Xander, and sociology of education
Jun. 10th, 2006 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI just read a thing where someone went on about how Xander could have been better if he'd just put some effort into it, saying he mostly failed at school because he was a slacker.
I have this terrible urge to throw a sociology essay at them, that whole one I just did on differential achievement in education that focused on class differences. Well, not actually this one because it is structured around changes in British education and so not quite on topic for Xanders, but one like it, with lots of theories in.
He graduated high school. He worked hard for his D grades. Said so, out loud and everything, so it is canon. And he studied extra with Willow quite a bit. Lots of effort there.
For the essay there was a ton of stuff about how tests are not life, tests mostly see if you can jump through test hoops. And middle class kids do better due to tests being culturally biased. And kids labeled as less smart in kindergarten have that label follow them around and do less well, but if teachers are told new label, kids do better, even label is given randomly. And how labels at that age aren't about academic ability at all, they're about factors like how they dress and how noisy they are that in fact end up class based because the 'ideal pupil' image most teachers have is based on middle class norms. And... well, essay list of theories, lots of stuff. If working class kids consistently dont do as well in school, does the fact that this one particular working class kid not do well suggest that we should look for causes in personal (ie stupid and/or slacker) or sociological (big list o theories) reasons?
Except actually he is a character. I do know that. But then the argument shouldn't be 'Xander is a slacker' it should be 'Joss Whedon wanted to portray Xander as something, what was it?'
And I'm fairly sure 'slacker' was not it.
Issue could be, portrayals of working class teenage males on television. Issue could be, how feminist is the text when it elevates the women by having males get knocked on the head a lot and be underachievers.
Actually, interesting issue - am I thinking of Xander as working class because he ended up a builder, or because of class indicators while he was at high school, or because of some currently eluding me bit of canon about the employment of his parental units?
Could go investigate.
(Okay, rewatch a lot of episodes.)(but with academic thoughts and a notepad)
But whichever set of reasons you look at, in or out of 'verse, I don't think its fair to call Xander a slacker because his high school grades weren't Willow like.
... I get offended for reasons learned in class and a whole bunch of sociology book stuff pours out. Woah.
Also, I am now planning to read bits of the textbook that won't be in the essay, just for fun. And I spent the last hour and a half reading a media studies textbook.
Check that out. I got all academic through the course of the year.
Of course now I feel the vague anxiety I'm remembering it all wrong, and the need to go look it up and cite sources...
shall post with usual 'could phrase it better' apology
I have this terrible urge to throw a sociology essay at them, that whole one I just did on differential achievement in education that focused on class differences. Well, not actually this one because it is structured around changes in British education and so not quite on topic for Xanders, but one like it, with lots of theories in.
He graduated high school. He worked hard for his D grades. Said so, out loud and everything, so it is canon. And he studied extra with Willow quite a bit. Lots of effort there.
For the essay there was a ton of stuff about how tests are not life, tests mostly see if you can jump through test hoops. And middle class kids do better due to tests being culturally biased. And kids labeled as less smart in kindergarten have that label follow them around and do less well, but if teachers are told new label, kids do better, even label is given randomly. And how labels at that age aren't about academic ability at all, they're about factors like how they dress and how noisy they are that in fact end up class based because the 'ideal pupil' image most teachers have is based on middle class norms. And... well, essay list of theories, lots of stuff. If working class kids consistently dont do as well in school, does the fact that this one particular working class kid not do well suggest that we should look for causes in personal (ie stupid and/or slacker) or sociological (big list o theories) reasons?
Except actually he is a character. I do know that. But then the argument shouldn't be 'Xander is a slacker' it should be 'Joss Whedon wanted to portray Xander as something, what was it?'
And I'm fairly sure 'slacker' was not it.
Issue could be, portrayals of working class teenage males on television. Issue could be, how feminist is the text when it elevates the women by having males get knocked on the head a lot and be underachievers.
Actually, interesting issue - am I thinking of Xander as working class because he ended up a builder, or because of class indicators while he was at high school, or because of some currently eluding me bit of canon about the employment of his parental units?
Could go investigate.
(Okay, rewatch a lot of episodes.)(but with academic thoughts and a notepad)
But whichever set of reasons you look at, in or out of 'verse, I don't think its fair to call Xander a slacker because his high school grades weren't Willow like.
... I get offended for reasons learned in class and a whole bunch of sociology book stuff pours out. Woah.
Also, I am now planning to read bits of the textbook that won't be in the essay, just for fun. And I spent the last hour and a half reading a media studies textbook.
Check that out. I got all academic through the course of the year.
Of course now I feel the vague anxiety I'm remembering it all wrong, and the need to go look it up and cite sources...
shall post with usual 'could phrase it better' apology