Blog Post #9 - Literacy With An Attitude (Reflection)

          I found "Literacy With An Attitude" by Patrick Finn very interesting primarily because of the study found within it. This study looked at several different schools and studied student's lesson plan as well as the teacher's and student's reactions to the curriculum day-to-day. The schools that were studied had differing economic incomes, based on the parents of the children attending the school. What I found interesting that was found from the study was that schooling changed dramatically based on how much income a student's family sees.

          In the Professional-Affluent school for example, teachers come from everywhere in the state, students are encouraged to be creative in their responses, and discovery and experience is more important than "getting the right answer." This school's parents earned the top 10% of income based on the study. This is shocking when compared to the middle class student experience. Teachers yell more often, they are more encouraged to get the "right" answer, and most teachers live somewhere in the area. When one takes a step back and looks at how differently we teach children, I believe more can be explained as to how people fall into certain categories and find it difficult to remove themselves from these categories, negative or otherwise.

This article explains how where you live can determine your educational experience.