Ain't No Makin It

Chapter 6 scrutinizes the role of education as a preparation ground for future competition through the experiences of two groups: the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers. This chapter discusses the institutional and cultural dynamics at Lincoln High School (LHS), which hosts a diverse student body through various academic and vocational programs.

LHS, with its over 2,800 students, is segmented into regular academic houses and alternative educational tracks, including vocational training (Occupational Education Program) and special initiatives like the Enterprise Co-op for potential dropouts. Each program is designed to cater to different student needs and aspirations, which range from obtaining practical job skills to academic enrichment.

The chapter highlights a critical distinction in the aspirations and expectations of the Hallway Hangers compared to the Brothers. While both groups navigate the same educational environment, their attitudes toward schooling and prospects are poles apart. The Hallway Hangers view school with cynicism, influenced heavily by their direct experiences and the perceived irrelevance of formal education to their future job prospects. In contrast, the Brothers exhibit a more positive engagement with school, seeing education as a stepping stone to better opportunities, despite facing similar socioeconomic barriers.

The school’s function as a microcosm of societal competition is evident in how students are tracked into various programs based on perceived capability and achievement, which further influences their self-esteem and future expectations. The tracking system at LHS not only reflects but also reinforces the existing social stratifications.

Educational engagement among the Hallway Hangers is characterized by minimal involvement and early dropout, viewing the school’s promise of upward mobility with skepticism. Conversely, the Brothers, despite not always excelling academically, generally adhere to the school’s norms and participate actively in its offerings, influenced by a belief in the efficacy of schooling as a route to success.

Chapter 7 explores how societal structures and class inequalities perpetuate limited aspirations among the youth of Clarendon Heights, specifically focusing on two groups: the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers. This analysis hinges on the concept of social reproduction—the way class status is maintained across generations—and how this influences individual aspirations.

MacLeod describes the regulation of aspirations as a key mechanism in social reproduction. The aspirations of individuals, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, are shaped by structural forces beyond their control. For instance, tracking systems in schools and the differential valuation of cultural capital favoring upper classes effectively shape and sometimes limit the aspirations of working-class students.

The chapter highlights the role of the educational system in legitimizing inequality. Schools, by sorting students and assigning value based on supposedly meritocratic criteria, reinforce social stratification. Working-class students, like the Hallway Hangers, internalize their academic failures, attributing them to personal deficiencies rather than systemic biases. This internalization process leads them to accept their lower societal positions without question, thereby perpetuating class inequalities.

Further, the chapter discusses the powerful impact of the achievement ideology in America, which posits that individual merit and hard work determine one’s success. This ideology serves to justify existing social inequalities by attributing economic and social positions to individual effort and ability, thereby obscuring the structural factors that limit social mobility. Students who internalize this ideology blame themselves for their failures, which reinforces their low aspirations and acceptance of their social status.

The experiences of the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers exemplify these processes. The Hallway Hangers, disillusioned by their stagnant social mobility and limited job prospects, have low occupational aspirations and a cynical view of educational benefits. Their resignation is influenced by repeated personal and observed failures within both the job market and the educational system. Conversely, the Brothers maintain somewhat higher aspirations, influenced by their acceptance of the dominant achievement ideology and somewhat less dire family and community experiences compared to the Hallway Hangers.

Chapter 8 provides an examination and revision of existing theories of social reproduction, particularly focusing on the works of scholars like Bowles and Gintis, Bourdieu, Basil Bernstein, Shirley Brice Heath, Paul Willis, and Henry Giroux. The chapter challenges the deterministic views of social reproduction by presenting ethnographic evidence from a low-income neighborhood, demonstrating the variability in how social reproduction manifests even among individuals in similar socioeconomic circumstances.

MacLeod critiques the economically deterministic theories of Bowles and Gintis, which argue that educational tracking is the primary mechanism through which class-based social reproduction occurs. He contrasts this with the experiences of two groups from the same community—the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers—who, despite similar socioeconomic backgrounds, follow distinct paths of social reproduction. This discrepancy questions the notion that social class alone determines educational and occupational outcomes.

Building upon Bourdieu’s theory, MacLeod introduces the concept of habitus as a more flexible framework that acknowledges the role of individual agency within structural constraints. Habitus, defined as the ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions that individuals acquire through their life experiences, mediates between personal agency and the social structures that influence behavior and perceptions. This concept helps explain how individuals from similar backgrounds can end up with different aspirations and outcomes, based on their unique experiences and interpretations of their social world.

MacLeod emphasizes the need for a nuanced approach that considers both the agency of individuals and the structural forces at play. He argues that aspirations, influenced by both individual choices and societal structures, serve as a critical link in understanding the dynamic between personal agency and social reproduction. The chapter concludes by suggesting that a revised theoretical perspective on social reproduction should integrate both cultural and structural dimensions, acknowledging the complex interplay of individual actions and systemic constraints.

This reassessment of reproduction theory through a detailed ethnographic lens provides a deeper understanding of the varied and often contradictory ways in which individuals navigate and respond to the socioeconomic limitations imposed on them. It highlights the limitations of overly deterministic theories and the importance of considering individual agency and cultural factors in the study of social stratification and mobility.