Literacy With An Attitude

                                                                        Patrick Finn

                                                                      

    We would all like to believe that we can all get equal proper education, all it takes is hard work and dedication to succeed.  Unfortunately, the reality is that there is a great educational divide between the rich and the poor.   Social class is a major factor affecting education.  The higher you are in the social class, the greater opportunity you have to access quality education.   The lower working class tend to live in lower income neighborhood where schools have limited funding, larger class sizes, lack of resources, and less experienced teachers.  All these factors affect the education that these students receive.  We are depriving these young students the opportunity to succeed academically and to build a better future for themselves.  

    The author Patrick Finn discusses this reality in his book.  In the reading he tells us a little about his first teaching job in a black Neighborhood in Chicago.  He discusses how he was schooling these children to take orders; his main priority was to take control of his classroom.  He did teach them to read and write a little better, but he would give them easy assignments that were not too challenging and were time consuming in order to keep them busy.  What he considered good students were his obedient students who were able to follow directions and orders.  This was so sad to hear because in some way he failed these students, instead of teaching them to become successful in life, he was teaching them to follow rules and take orders.  It is very unfortunate, but the reality is that there are many schools and teachers doing the same things.  They are not doing it purposely, but they are faced with so many challenges including behavioral problem, lack of resources, amongst many other challenges.  This is a real problem in public education mainly in the working-class schools.  There is a misconception that the students are lazy and do not want to learn when in fact it is the opposite the majority want to learn and succeed.    

    Finn discusses two different types of literacy education, the first being domesticating education.  This is the type of literacy education that the working class receive, the instructions in reading and writing are designed to make students obedient citizens and useful workers in occupation of manual labor and in service sector.  This low level of literacy does not encourage students to use their imagination or creativity, this is where boredom sets in and might cause behavioral problems in class.  This basic level of literacy makes a person productive, dependable, and employable but not enough to seek power.  The second type of education is empowering education, and this is the literacy education the middle and rich class receive.  This literacy is needed for occupations of leadership and power.  When you provide empowering education students are more likely to set goals, seek challenges and take risks.  

    In Chapter two Finn discusses the Jean Anyon who studied fifth grade class in five different public schools ranging from lower income neighborhoods to executive elite rich neighborhoods.  The schools were all located in northern New Jersey and were all subject to the same state requirements however the differences and inequality were undeniable.  The working-class schools some teachers felt that the students only needed the basic simple skills therefore some of the work or assignments were skipped because it required more creativity.  Teachers were concerned about the control of the classroom therefore all the students had to remain seated unless given permission to move.  In the middle-class schools students were mainly provided with knowledge from textbooks, but students still had limited ability to use their creativity.  They were provided with just enough education to allow for a good middle-class job.  In the affluent professional schools students were encouraged to use their creativity and personal development were important goals to achieve.  Teacher encouraged students to think for themselves and to make sense of their own experiences.  Students were also given autonomy and were able to move freely in the classroom.   It is so hard to believe that such differences really exist, it is so heartbreaking and makes you realize why there is such disparities in academic success in our schools.  Education is the key to successful careers and economic success, and we are failing our working-class students. 

    As teachers it is so important to give students tools and the confidence to become self-directed learners who can navigate and succeed in this ever-changing world.  It is important for students to embrace challenges and see them as an opportunity for growth.  This type of education allows for developing problem solving skills, creating more employment opportunities, and securing higher income jobs.  All students should get the best education regardless of social class, this will allow for a bridging in gap of social classes.  I added this powerful documentary Teach Us All, the documentary is about the divide in education between the poor and rich and how as educators it is important to provide and be open to change.  If you decide to watch, I hope you enjoy!https://youtu.be/BElG3joieUE