Sunday, October 20, 2013

Literacy With an Attitude

The first chaper of Finn's book introduces us to his early experiences as a young teacher, teaching in a black neighborhood, on Chicago's south side. He talks about how he was chosen because of his "excellent classroom management skills" to teach the students with the lowest reading scores along with students behavior problems. Years later, he reflected on his teaching and came to the conclusion that he had taught these children not to take charge of their own lives or their own education, but to take orders.
I was from the working class and I knew how working class and poor kids related to authority. The expected people in authority to be authoritarian and I gave them what they expected.
When I read this excerpt I thought of Lisa Delpit when she states in her book, Other People's Children, that "Black children expect an authority figure to act with authority" For Finn, control and order were of the utmost importance. He agrees that learning was also occurring, but which type?
In chapter two of his book, Finn speaks about a study conducted by Jean Anyon. Anyon studied fifth grade classes in five public elementary school in New Jersey. The neighborhoods ranged from the top 1% income families to students from unskilled or semiskilled blue-collar families. All schools consisted of mostly white students with the same IQ range. The results were astounding. The students from the lowest income were not really expected to achieve, resulting in apathy, disrespect of authority and of each other. Anyon observed a dominant theme in each school. This one was resistance. The middle class schools dominant theme was possibility, that hard work would pay off. unfortunately, independent thinking and creativity were not encouraged. The affluent schools dominant theme was individualism. Independence and creativity were encouraged and the curriculum was connected to the real world. The elite schools dominant theme was excellence, to be the best. Anyon's studies conclude that the educations that schools provide almost mirror the students socioeconomic class and position in society.
When I started reading the prologue to this article I immediately thought of Jonathan Kozol. I was thinking of his books Savage Inequalities and then in chapter one Finn quotes Kozol. Another of the many excerpts from Kozol's book that aligns with Finns theory is a quote from a high school senior in Camden, New Jersey. She is a Cambodian student who goes to her guidance counselor to ask advice about college courses.
I went to my counselor he said, 'What do you want?', I said, 'I want to be a lawyer. I don't know what courses I should take.' He told me, 'No you cannot be a lawyer.' I said, 'Why?' He said, 'Your English isn't good.' I said, 'I'm seventeen. I've been here in American four years. I want to be a lawyer.' He said, 'No you cannot be a lawyer Look for something else. Look for an easier job.'
After the last three week with NECAP testing and SLO testing, I have become very discouraged. I have never been discouraged by my students, nor am I now. I am discouraged because I feel that as an educator I am doing a disservice to my student. I do not feel that I am giving them the best education that I can.I m frustrated for the first time in my career and I do not have an answer. I found this video on TED of Kiran Bir Sethi. I know there is hope... through the children.




2 comments:

  1. Mary, I agree. It is discouraging, especially with the top heavy testing et al our schools focus on. I wrote that there seems to be a disconnect between what society says it wants - a la Common Core and 21st Century Skills - and what it truly wants, which is the caste system laid out in Finn's piece. I educate second language learners, and I never discourage my students from their dreams. I just tell them it might take longer. Why? Acquiring academic literacy in a second language can take from five to seven years, depending on the student's literacy skills in their first language and their motivation. So, newcomers to this country who arrive in as teens must be taught explicitly so that they can reach their goals. That aside, we have a society that demands we teach the rules and control our classrooms with the end result of a group of people who can function and pay taxes but not necessarily create and lead. It's a dilemma.

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  2. Hey Mary,

    It is funny that you mentioned the piece on authority. I was speaking with a retired teacher today who gave me this tidbit. Children who grow up in a house with parents who bad mouth authority (form cops, to teachers, etc) one day begin hating authority and rebel against it. Them on another day they realize that their parents are also authority figures and rebel against them ... Talk about giving the authority figures what they want! There is no wonder why the parents have no control, they have taught their children well from a very young age.

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