Connections - “Literacy with an Attitude” by Patrick J. Finn

Following Patrick Finn when reading Literacy with an Attitude by telling us that schools should teach social justice through literacy and how "dangerous literacy" can help students challenge the status quo and discuss these difficult topics normally. It sparks conversation that need to be address in a safe space and by having a group with diverse ideas in an educational environment can lead to people understanding certain perspectives. We should also be aware of the differences in how students are being taught in schools based on their family's wealth and status. The working class receive domesticating education which brings the basic functional level of literacy while the upper class receive empowering education which is a better understanding of literacy that can bring students to their potential in brilliance and help shape the world. The working and middle class schools also have limited choices in creativity and freedom as well as have a set routine they have to follow with no mistakes. These are signs of bad classroom environment is what Alfie Kohn would perseve in the book What to Look for in a Classroom. The teachers asserted their dominance over the students by telling them to act a certain way and the students were waiting for the classroom to end in order to leave. This teaching style did not give students the skills and tools to better prepared themselves for real life and for the social disadvantages it will bring. A classroom has to make students feel motivated and engaged to help them reach their full potential. Teachers need to give students opportunities to learn from each other as well as be trusted, respected, and challenged in order to have an equal chance because, by giving students freedom and having great communication with them, they will have a well-rounded education to help shape the world too. Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit helps support this claim by acknowledging that students need to incorperate different perspectives from other diverse backgrounds because it gives smaller communities more power and is useful into helping our society by shaping our world view. This is why we should not stereotype students base on races, wealth, and academic grade because it leads students of diverse backgrounds further away from having an mutal realationship with each other.

Comment: The students have to undrstand how to listen to other people and not feel superior in any form of knowledge they come across in order better climb up the social ladder. It is the teachers' responsibility to help students be a paticipant in our society and help minimalize the social injustices by letting them know about the dominant cultures rules and customs. Hyperlink