Ruby Granger #30 A warm milky mug of applestoodle tea

[CatCafe234]

It's worth noting that back in the day, like up until the 80's, going to university was a status symbol, and it was remarkable to be the first one in the family to get a university degree, and that's because having one pretty much guaranteed you'd have a better life than your parents who didn't go to uni. So having a child go to uni when nobody else ever did in the family was essentially a step up the social ladder for the whole family.

But since then things have changed. Now having a university degree does not equal having a well-paid, prestigious job and being better off than people without a university education. I see it even with my own parents (who started working in the 90's): my dad didn't go to uni, my mum did (and she was the first in her family as well), yet he makes quite a bit more than her and his position is more advanced.
So basically nowadays being the first person to go to uni in your family doesn't have quite the same meaning as it did, and doesn't necessarily mean you're less privileged than people who come from a more academic-oriented background.

ETA: it can still be very meaningful, of course, depending on the circumstances; for some people it really does mean they had everything against them and still managed to get a university degree despite the odds and the lack of financial/emotional support from their family, and that should absolutely be celebrated for the huge achievement it is. That's obviously not the case with Ruby.

It’s also a bit misleading in the context that the StudyTubers use it. Saying ‘first in the family to go to uni’ is used a lazy shorthand for coming from a background with some kind of economic or social deprivation, but there’s nuance to that and a lot of people using this term are doing so to claim some kind of struggle that isn’t theirs.

It absolutely used to be much less common for people, especially people from working class backgrounds, to go to uni. However, this phrase ignores the fact that for many careers that now need a degree, the training used to be provided by employers so you didn’t need to go to uni - in England, something like nursing is an obvious example. Now, it’s a career that needs a degree. Previously, you could leave school at 16, become a nursing cadet and end up equally as qualified as a nurse today with a degree (and be paid for training …) There also used to be long tradition of working class people being able to access higher education thorough the polytechnical colleges (most of which were made into universities in the post 1992 expansion of HE). My brother was ‘the first in the family to go to uni’ but my grandfather had the equivalent of a master’s level education in electrical engineering, all gained through a polytechnic - and he had the career and financial benefits from that.

I’m not saying this to discredit people who genuinely are the first in their families to access any kind of further or higher education but this is totally not the struggle of wealthy, solidly middle-class grammar school and privately educated kids - to be where they are usually means their families have been benefitting from education and training for a long time, however you want to classify it. And don’t get me started on people who don’t understand that whilst yes, both grammar and comprehensive schools are both state funded, there are so many social issues that mean that they are generally not comparable in terms of intake that they shouldn’t both be regarded in the same way. Jade has done that and it’s annoys me.

 

[FolderDuvet]

It’s also a bit misleading in the context that the StudyTubers use it. Saying ‘first in the family to go to uni’ is used a lazy shorthand for coming from a background with some kind of economic or social deprivation, but there’s nuance to that and a lot of people using this term are doing so to claim some kind of struggle that isn’t theirs.

It absolutely used to be much less common for people, especially people from working class backgrounds, to go to uni. However, this phrase ignores the fact that for many careers that now need a degree, the training used to be provided by employers so you didn’t need to go to uni - in England, something like nursing is an obvious example. Now, it’s a career that needs a degree. Previously, you could leave school at 16, become a nursing cadet and end up equally as qualified as a nurse today with a degree (and be paid for training …) There also used to be long tradition of working class people being able to access higher education thorough the polytechnical colleges (most of which were made into universities in the post 1992 expansion of HE). My brother was ‘the first in the family to go to uni’ but my grandfather had the equivalent of a master’s level education in electrical engineering, all gained through a polytechnic - and he had the career and financial benefits from that.

I’m not saying this to discredit people who genuinely are the first in their families to access any kind of further or higher education but this is totally not the struggle of wealthy, solidly middle-class grammar school and privately educated kids - to be where they are usually means their families have been benefitting from education and training for a long time, however you want to classify it. And don’t get me started on people who don’t understand that whilst yes, both grammar and comprehensive schools are both state funded, there are so many social issues that mean that they are generally not comparable in terms of intake that they shouldn’t both be regarded in the same way. Jade has done that and it’s annoys me.

It's worth descanting about what sorts of privileges exist over university admissions. For instance, besides being less likely to apply those who are "first in their family" usually do not have at home support in navigating the admissions process, and may only have minimal support at school. As someone whose Personal Statement was carved up by her Form Tutor (for whatever reason she wanted me to talk about extracurriculars, I though that was a stupid idea. She deleted vast swathes of my PS without my permission) and who got no entrance test or interview support, it can be hard to navigate especially if you are applying to top universities. Some advice given is simply wrong and actively harmful to your application. There is no question in my mind that Jade had all the support necessary to this process. Grammar Schools, if nothing else, are very on top of admissions processes and getting their pupils the extra skills necessary to have a good chance.

