Literacy With Attitude 

Quotes: 

"Teachers who see themselves as allies of their working-class students can help their students to see that literacy and school knowledge could be potent weapons in their struggle for a better deal by connecting school knowledge with the reality of working-class student's lives." 

I agree with this statement, because I believe that knowledge is power. The more you know about a topic and study it, the more likely you can use it to your advantage. Teachers are the people who are able to inspire students, and get them to want to learn to better their situations. The more these students know and learn about, the greater chance they are able to make something of themselves, and reach their full potential.

" Don't look down your nose at people out there teaching real children in real and sometimes dreadful circumstances. Don't question their intelligence, or their commitment, or their motives."

Sometimes, I feel that society doesn't give teachers the credit they deserve. I can only imagine how hard it is to control a classroom, and to make children listen to you. These children are going through tough times, just like everyone else but that doesn't make them bad kids. The fact that they are from a rough neighborhood or learn at a slower pace, doesn't mean they shouldn't be given the same opportunities as someone from a wealthy area. Mr. Finn recognized that these tough teachers were able to respect their students and teach them in a way that the students benefitted.

" Anyon observed that in the middle-class school the children were developing a relationship to the economy, authority, and work that is appropriate for the white-collar working class and middle-class jobs; paper work, technical work, sales, and social services in the private and public sectors." 

I had never thought about how schools set you up for the type of job that you may be doing in the future. These children were already learning about how to work for jobs that they would most likely be going into. This is in contrast to the way the children behaved in the working class neighborhood schools. Those children resisted the idea of learning, because they knew that they had the option of becoming a part of the working class in the future.

Question: How is anything supposed to change if working class students are not given the same resources as those in middle and upper class schools?