Blog 8: Literacy with an Attitude - Patrick J. Finn

Reflection

This reading was very interesting to me. I have always been curious about the difference in education in locations and what schools look like in each socioeconomic level. When the topic is brought up, people mostly talk about achievement gaps being the result of external factors, like poverty, home lives, and culture. This reading brought me a fresh perspective of one of the reasons, which looks at the internal mechanics of the school system itself. It also led me to reflect on my experiences substitute teaching and also my job at an early learning center. 

When I started substitute teaching, I picked up many shifts at the elementary school I went to. This school is considered “nicer” than the other schools in my town. For example, the students in kindergarten were given worksheets that involved doing color pages that involved math equations that would be colored in by answer (the sum of 10 was green, 7 is purple). Along with this, some of the classes had a portion of the day dedicated to socioemotional learning. When I went to other elementary schools in the district, I began to notice differences. I saw that even in the same grade levels, within the same district, there were different curriculums, usually much more teacher-led and structured, even on a day with a substitute teacher. I also noticed there was less academic focus - students were given regular coloring pages. There were more frequent movement breaks and less time spent on lessons. I could chalk it up to this being because there was a substitute teacher, but it seemed like it didn't stray much from the students' daily routine. I also noticed that in lower income areas, the schools were more likely to have a punishment/reward system. Most of the elementary schools did give out “tickets” for good behavior, but I noticed a more public display of behavior charts - clips would be moved from green to yellow to red based on behavior, students in the lower income areas in the district sometimes had behavior charts that were sent home for parents daily to review and sign.

I recently started a job at an early learning center. It is in a higher-income area and it is very much rooted in montessori practices + very nature based. There is limited praise, no labeling of good and bad, and students are very much independent and in charge of their own learning. Students are encouraged to come up with solutions to problems on their own, and teachers are really there to supervise and only give help when students directly ask us. I often hear the young preschoolers talk about wanting to be geologists, hunters, presidents, and artists when they grow up. I found this super interesting as they are only about 4-5 years old. In these schools it isn't just a difference in "funding" or "school quality," but a fundamental difference in the socialization and type of literacy being offered to children based on their perceived future roles in society. Schools also are not only teaching reading and math. Children are learning how to relate to authority, how to view work, and how to perceive their own agency. This dives further into inequality in teaching.

How are we as a society going to progress if we are teaching some students to be future leaders, and some students to be working class? During this reading I thought of the hunger games. I found myself comparing the different schools Anyon visited and all of the different districts in books and how children in each are brought up to work in the district's designated profession. When Anyon visited the Affluent/Elite schooling, I immediately pictured the capital in my head. In the Capital, citizens are taught to be the "executives" of Panem, some being future “gamemakers”. They are taught to be eccentric and creative, and to view themselves as the rightful decision-makers for everyone else.