Class Dismissed: Why We Cannot Teach or Learn Our Way Out of Inequality

In Class Dismissed, John Marsh debunks a myth cherished by journalists, politicians, and economists: that growing poverty and inequality in the United States can be solved through education. Using sophisticated analysis combined with personal experience in the classroom, Marsh not only shows that education has little impact on poverty and inequality, but that our mistaken beliefs actively shape our schools and curricula. Rather than focus on the hierarchy of jobs and power—where most jobs require relatively little education, and the poor have very little political influence—money is funneled into educational endeavors that ultimately do nothing to challenge established social structures, and in fact reinforce them. When educational programs prove ineffective at reducing inequality, the vulnerable groups they are meant to help often blame themselves. Marsh’s exploration of the connection between education, poverty, and inequality is both powerful and poignant.