Patrick Finn was a kid from Southside Chicago, born to working-class parents, in a family of 8, who all followed the occupational lineage of those before them. But Patrick was a different fruit from the same vine, finishing high school and attending his local teacher's college. Eventually becoming a grad school professor, meeting hundreds of passionate and hungry educators, Finn aims to spread his awareness of the blind eye that the world has turned to working-class children. He believes and has experienced first-hand, that teachers are dismissive of the working class, molding them into obedient workers, of menial work completed day after day; a vicious cycle through generations. I have pulled three quotes from the first parts of his book, "Literacy with an Attitude", that I believe accurately depict Finn's overall message.
"We all participate in this social system as if it were natural, the way things were meant to be" (X)
Thoughts: Whether we are human enough to admit it or not, we cannot deny that our society is under some sort of communal blame for failing the new stream of generations regarding uplifting those previously shot down. Students of the working class have been force-fed lessons and teaching styles (subconsciously, we can hope) that aim to keep them in their menial positions of repetitive work with low wages and benefits. It takes upstanders, both in and out of the stigma, to reform our educational processes concerning low-class children.
"...The sources of inequality I examine are in fact so subtle that the average parent, teacher, student, and taxpayer are not conscious of them at all" (Pg.1)
Thoughts: A majority of prejudice and stigmatic behavior happens subconsciously, an unfortunate natural act of society as we have lived for years. At the fault of those before us, society has been cemented in a way that changes the way we think or act in certain situations, but we fall into the blame for not doing something about it. In the present day, we fortunately have a much larger progressive basis in our general ideals (especially in the younger generations).
"Do it this way or it's wrong" (Teacher qt. on Pg.20)
Thoughts: Referring to the styles of education given to students of working-class backgrounds, we (unintentionally?) oppress them into the same molds their families before them were most likely in. The mentality Finn quotes here is a direct synopsis of what goes on in the classroom of these children, who are not given the intellectual light of day to break through their ceilings. Thus confining them into the vicious class cycle that haunts so many families trapped within the working class.
Hi Marco! I really liked the quotes you pulled from the text. I totally agree with you that education quality is not the same for all social classes and that definitely needs to change.
ReplyDeleteI always come to your blogs to get a sense of what I will be reading about. Always so informal and sophisticated! Good job Marco!!
ReplyDeleteHey! I really liked the quotes that you picked for this weeks blog. My favorite quote that you mentioned was "Do it this way or it's wrong". Your thoughts on this actually reminded me of what I wrote on my blog for a different quote. Here is the quote I picked and what I wrote.
ReplyDelete"“Schooled to take orders, to replace their parents at the bottom of the economic heap”
This quote I found to be important in showing that as teachers it is important to encourage our students to dream big and reach for their big dreams no matter their background. It's important that students are aware of their career choices and realize they do not have to do what their family is known to do. I believe that as a teacher it is important that we encourage students that they can do and be successful in a career path that they want to be in if they work really hard."
I enjoyed reading your blog and I really loved the way you began. You picked out some really important quotes that make us think about how we educate our youth.
ReplyDeleteEven though most of the article is negative in the sense that only certain students will be educated with empowering education, I enjoy how you include positive notes like "we fortunately have a much larger progressive basis in our general ideals (especially in the younger generations). Per usual, great blog!
ReplyDelete