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Post A - Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest


Talking Points:

1. "The assignments were so easy that all obedient students got good grades, but I gave plenty of bad grades to students who were not obedient, who did not do their assignments." This quote reminds me of a topic of discussion in a previous class. "Grading" assignments versus giving students meaningful feedback is a core component of integrating justice into the classroom. This requires stepping away from grading as retributive process for obedience, and stepping towards giving students what they need to be successful in life.

2. Throughout Chapter 2, the author discusses the different traits and attitudes towards learning, classroom environments and knowledge throughout different schools. I found it interesting thinking about the ways in which these traits maybe have been created or perpetuated by education. There are so many factors present in a student's socialization, and it's easy to see how things like a student developing an oppositional identity can be caused by authority regulating the student's body and actions.

3. The idea of integrating more student choice into the classroom is one I have struggled with, particular with our school's curriculum. I wonder how I can integrate student voice with a prescribed curriculum, as well as how I can allow students to hold on to some of the power in the classroom.


Argument Claim:

Finn argues that the educational system in America perpetuates societal inequity through two different forms of education (education for 'leaders' and education for 'followers').

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