ABSTRACT
One of the places one might least expect pupils to be differentiated on social class lines is in the infant school. The teacher is faced with an immediate problem of 'what do do' in the classroom which itself is embedded in a wider structure of material and social relationships. The central aspect of the contemporary-consocial continuum lies in the level of communication links or intersubjectivity. The elite of the social structure are the few 'bright' children who are able to take most advantage of the 'free day' and 'leading from behind', in that they readily know what it is the teacher wants and can reward the teacher for the time spent with her thus confirming her in her identity as a competent teacher. The teacher involved in a one to one relationship with a child over a long period of time would undoubtedly develop a relationship of high intersubjectivity and consociality.
