Blog Post #7 - Literacy With an Attitude by Patrick Finn (Connections)

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  While reading Literacy With an Attitude, I realized that the themes in Finn’s writing relate to Amazing Grace by Kozol. Finn discussed four different social classes and how different schools at these levels operate. One of the big themes was how the schools are preparing students to work and stay in their social class. I felt like this was similar to Amazing Grace, specifically the quote “What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them?” I wonder if the schools in the Bronx follow the same patterns Finn described and are designed to keep kids stuck in impoverished communities. In Amazing Grace, Kozol interviews Cliffe, from the interview you can see that Cliffe has a community that cares about him. I can only hope that that community extends into his school and some teachers try and help students succeed.

I also want to connect Finn to Bell Hooks. Bell Hooks talks about how race affects different social classes. In her writing, Bell Hooks explains that white people make up the majority of poor people in today’s society. She goes on to say that both white and black people in poverty “recognize that ruling class greed ensures their continued exploitation and oppression.” This relates to Finn and is another example of people getting stuck in a cycle. In both Literacy With an Attitude and White Poverty, the cycle is social class. People regardless of race are born into a class, and in most cases, they aren’t able to change it. Bell Hooks does give the example that class segregation historically didn’t exist in Black communities. So they were able to gain some privilege through work or other opportunities. I think it was interesting to see how different cultures viewed and valued social class through Bell Hooks’ writing. 

I’ve included the link to an article by NPR that talks about how race, ethnicity, and economics divide America’s school system. I think this article is relevant to the themes that Finn, Kozol, and Hooks write about. They talk about how there is racial division in schools, even if it’s not explicitly stated. They also talk about how new school districts, located in white wealthy communities, make today’s racial segregation worse. 



Comments

  1. JuliaMarch 7, 2024 at 9:54 AM

    Hi Sarah! I really enjoyed your blog and I think that the photo you chose to represent your ideas was incredibly appropriate. Adjusting the school's curriculums should reflect the students they are teaching.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sara M.March 12, 2024 at 5:06 PM

    Hi Sarah :) I thought the link you included was really interesting and can definitely see the connection between the article and Finn. The graphs really helped put into perspective how the school's diversity appears from a broad view. Also, I think your blog was really well written!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maria JapaApril 9, 2024 at 10:53 AM

    Hi Sarah. I loved the connections you made between the different text we have explored in class so far; I also like the image you chose, which comes to show that we are still together but separate.

    ReplyDelete

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