You're quite right to point out grammars here, as well. For anyone outside the UK, they are the last vestiges of a system designed to segregate middle class kids from working class kids, and since they were mostly retained in areas that had high concentrations of ex-grammar pupils they primarily exist in middle class places. I have such a bugbear with the Grammar school kids I met at uni who considered their experience of state education to be equal to mine. Every one of them had extra tuition available in their subject area. Every one of them had classes available specifically for entrance test prep. Every one of them had mock interviews offered, extracurricular opportunities (as a Mathmo, this takes the form of Olympiads that I didn't know existed until I got to uni) and teachers who knew how to give them the best chance at getting in.

 

[Deeznutslol]

I have such a bugbear with the Grammar school kids I met at uni who considered their experience of state education to be equal to mine. Every one of them had extra tuition available in their subject area. Every one of them had classes available specifically for entrance test prep. Every one of them had mock interviews offered, extracurricular opportunities (as a Mathmo, this takes the form of Olympiads that I didn't know existed until I got to uni) and teachers who knew how to give them the best chance at getting in.

Loool my grammar school did not offer me any of those things you’ve listed there . I wish they had done!

 

[hermionewannabe123]

Oh no, Ruby... of all the filters?

Spoiler: TW: Ruby ED

 

[Deeznutslol]

I cannot cope with her tiktok what the duck is going on

 

[Ilaariaa]

I cannot cope with her tiktok what the duck is going on

Wtf is she doing

 

[vwxyz]

Un-Ruby related but Unjaded Jade is the absolute worst for this. She comes from a very wealthy, MLM family that can afford to send her to a private university for rich kids that affords her to go travelling around the world, yet she constantly posts TikToks and videos trying to put herself within oppressed, marginalised groups. It’s being oppressed for having curly hair (which as a white, blonde woman is a non-issue) or oppressed for choosing not to wear a bra.

Why can’t you just accept that you’re conventionally attractive, white, English, wealthy and have copious opportunities? Really grinds my gears.

I think the reason she can't accept it is the fact that nowadays everyone tries to make you feel bad for having these types of features/privileges, whereas you should feel grateful for them instead of ashamed.

 

[TheLadyTea]

I cannot cope with her tiktok what the duck is going on

I had to pause at multiple times to comprehend this. I started watching this standing up and now I’m crouched on the floor this is heinous my knees have literally given out

 

[alligatorshades]

Loool my grammar school did not offer me any of those things you’ve listed there . I wish they had done!

Same here! There was extra support for those applying to Oxbridge but I think that was largely due to the application process being slightly different. Our form tutors would 'approve' our personal statements (and, in my case, interfered with university choices) but we had no mock interviews, or extra tuition.

 

[Griftwood]

nowadays everyone tries to make you feel bad for having these types of features/privileges

I agree that being grateful is better than being ashamed, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate to put the burden on someone else for ”making you feel bad” over privilege. Our feelings are our own responsibility and blaming the less privileged for making us feel bad helps exactly no one and is counterproductive to change.

 

[Ilaariaa]

Re downplaying their own privilege and trying to fit into oppressed minorities, I don't think it's shame as much as just trying to make themselves look more "interesting" or feel special. It's just attention seeking basically

 

[gossip_guy]

Oh no, Ruby... of all the filters?

Spoiler: TW: Ruby ED

View attachment 1460188

Ruby discovers that common, major foods might become exctinct in our lifetime:

"(Smiling with delirious glee) That is TARRIFYING! "

(Goes outside to frolick joyfully through fields of wheat.)

 

[CatCafe234]

Re downplaying their own privilege and trying to fit into oppressed minorities, I don't think it's shame as much as just trying to make themselves look more "interesting" or feel special. It's just attention seeking basically

It’s that X-Factor thing of thinking you have to have a sob-story to give your brand a boost. It’s like pretending you have a food allergy when you just don’t like something - nobody will mind if you don’t like something, but claiming an allergy when you don’t have one actually does harm to those who do, because if you eat x and nothing happens, it stops people from taking it so seriously for the people for whom it could mean life or death. I don’t want to crap on anyone’s trauma but this whole pretending you’re not from privilege annoys me. Nobody is saying that you haven’t had struggles, just that it’s not a good idea to pretend you’ve experienced something when you haven’t.

