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I was reading the book Living and Working Canada published by The Sunday Times in Britain. It is often written to a non-Western audience, and they say things that would be natural to a US/British audience but perhaps not to an Asian group, like the concept of queuing. There were two statements in it that appealed to me, but I am wondering if other Canadians would agree with them.
1. pg 183 "Feel free to chat with salespeople and certainly treat them as equals - in this mostly classless society, they are." Is the socio-economic climate of Canada such that there are no great distinctions of social class? I would not say that is true in the US.
2. pg 205 "Levels of education in Canada are very high and education is valued culturally." Again, I would not say this is true in the US.
Compared to most other countries in the world, Canada is mostly classless.
It doesn't mean that there aren't people at different socio-economic levels - certainly there are homeless people, poor people, the "working class", the "middle class" and the rich and exuberantly wealthy. But we don't let those socio-economic factors define/limit what we can/cannot do or who we can/cannot interact with in Canada. It's fair game.
Ex: in Canada, it's socially unacceptable to treat a janitor with rudeness simply because they're a janitor. In Canada, if we were lost walking around a building after regular work hours and a janitor was walking down the hall, we wouldn't think twice about asking the janitor for directions. They're just a person working, like anyone else. It doesn't mean we see them as equals in terms of how much money they make or their career ambitions or even their socio-economic status, but we see them equally as people, as a person just doing their job, making a living, to be treated as we wish to be treated. The thought of "don't talk to him because he's the janitor" wouldn't even cross our mind.
But in some other countries, class is more defined and plays into how people treat and interact with eachother. Ex: if you're a member of class A, it is socially acceptable to treat members of class B or C or D with disdain/rude behaviour, etc. After all, they're just Class B, C, D... they're not Class A.
My friend spent some time in Uganda where he was encouraged by locals to push himself to the front of lineups at bars, service counters, etc. because he's a big white westerner and that is expected of him in Uganda. Even though in our Canadian eyes it's wrong and immoral (and racist), that behaviour was not only acceptable behaviour by Ugandan society, it was actually expected of him - by Ugandans!
I'm not even going to get into India's caste system (the more extreme examples).
But even compared to other western countries, like the UK, class plays little role in our daily life in Canada. In the UK, even though class isn't what it once was, it still lurks. For example, where you went to high school plays a much larger role in how others judge you in the UK. In Canada, some schools can be more impressive than others, but you typically aren't judged based off what high school you went to.
Etc, etc.
I think that's what they were meaning by "class".
Last edited by Robynator; 12-11-2009 at 10:53 AM..
2. pg 205 "Levels of education in Canada are very high and education is valued culturally." Again, I would not say this is true in the US.
Thanks for your opinion --
FCW
Having lived in both US and Canada (the coasts), I think it is more about some (racial/ class) subcultures than it is about society as a whole. I think that the literacy rate in Canada is higher than the US in general- but it may be more due to additional class/ racial subgroups that are less prevalent in Canada. I think actual college-degree rate is higher in the US than Canada. Then again, there is greater variety of types of colleges available in the US. Similarly, I know of many rural districts of Canada that certainly do not value education whatsoever. It is often a rural/ inner-city vs. suburban perspective.
I think to some extent, Americans in certain areas are even more obsessed about Education. And there is more extremes in educational levels/ systems overall in the US than in Canada.
Having lived in both US and Canada (the coasts), I think it is more about some (racial/ class) subcultures than it is about society as a whole. I think that the literacy rate in Canada is higher than the US in general- but it may be more due to additional class/ racial subgroups that are less prevalent in Canada. I think actual college-degree rate is higher in the US than Canada. Then again, there is greater variety of types of colleges available in the US. Similarly, I know of many rural districts of Canada that certainly do not value education whatsoever. It is often a rural/ inner-city vs. suburban perspective.
Exactly.
Canada, despite its reputation or stereotype as a wilderness frontier, is actually a very urban country. By that I mean, most of Canada's population lives in the city or suburbs.
According to Stats Canada,* in 2006 25.3 million Canadians lived in urban areas while only 6.2 million lived in rural areas. So 80% of Canadians live in urban areas. All that means is that for 80% of Canadians, urban living is a daily part of life.
And yet, the natural resource sector plays a LARGE role in Canada's economy, especially in the rural areas. In those areas, trades are often valued more than a university education (and because often the brunt labour in the resource industry doesn't require it, and you can make impressive money straight out of high school).
I don't think education is highly valued in either the US or Canada. Just compare the salary of a typical assistant/associate professor in a university (usually with a Master's or PhD degree) with a bus driver or a plumber (with high school degrees at best). There difference doesn't warrants receiving much higher education (I personally think a 3-5 multiple should be reasonable).
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