Literacy with an Attitude (pages 109-207)

March 11, 2007 mfought

Patrick J. Finn had some very interesting things to say.    I was very intrigued to read about Freire’s method for teaching powerful literacy.  I thought his method sounded very effective.  Freire wasn’t bold in his approach but instead he started out small and built upon it.  He drew the people in without telling them what they should do and how.  He wanted these working class individuals to work together and reflect on their place in society, discuss about what others think and brainstorm new ideas and exchange them.  He wanted the working class to understand it wasn’t one person verses many but it was all of them working together that could make the difference.

I like the quote on page 153 – 154 “…teachers need support of one another, administrators, parents, the community and the nation, and they don’t get it.”  I think a lot of the teachers feel overwhelmed by everything they are told they HAVE to do, what they HAVE to use and when they HAVE to have it completed by.  I believe many teachers would love to approach teaching as Bigelow and Christensen did.  However, I think they shy away from it because of tight control by administrators as well as the government and their laws and mandates and because they don’t want to get in trouble and in the long run possibly lose their job.

I believe the school districts and government agencies need to start feeling the heat from parents.  Teachers in working class school have worked hard from their end to get things changed.  They have advocated till they are blue in the face for what is best for their students but have been met by cold shoulders.  I truly think that if working class parents are insistent, determined, a bit forceful, daily “nags” and not afraid to unite together to see to it that things  are changed for the benefit of their children, we would start seeing “LITERACY WITH AN ATTITUDE!!”   

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