Post #7

 Literacy with an Attitude, Finn

Quotes

After reading the "Literacy with an Attitude" article it mainly talks about Jean Anyon and how she studied fifth grade classes in five public schools in both rich and not so rich neighborhoods in northern New Jersey. The first thing she decided to start with was looking at the similarities between them, some examples are they are mostly all white, located the same area, same state requirements, they used the same arithmetic books, and they had the same language arts course of study. However, there were some major differences and a few quotes from the article I thought were important to talk about. Starting with, "One teacher led the students through a series of steps to draw a one-inch grid on their paper without telling them what they were making or what it was for. When a girl realized what they were making and said she had a faster way to do it, the teacher answered, "No you don't. You don't even now what I'm making yet. Do it this way or it's wrong." In the working class schools work was following steps in a procedure. Teachers rarely explain why they are being given the work or how it connects to other assignments. There is hardly any decision making or choices. Also, teachers would try to control the students movements by keeping the children after the dismissal bell rings to finish work or for misbehavior. In addition, "In science, students experimented in their own way to discover the properties of aluminum, copper, and glass, and it didn't matter whether they got the right answer. What mattered was that they discussed their ideas. When students asked, "How should I do this?" teachers answered, "You decide" or "What makes sense to you?" In the affluent professional school the most important goal was creativity and personal development. The teachers wanted to students to be able to think for themselves and make sense of their own experience. The products were mostly stories, essays, murals, craft projects, and graphs. All ways that students were able to show originality and individuality. Moreover, In the executive elite school the teachers regarded their students as having higher social status than themselves. The teachers were polite to students, there was no sarcasm, no nasty remarks, and there were few direct orders. "Children were requires to plan lessons and teach them to the class. Among other things, they were evaluated on how well they kept control of the class. The teacher said to one child who lost control of his classmates, "When you're up there, you have authority, and you have to use it. I'll back you up." They were taught more difficult concepts, reasoning and problem solving were very important, and the rationality and logic of mathematics were held up as the model for correct and ethnical thinking. 

The main points I would share to the class is the quotes, I think they are very important and each one shows the difference between the schools and their teaching methods. 

Hyperlink: https://www.epi.org/publication/early-education-gaps-by-social-class-and-race-start-u-s-children-out-on-unequal-footing-a-summary-of-the-major-findings-in-inequalities-at-the-starting-gate/