According to commonsense a “good” student conforms to society’s idea of “good.” They speak when called upon, they work diligently, and they hand their assignment in complete and on time. These are the commonsense’s that our society has formed. By this definition middle/ higher class students are privileged. They are raised so that they can conform to this definition and it is easier for them to fit the definition because they can relate better to the teacher. A student who is not from the same class as their teacher may have a harder time relating, therefore it is harder for them to fit into the “good” students definition. In regards to this definition it would be hard to see how some students may struggle in school. The students who do not fit into the same class as their teacher will never succeed in relation to that definition and students who are from the same social class as their educator will continue to excel in school.
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Lydia McLeod 
Nice connection to class. How would gender, ethnicity, or other factors play into this equation?
It is necessary to connect social class and schooling – they are deeply related. The values that make for dominance (fitting into dominant society) work for one group of students and not others. As teachers, how do we disrupt this easy alliance between class and schooling? Sometimes as working class folks ourselves (pick me) we adopt middle class values in order to be seen as a ‘good teacher’ … your post complicates this reading nicely!
Lydia I can not agree with you more on this post. The relationship created between a teacher and students is strongly influenced by social class and can easily cause ripples in the classroom. I just have to question if this scenario is always the case as often time teachers from middle/upper class teach in schools that would be declared lower class, and relationships are created between teacher and the students. So is it possible for the economical status and class descriptor to be removed from the class room or will these always limit students being declared “good” students.
This post brings up some interesting ideas. One thing you have me thinking about is how much the role of the parent affects the student’s school experience. We teachers obviously play a part in answering to society’s demands and working our best to produce those “good students”, but how much do parents conform to this as well?
You posed some great points here. This perspective on a “good student” definitely threatens the relationship between themselves and their teacher. I would think this also would not meet the needs of all students personalities and learning styles. Would it be far to say that it threatens creativity and thinking outside of the box?
I’ve never really looked at it as the relationship between the classes of a student and teacher, however I can definitely see how that could play into a students definition if success. We out forth teachers as examples of, “good,” people within a students life but if a student feels that they never have a chance of achieving the societal status that a teacher has perhaps they would feel as if they can never achieve the same level of, “goodness.”
So what do you think we can change this so all students can succeed??
Great response, I really like your last sentence in this post. It is very true that the students who are from the same social class as their educator are often privileged. How can we work to diminish this definition of “good” student?