American - Sociologist | May 12, 1926 - March 25, 1995
The higher the social class of other students the higher any given student's achievement.
James S. Coleman
AchievementStudentClassStudents
A child's learning is a function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher.
LearningTeacherChildClassmates
Grades are almost completely relative, in effect ranking students relative to others in their class. Thus extra achievement by one student not only raises his position, but in effect lowers the position of others.
AchievementGradesStudentClass
As an example, one of the schools I have been studying is too small to compete effectively in most sports, but participates with vigor each year in the state music contests.
MusicSportsSmallYearStudying
Children from a given family background, when put in schools of different social compositions, will achieve at quite different levels.
FamilyChildrenAchieveWillSocial
Cultural dominance of middle-class norms prevail in middle-class schools with a teacher teaching toward those standards and with students striving to maintain those standards.
TeacherStrivingStandardsPrevail
For to change the norms, the very foci of attention, of a cultural system is a difficult task - far more complex than that of changing an individual's attitudes and interests.
ChangeAttentionMoreDifficultTask
I'd propose that each central-city child should have an entitlement from the state to attend any school in the metropolitan area outside his own district - with per pupil funds going with him.
SchoolChildOutsideHimEntitlement
If we refuse to accept as inevitable the irresponsibility and educational unconcern of the adolescent culture, then this poses a serious challenge.
ChallengeCultureInevitableSerious
In a high school, the norms act to hold down the achievements of those who are above average, so that the school's demands will be at a level easily maintained by the majority.
SchoolHigh SchoolDownWillHigh
In every school, more boys wanted to be remembered as a star athlete than as a brilliant student.
SchoolStudentAthleteBrilliant
It is clear from all these data that the interests of teenagers are not focused around studies, and that scholastic achievement is at most of minor importance in giving status or prestige to an adolescent in the eyes of other adolescents.
EyesAchievementGivingDataFocused
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