A lot of people don’t seem to know the difference any more between being an informed advocate for something, and pretending to have experienced something so that they can claim a struggle. One is good, the other, not so good …

 

[nhlf1nwhl]

I had to pause at multiple times to comprehend this. I started watching this standing up and now I’m crouched on the floor this is heinous my knees have literally given out

tbf at least it is a trend going round on tiktok, I've had a few of them come up recently!!

 

[dodadedo]

Same here! There was extra support for those applying to Oxbridge but I think that was largely due to the application process being slightly different. Our form tutors would 'approve' our personal statements (and, in my case, interfered with university choices) but we had no mock interviews, or extra tuition.

Word. And if you weren't one of the twenty or so girls they'd already pre-chosen for Oxbridge, it wasn't for you. You'd get a lip service amount of attention paid to your personal statement- by your form tutor, so usually this'd just be at your first parents evening or in form time at the beginning of the day, if you happened to be in for morning registration- and that was it.

Not every grammar school is the same. I think it very much depends where they are. Ironically, from teaching I've found that the optional grammars that tend to be more akin to private schools- as in, the few counties that still have the selective 11-plus system as standard rather than opt-in, outside school time, because it's a normal thing to either go to grammar or to a comp, they're just... schools? Maybe that's my experience from both going to a grammar in a selective county and teaching in both non-selective and selective counties.

IDK man the UK education system is a mess anyway.

 

[gossip_guy]

I had to pause at multiple times to comprehend this. I started watching this standing up and now I’m crouched on the floor this is heinous my knees have literally given out

I cringed so hard at this video that I think it aged me 10 years.

 

[bunnys]

Sorry if this is off-topic or anything, but would anyone have any other study youtubers they'd recommend? I liked the "cosy" sort of atmosphere of old StudyTuber videos, and I always like revision tips and days in my life and that sort of thing. Most of the UK StudyTubers have aged out or are unrelatable so I'd love some good recs, thanks guys xx

 

[Deeznutslol]

Word. And if you weren't one of the twenty or so girls they'd already pre-chosen for Oxbridge, it wasn't for you. You'd get a lip service amount of attention paid to your personal statement- by your form tutor, so usually this'd just be at your first parents evening or in form time at the beginning of the day, if you happened to be in for morning registration- and that was it.

Not every grammar school is the same. I think it very much depends where they are. Ironically, from teaching I've found that the optional grammars that tend to be more akin to private schools- as in, the few counties that still have the selective 11-plus system as standard rather than opt-in, outside school time, because it's a normal thing to either go to grammar or to a comp, they're just... schools? Maybe that's my experience from both going to a grammar in a selective county and teaching in both non-selective and selective counties.

IDK man the UK education system is a mess anyway.

Yeah grammar schools aren’t as homogeneous as people seem to think and the standards between them vary greatly. I obviously can only speak from my own experience but I think people give grammar schools waaay more credit than they deserve in terms of the amount of extra help they give their students in general. My partner and I went to grammar schools (different schools, different counties) and tbh in both of our experiences the standard of teaching wasn’t particularly high, we had large class sizes, pretty much zero opportunities for 1 on 1 time with teachers, very little SEN support etc. The only difference to the local comprehensives was that we were under extreme pressure to do well and basically told that anything less than a B was a failure 🥲. They’re free schools at the end of the day tbf so you wouldn’t expect anything like the standard you get in private schools anyway.

Ruby would’ve struggled a lot if she went to one I think.

 

[Griftwood]

I cringed so hard at this video that I think it aged me 10 years.

It’s the ultimate trifecta of Roobee inadequacy: cringey acting, thinking on her feet and trying to display a ”deeper” understanding of the Harry Potter universe all at the same time.

The pressing question that no one’s asked yet is - which one gets to be Wormtail: Mummy Granger or Daddy Bones?

 

[dodadedo]

Yeah grammar schools aren’t as homogeneous as people seem to think and the standards between them vary greatly. I obviously can only speak from my own experience but I think people give grammar schools waaay more credit than they deserve in terms of the amount of extra help they give their students in general. My partner and I went to grammar schools (different schools, different counties) and tbh in both of our experiences the standard of teaching wasn’t particularly high, we had large class sizes, pretty much zero opportunities for 1 on 1 time with teachers, very little SEN support etc. The only difference to the local comprehensives was that we were under extreme pressure to do well and basically told that anything less than a B was a failure 🥲. They’re free schools at the end of the day tbf so you wouldn’t expect anything like the standard you get in private schools anyway.

Ruby would’ve struggled a lot if she went to one I think.

The private school she went to is well known in the area to be the school rich girls get sent to if/when they don't pass the 11-plus.