A year ago, I wrote the first in a series of articles about the issues that emerge as I, like many of you, try to figure out what it means to be the “ESL Specialist” at my institution. In my first piece, I wrote about the challenges of selecting an institutional label for the students I work with. I explained how I arrived at the term “multilingual/ESL”—one I have continued to use, despite the fact that many of my colleagues still refer to them as “international” or “foreign” students. This tension between what we know about students (e.g., that many nonnative speakers are actually from the United States and are therefore not “international”) and what is assumed by faculty (i.e., that all nonnative speakers are international students) has raised some additional questions over the past year. One of these involves the assumption that most of the students I work with are socioeconomically privileged. In this article, I wish to share some of the themes that have arisen in my conversations with faculty about perceptions of privilege. I conclude with some questions that might guide future faculty conduct in serving tuition-paying students.

As background for this discussion, here is a bit of institutional context: I work at an elite, private, liberal arts college where the cost of tuition exceeds $50,000 per academic year, including room and board. (Interestingly, as of October 2010, there were 99 other colleges in this same tuition bracket—including one public institution! [Brainard, 2010]). Less than half of the student body applies for financial aid. Although there is no doubt more nuance to the overall picture, one can comfortably say that the majority of our students come from upper-middle-class families, at least. Although our international student body (which comprises the majority of our multilingual/ESL student population and 10% of the overall student population) often fits this same pattern, it does include some subgroups that diverge in significant ways:

• First, a third (33%) of our international students enter from the United World College program. These highly-sought-after students may have very high levels of financial need, some of which is met by the program itself, and the rest by the college.
• Second, a few subgroups of students have been brought to campus through special recruitment programs. For example, several new students each year come from underrepresented countries such as Afghanistan.
• Third, because our college admissions policy for international students is “needs aware” rather than “needs blind” (as is the case for U.S. students), some students may in fact misrepresent their financial need in order to ensure admission. I have been told of these cases anecdotally but cannot confirm the extent to which this might be happening.

Special Financial Situations

When I talk to faculty about international students, I find that many of them are unaware of these special financial situations. They often assume that international students, in fact, are more privileged than those from the United States. A number of times, I have heard faculty refer somewhat derisively to the “rich kids” from China or to the Third Culture Kids of high-ranking officials, who often come from expensive boarding schools with rigorous International Baccalaureate programs. We do have a fair number of these students, many of whom find their way into my courses, workshops, and tutoring sessions. There is also a sizeable population of students who come from a privileged position in their home countries but whose family income in U.S. dollars does not suffice to cover the high cost of tuition. Dad might be a physician, but physicians may not earn that much, relative to the median U.S. household income.

Discrimination Based on the Perception of Privilege

I could, perhaps, devote all of my research efforts toward determining the precise number of “underprivileged” international students at our institution. Yet I think this would miss the point. It may be that only a fraction of our international student body matches whatever criteria I might use to define “underprivileged.” I am more concerned about the discrimination that is often justified by the perception of privilege—whether or not that perception is accurate. Faculty sometimes imply, for example, that wealthier students—particularly those from China—have “bought” their way into the institution. This judgment is validated, they feel, when those students submit writing that does not meet their academic expectations. Rather than attributing this to underpreparedness (which may in fact be the consequence of a less-privileged upbringing), some faculty assume that the student is in fact spoiled and has not developed a solid work ethic. These perceptions are compounded when such students are less visible in class discussions, office hours, and paracurricular activities. In other words, the assumption of privilege becomes a lens through which all of a student’s behaviors might be misinterpreted.

Discrimination Used As a Social Equalizer

Should it matter whether a student comes from a privileged background or not? In terms of academic standards, I would say not. However, there is a good deal of wiggle room in terms of how we relate to students in our own classes. I think if we are honest, most of us will admit that we correlate our time, energy, and flexibility to some extent with the level of need and effort we perceive on the part of students. I am willing to meet a student at 5 p.m. on a Friday if I know he has an on-campus job that prevents an earlier appointment. I may not do the same for the student who told me she wanted to have a few extra hours for skiing at the local snow bowl (yes, we have one!). Likewise, I may allow a few students to submit a fifth draft of a paper, because I sense that they are finally grasping some “basics” that the other students already came in with. I will probably deny this opportunity to the A-level student who is simply looking for a few more percentage points (or to the C-level student who seems to have perpetual issues with procrastination). In this way, I guess, I attempt to level the playing field a bit—to help increase the likelihood that education will be, for those less-privileged students, “the great equalizer,” as Horace Mann put it.

Privilege Versus Equity

On the one hand, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I do not treat all students “equally,” but on the other hand, I believe that there is a difference between fairness and sameness. On the third hand (as one of my students once put it), isn’t it unfair for me to make my own judgments about student privilege based on the little I know about them? Who am I to play Professor Robin Hood? Moreover, how do I know whether students are telling me the truth? Should I assume that the student with the on-campus job really needs the money? (Indeed, one of the students I thought was the most “needy” was mostly saving up for personal travel expenses, I later discovered.) How can we provide services systematically but still pursue educational equity? And might I be withholding resources from some of the most talented students, simply because they are more privileged?

The most salient question for me is this: What steps can I (should I?) take to address misconceptions about privilege? Would hard data make a difference? (I suspect not, as there will always be exceptions to the trend.) Should faculty be informed of which students have the greatest financial need? (I shudder at the thought, although I do sometimes wonder if it might make a difference.) Is it even my job, as the “ESL Person,” to correct these sorts of misconceptions? Isn’t that broadening my role just a bit too much (not to mention putting me in the position of know-it-all-ESL-guru, which I clearly am not)?

Ultimately, I am left with the uncomfortable conclusion that assumptions about privilege and equity can easily result in inconsistent and unprofessional behavior. Privilege is a reality, but a complicated one—particularly at an institution that prides itself in its “elite” (i.e., highly skilled) student body. Can we be, as one of my colleagues put it, “elite but not elitist”? I certainly hope so. And I imagine many of you have insights and suggestions that might help in this regard.

REFERENCE

Brainard, J. (2010, October 31). A public university joins the expanding 50K club of college prices. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/A-Public-University-Joins-the/125207/

Shawna Shapiro, sshapiro@middlebury.edu, is a visiting assistant professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. She teaches courses in composition, linguistics, and education and has published several book chapters in TESOL’s Classroom Practice Series as well as articles in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes and Teaching and Teacher Education.