Literacy Witn An Attitude : Argument

In Literacy With An Attitude by Patrick Finn, argues that schools need to learn how to handle children of the working class. Finn goes on to explain that because he too grew up in a family of nine children he understood what these children were feeling. His father was a plumber and the rest of his siblings became plumbers as well, but because he had a little disability he decided to stay in school finish high school and go to college to become a teacher. People do not give enough credit to these children / students.

I believe that he is telling the truth. A line that stood out to me was when he was talking about how the principle or either the teacher would walk by his classroom very slowly and observe what his classroom, and he were doing. My favorite thing he said in that statement was, "What can be to our students." Finn believed in their potential, he believed that they were betters ways then being locked in a strict system of rules on how to teach and how the children should behave. This is so true, throughout my life the majority of my teachers teaching styles have been the same. Only a select few have been very different. This goes as well to students. Not every student is the same. Each one has their own pace as they learn, and some learn quicker or slower than others.

I could easily relate this to the Indian Father's Plea reading we did. The teacher underestimated Wind wolf and his father was upset that the school system was calling his child "slow." Things like that are heartbreaking. Imagine being the parent of a child and finding out/ receiving a call/note saying that they think your child in mentally behind in school compared to the other children.

Thoughts:

 What can we do to help students learn better?

How can teachers teach better?

Why do teachers teach by the rules nowadays?

What caused this phenomenon?

 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/great-teachers-do-not-teach-ben-Johnson

http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/textonly/docgen.asp?tbl=mr&ID=117

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc This made me very happy.