Should hard work be rewarded?
For those of you following along at home, NYC public high school decisions came out this week (on Thursday after school). Miraculously and unexpectedly, decisions were released in a relatively thoughtful and orderly fashion although not without various mishaps - I’m just saying, it could have been a lot worse after going through what was for many a harrowing, complex and inequitable application process.
I’m in a Facebook group of over 5,000 NYC parents who have gone, are going through or will go through this process in the future. The demographic trends exactly as you might imagine (more white/privileged/resourced although not exclusively so) but there have been some robust discussions about racial and other equity and lots of critique of the system from multiple perspectives.
One discussion struck me today though and reminded me that I feel like what is often not taken into account is that some kids work hard and don’t get good grades, and some don’t work hard and do get good grades. And yes, some kids do work really hard and get good grades as a result but those are often the kids who face systemic obstacles and challenges that come from poverty and systemic racism - food and housing insecurity, additional caregiving or other responsibilities, lack of access to technology, long commutes to school etc.
The idea that a kid who has good grades worked hard and therefore deserves more when they don’t face these kinds of systemic obstacles is… so flawed yet still quite prevalent.
Every kid is deserving. Some face more systemic obstacles and challenges than others. Some get dealt a good hand and make the most of it. Others don’t.
I also personally don’t believe “working hard” should be the metric.
Some people work incredibly hard and are also toxic and harmful.
Some people work incredibly hard and believe that makes them entitled to certain privileges, which is not always the case.
Equity means that people should get what they need to succeed, which will not always be the same thing. Different people have different needs for a variety of reasons, including the varying impacts of systemic oppression.
And I believe that ideally, impact against self-identified needs is what should be measured and rewarded, although that is hard too as we cannot necessarily control impact. I guess that’s why some rubrics for grades are based on both effort and achievement.
As someone who has spent most of my life overworking, and as a DEI consultant who daily observes a lot of the ham that comes out of overwork, often but not exclusively to those most impacted by systems of oppression, I also question the value of “working hard” as a metric. After all, schools were designed and remain as a pipeline into capitalism and the industrial complex where the privileged few benefit from the hard work of the “masses.”
In communities that care for all, “working hard” shouldn’t be a necessary survival strategy. And for those more aligned with power and privilege, “working hard” is often the result of overstepping and a lack of boundaries, and creates more work for those less aligned with power and privilege as a result.
I know that when I’m stretched thin and beyond capacity I’m less effective and more likely to cause harm.
What would a school system that valued and rewarded community care look like?
Could the NYC public school system ever be transformed in that way? Could our culture ever be transformed in that way?
It feels like an impossible dream that requires an entirely different value system, but worth thinking about anyway.
Banner photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash
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