Blog Post 7

 This week for FNED we had to read Literacy with an Attitude by Patrick J. Finn. It was a very interesting reading. The topics he discussed were really sad but through research proven true. He talks about how the school a student is sent to really sets them up for their future, good or bad. Students get a label put on them if they are smart or dumb very early on and then are treated differently depending on that label. One shocking thing that I learned about was how they treated troublemakers. Finn talks about how some schools will be set up in a way where students took a test on their knowledge and if they got a high grade they would go to the higher class, and if they got a bad grade they would get sent to a slower class. This was a way for the schools to make sure all their students were learning at a pace that was right for them. The shocking part is that teachers would have students who were seen as troublemakers in the higher paced classes and send them to the slower classes just because of how they acted, not because of their grades. A student should not have their education taken away as a punishment. The author also covers how back when he was a teacher, he was known being very authoritative. Looking back on this he doesn’t think that was the best way to teach kids because he was just making them find the “right” answer quietly at their desks. He then goes on to say how including more creative ways would have been better. Then he goes over an analysis someone else had done on different schools with different class students. Overall, it showed that the wealthier the school is, the better education and opportunities the students get. There are still many flaws with higher class education, not all the problems just disappear. For example, he says how the in the working-class schools' teachers said how they cannot teach the kids, they just keep them busy. Then with the higher-class schools the students had more leadership roles about teaching themselves and others. I do not think that whatever money you're born into or school you go to puts you on one path, and one path only for the rest of your life, but I do think it can be a big part. All students have the right to equal education, but sadly that's not the reality of the world we live in. I hope for a future where all students, no matter what money their family has, get a good education that challenges their minds and supports creativity.