Talking Points # 8

Reflection: Literacy with an Attitude
Author: Patrick Finn


I enjoyed reading this article this week. I liked the content but not the size. I liked how the author, Patrick Finn, admitted that he made mistakes in his career of a teacher. I think that a "good teacher" is defined as he/she can admit their own mistakes. Instead of making up excuses for the mistakes he has made while being a teacher, he came forth with his mistakes and admitted to them and that is what a "good" teacher should be like.


I have the most respect for Finn. That is because he not only can admit to his mistakes in his career but he worked with the "lower" students and excelled at it. He would tell them when they were misbehaving and fix it. Even he said that because he was from a working class family and he knew how working class and poor kids related to authority. I think this helped him because he knew how they felt and could relate to them. If i were put in that classroom, I don't think it would have ran as smoothly. I am not from the working class or poor community therefore, I probably don't know how to relate to working class or poor kids and they could even feel intimidated or attacked if I tried to "control" them.


On the other hand, I felt kind of taken back when I read the second sentence of the first paragraph of the book. The sentence was, "how to "handle" children of the working class--those who had been handled in school themselves". This quote makes me cringe every time i read it. How to handle children? What is that supposed to mean? When I hear someone say or read something that says the word "handle" it makes me think of an animal, definitely not a human, better yet a child.


Overall, I enjoyed reading this article. It taught me to make sure I own my mistakes as I become a teacher in the future. I think if a teacher can own his or her mistakes and let the classroom know, they will give her more respect.