blog #7

 Literacy With an Attitude 

Patrick J. Finn, claims that the United States educational system fosters social inequality through the dispersal of several kinds of literacy among different classes—enabling literacy to those who are powerful and domesticating literacy to working-class people.


Finn specifies that although literacy has always been thought of as a democratizing force and access, in practice it has historically been used to perpetuate social hierarchies. He differentiates "empowering education ," which allows individuals access to sites of power and influence, from "domesticating education ," which renders individuals competent to work on their own effectively without challenging existing power relations. The education system, he argues, reinforces such stereotypes by constructing learning environments and students that empower or domesticate the students based on class. Working-class students learn an education of compliance and work day utility, not one of critical thought and leadership. Finn contends that this cycle must be broken by educators who galvanize working-class students by connecting literacy and their workaday battles and experience and developing what he calls "literacy with an attitude"—a literacy that refuses inequity rather than perpetuates it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Privilege, Power, and Difference” By Alan Johnson”

Image
 Our weekly reading this week was titled “Privilege, Power and Difference” By Alan Johnson. This was a reading about the differences people face, privilege and power people hold. I am going to focus on and explain 3 quotes from the text.  “I wro te this little book for one reason. We all know that a great deal of trouble surrounds issues of difference in this society, trouble relating gender and race, sexual orientation, ethnicity , social class”- Alan Johnson Pg. 1 Explanation-  This quote stuck out to me as it was the opening line to the text. I thought it opened the piece well and let people know what to expect and lended a guiding hand for understanding the text.  “ The trouble around difference is really about privilege and power- the existence of privilege and the lopsided distribution of power that keeps it going.”- Alan Johnson  Pg. 15   Explanation- I loved this quote because it makes a very strong point. The continuation of privilege and power is ...
Read more

Blog #8

  A reflection on Richard Rodriguez's 'Aria' Rodriguez in “Aria” talks about that one's identity as well as their  assimilation is often associated with the languages they use: Spanish, a "private language," being used inside the home for comfort whereas the outside world requires English as a "public language." This was however the turning point for him, as public confidence when speaking Spanish to English, but the result was that his home quarters were left distant. In his home, Rodriguez's parents insisted they speak English but were encouraged by the teachers and nuns. It turned upside down what initially seemed a very well-intentioned bit of effort. "Father," that figure, who spoke Spanish, once the man to whom silence was unsafe, now didn't speak English. Rodriguez has stopped his affectionate Spanish words toward his parents simply because he couldn't find equally meaningful English equivalents. The warmth of his languag...
Read more

The Four ‘I’s of Oppression

Image
  For this week’s blog I am explaining four quotes from ‘The Four ‘I’s of oppression.  I found this text to be a very good explanation of the four different types of oppressions. However I did have some other thoughts.  Quote One- “Ideological Oppression is rooted in value systems that allow people to dehumanize, exploit, or harm other individuals and groups”   Explanation- This quote was the definition of Ideological Oppression. It gave me a great understanding of it. I understood them that allows individuals to justify their hate and ignorance.  Quote two- “Internalized oppression addresses the way individuals absorb belief systems that then contribute to feelings of false supremacy to false deficiency within themselves in relation to others- especially those who are not part of the dominant social group.”  Explanation- This quote was a good explanation of what internalized oppression is. It helped me understand that is similar to an insecurity but about ...
Read more