Argument/Reflection:
In the article “Literacy with an Attitude” by Patrick J Finn he lays out the differences in school culture and teaching style depending on the average income of the students’ families who go there. Teachers of the lower income students often describe them as “dumb” or “lazy”. There is also less discussion about critical issues in these schools, and creativity/outside the box thinking is not valued. In the middle class schools students are taught directly from the textbook. They are taught that if you follow the rules you have a successful job. The overall attitude from the students was “possibility” and working the “right way”. In affluent schools creativity is fostered and personal development is taught. Experiments that relate to the students real life are done and higher level concepts are talked about. The students are given much more freedom by teachers, and the overall theme from students was thought to be “individualism”. When looking at all of this we see how there is a problem in the system of education. Teachers are often unable to see past a student's background, and believe that the student will or won’t succeed solely based on their background.
With all of this being said it makes me worried for the students in the school I volunteer at. Many of the students come from an economically challenged background compared to the state average. I can see how intelligent these kids are, and it will be up to all their future teachers including people like me to make a difference in their lives and get them to believe in themselves and their future. They do have the advantage of being in a strong pre k program that teaches them real social and academic lessons before they even begin elementary school. My hope is that all of these kids will have teachers that believe in them and challenge them academically, and that I can be one of these teachers.
Here is a link showing the spending differences per student between rich and poor schools:
great reflection on your SL site!
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