Blog Post #9

Literacy with an Attitude
Patrick Finn

ARGUMENT

In "Literacy with an Attitude" the author, Patrick Finn, that students are being educated differently based on their social standing, and the social standing of the school they attend.  He goes on to describe how different the experiences were when fifth grade classrooms were observed in an executive elite school, an affluent professional school, a middle-class school, and two working- class schools.  There were differences so visibly obvious in all the schools, starting from the teachers and going all the way down to the lessons being taught.  The teachers in the executive elite school and affluent school tended to be from the same neighborhood and areas as the students.  Conversely the teachers in middle-class and especially working-class schools were from other towns and areas different from their students.  Another difference was the way in which students were being taught.  Those in the middle and lower-class schools were being taught to spit back the information they learned using methods such as multiple choice, one or two word answers, and fill in the blank.  These students were not being taught the ways in which the information they were learning connected to their lives in the outside world.  In the upper-class and elite schools however, these students were encouraged to learn through discussion and make connections to the world around them.  The teachers and administrators in the lower-class schools did not believe their students were capable of making these same types of connections and discussions.  The result of this leads to virtually no change at all.  Students of the upper-class system will go on to live the type of life they grew up living, and unfortunately for those students in the lower-class system they will as well.

The lack of belief teachers and administrators have in these children about their abilities and possibilities is very sad.  It should not be up to the teacher to decide a student's capabilities and their possibilities in life.  It is the job of the teacher to give every student a fair and equal opportunity to become well educated and a productive member of society when they leave the walls of their school. Too often students are lumped into a category based on assumptions that do not apply to all students.  To limit the knowledge being given to a student is wrong and needs to be changed in many school systems throughout the country.


Points to bring up in class: How can we as future educators help put an end to this style of teaching?
Student's futures should not be predetermined by their educators, we should help them reach their goals and aspire for them to achieve more than they think they will.