'm a quantitative social scientist, so I've had to define 'class' for myself for different purposes. I think the key thing for a student is to think about it and define the term clearly before using it in answer. "By social class, I mean..." for example.

In modern surveys, we often find ourselves using level of education or parents' level of education as a proxy for class. I wonder whether this will change as more and more kids go to university... I agree that it's not at all a clear concept.

Apparently, 60% of the UK population fits the description of 'middle class' so it's a pointless descriptor IMO.

@NoddyHoldersCrazee

In the context of Marxist analysis yes she’s correct, there’s the workers and the capitalists (broadly). Those who own the means of production do not work.

But it seems she has applied this a bit more widely than this...

This ^

There is every chance DD has misunderstood btw, so I’m not going to go in all guns blazing. I think I need to sit in on a lesson to see if what the tutor says matches up with what dd is understanding.

Because either the tutor is wrong or DD needs more help.