The University Hosts “The Impact of Learning about Social Class in Twelfth Grade ELA” Which Discusses the Effects of Class-Based Experiences in High School Students

On December 6, Westfield State hosted an event presenting research and anecdotal experiences from students and faculty at Canton High School, in Canton, Massachusetts. The event was titled “The Impact of Learning about Social Class in Twelfth Grade ELA” and took place from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the Scanlon Banquet Hall. Jeffrey Riley, Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts, also attended the event.

The presentation showcased the new social class-focused ELA curriculum created by Rebecca Ashley, Chair of the English Department at Canton High School, and the current President of the New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE), which aims to bring attention to the many ways that social class affects all of us and plays a role in the conflicts and themes in literature as well as the thoughts and feelings that accompany classed experiences with high school seniors.

Ashley co-created this curriculum with Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides, Professor of English Education at Westfield State University, after taking her graduate course on social class in the ELA classroom. Sarigianides is the author (with Carlin Borsheim-Black) of Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students (2019).

“Everyone has lived a classed life,” Sarigianides said about the necessity for such a curriculum. “We’ve all been class-ified, right? We've all been subjected to social class norms, and there are feelings attached to those experiences… feelings of envy, feelings of jealousy, feelings of guilt, feelings of embarrassment and shame. We need a vocabulary for it, and this approach gives us one.”

Brian Guan-Rong Chen, Associate Professor of English at the University, agreed, discussing his own thoughts on the event. “The discussion of social class is critical in our education system,” he said. “as my colleague, Sophia Sarigianides, pointed out, it is a concept that should be introduced early in the curriculum because students encounter class issues at a young age. When we talk about equity, we can’t ignore that class is an important factor that intersects race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and many others.”

Chen continued to discuss the personal effects the event had on him, such as bringing awareness to childhood experiences and interactions he had while growing up. “As I listened to the theoretical accounts from the speakers and reflections from student participants, it occurred to me that growing up in a working-class, low-income neighborhood, I was unaware of how my social class affected my friendships and interactions with peers in my social circle,” he said. “Whenever I felt iffy about certain incidents, I didn’t know what it was or how to process that feeling. For example, I did not have allowances to buy toys and snacks like other kids; I wore patched clothes because my family didn’t have money to buy new ones; I had to borrow other kids’ shiny, leather shoes for special occasions because I couldn't afford my own; etc. Knowing that “class injury” exists, I’m able to understand some confusing emotions that I had in my childhood and relate to the struggle of the underprivileged class in society.”

Jessica Choiniere ’24, an English secondary education major and student of Sarigianides emphasized similar thoughts, highlighting the importance of discussing social class in educational environments such as school. “As for the event, I think it was really wonderful seeing students in high school being able to comprehend and describe not only difficult but socially taboo topics, and they did so with depth and complexity. Having taken Sophia's class, I know students at the college level sometimes struggled with social class as a topic, so knowing that these issues are things that can be addressed in a place that is so much more accessible than college is a great relief.”

Like Chen, Choiniere also commented on how attending the event itself has helped her to name and understand her own experiences better, ultimately leading her to feeling validated. “From Sophia's class, I know that social class is something that is in dire need of being addressed,” Choiniere added. “As a working-class student, being told that my classed struggles are valid and I am not alone in my feelings was so important, and pointing out the flawed institutions that are present in every aspect of daily life gave me relief, relief that I was not at fault for things I couldn't do, because of my resources. Her class really opened my eyes to this, and it channeled my frustration into applicable skills and knowledge for my preparation in the field of teaching.”

Another former student of Sarigianides’, Joseph Courchesne, who is now a composition instructor at Westfield State University in addition to teaching at Granby High School in Massachusetts, called the event “incredibly valuable”. “Social class permeates every aspect of our lives and yet we rarely, if ever, talk about it,” he said. “I was motivated and inspired by the work, and I left the presentation with my wheels spinning about how I can tackle social class in my own classroom. I'm excited to take Dr. Sarigianides’ upcoming course.”

Between Ashley’s presentation, Sarigianides’ research, and accounts given by Ashley’s students, the event was successful, with those in attendance enthusiastically engaging in discourse. “Every single student spoke,” Sarigianides said. “During the Q&A, the students who did not agree to be on the panel were fighting for the mic. The students were amazing. You could see it in their faces, that it was therapeutic to talk about having difficult class experiences and having the resiliency necessary for managing that. It was extraordinary.”