Easy solution to the wage gap

So there was a story today in the News which suggested that, on average, a student from a state school will earn 6% less than a student from a public school who had the same alma mater and subject choice.

There seems to me a simple solution to this;

Teach kids to act like rich people

Obviously pretty much everyone in England will fall into Marxist Class-Warrior defence mode at this suggestion, but I really think it's one that should be considered.

Why not teach poor kids to speak with RP? To act confidently? To negotiate in a respectable manner? To understand a middle-class perspective?

Im sure many people at least suspect this would have a significant impact.

Reply 1

llys

Original post by tomfailinghelp

Why not teach poor kids to speak with RP? To act confidently? To negotiate in a respectable manner? To understand a middle-class perspective?

Im sure many people at least suspect this would have a significant impact.

I am absolutely certain this would have a significant impact. Not sure about RP - I don't think you need to sound "posh" - I think just a neutral accent would be perfectly fine. But I agree with all your other suggestions, especially confidence. In my experience, people who are confident get taken much more seriously than people who are not. People tend to equate lack of confidence with lack of ability (which is a logical fallacy). Ideally, people should be judged on ability alone, but that is never going to happen in the real world, so if I had children, confidence is one of the most important traits I would want them to develop. Communication skills and flexibility of mind are also right up there.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Viva Emptiness

That doesn't help them with their connections and network though, not directly anyway, which I assume is also quite a large factor.

Reply 3

ChaoticButterfly

Original post by tomfailinghelp

To act confidently? To negotiate in a respectable manner? To understand a middle-class perspective?

Plenty of state school children can do this. It's kind of insulting you think they can't. Like we are all just the dregs of society.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4

joey11223

Lol a middle class perspective? On what exactly?

"Ain't a three bird roast enough? Or just ave a bloody turkey innit?"

"Three birds enough? Pah you sicken me peasant, why would one settle for a measly three birds when one could purchase a five bird roast? Three birds generally involves a duck, in a chicken, in a turkey. However in the five bird roast we have a guinea fowl in a duck, in a chicken, in a goose and finally all into the gaping carcass of the turkey. It's a truly marvelous dinning experience as the flavours of all five poultry combined on the taste buds"

Seriously though, suggesting you have to teach state school children how to negotiate and how to think of things from a middle class perspective is pretty insulting. In the same vein are we going to teach public school children how to not act with an air of privileged arrogance and make them understand a world where mummy and daddy can't foot the bill for their every whim? (I mean, since we're stereotyping and all...)

Reply 5

llys

He was talking about poor children. I assume those children e.g. Gove referred to when he was talking about "cultural potential". Of course he didn't define poor, but I don't think he meant middle class state schoolers with capable parents, unless he is seriously out of touch with the real world.

Reply 6

doodle_333

it's not about the way poorer people talk

it's about all the opportunities they don't get (e.g. school trips, various trips, holidays, sports clubs, musical instruments, books etc) and the difference in what parents can give (i.e. those with a higher level of education can help more with homework, university apps, job apps etc) and in the networks those people are able to build (more likely to get work experience and so on in competitive sectors for example) and the fact that children of richer parents can afford to go into higher levels of education and do unpaid internships and voluntary work