ABSTRACT
In America, class position is largely determined by education. Higher education is a pathway into the middle class, but students from working-class backgrounds frequently struggle with the disconnect between academic experiences and family expectations. Reflective reading is a critical practice that recognizes the reciprocal effects of reading on the text and on the reader which are constructed through an active reading process that produces both text and reader. Reflective reading differs from just reading because it postulates readers reading mindfully, not just for content but also for the impact of that content on themselves. Reflective readers are aware of their role in the production of the text and the reciprocal impact of the text on the reader. "Reflected abstraction" is represented by Jane Austen, James Joyce, and countless other authors in profiles of characters who are conscious of their own reflective process and its impact on their understanding of themselves.
