Reading Finn was a little challenging for me, solely based on the fact that at some points when they were switching back and forth from the kinds of schools they were talking about, I would get a little confused. But I do believe I grasped the main idea for the most part, especially with the help of the breakdown towards the end of the reading. The more I read, the more interesting the breakdown of Anyon's experiment became. The relation between teachers' attitudes, students' grades, criteria taught, and opinions on what is important. All of this reflects how your class affects everything in your life, especially education. In the lower working class and middle class, students are taught to obey the rules, stick to the book, and not to go against the grain. They are basically being trained to work their lives away; resistance was punished. The middle class, however, did seem to prioritize the teacher's knowledge more; that would be attributed to their "rewards" for going by the book and following rules (good grades, good school, good job). The teachers talked down more on their students, especially the lower-class teachers. They had almost no hope for their students' education and could see the social class difference. In affluent schools, students were more creative and focused on their individual education but also pertained to the community. Students would speak out to "the rich" while their parents were part of the 10%. Students were more encouraged to think outside the box and prioritize education. Finn said that the executive elite students were "learning to be masters of the universe." Education was prioritized, and creativity was more of a mockery. They didn't believe in individualism in the sense that they could create their own knowledge; everything had a right answer, and there were most definitely wrong ones. More responsibility and a harder curriculum were provided; teachers had a lot more faith in their students to move toward the right direction.
Although not straight on topic, I wanted to share a video I recently watched where parents and teachers (some who are also parents) discuss what children truly need. In this video class is brought up when it comes to having to give up a job to become a mom or being a single parent with only one income and one person to do the work. One of the teachers stresses the problem of social inequity and how it has played a role in him struggling to help teach a student. He shares how difficult and overwhelming it can be for him to try and steer students on the right path, partially because he didn't grow up that way. While another teacher's background has helped her help children. It is a really beautiful video because everyone seems very vulnerable and honestly discussing real issues. They also take accountability.
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