Three Talking Points:
Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working Class-Children in Their Own Self-Interest
1. First Anyon noted similarities among the schools. They were nearly all white. They were all located in northern New Jersey and subject to the same state requirements. They all used the same arithmetic books. They had the same language arts course of study. Two of the schools used the same basal reading series. There were startling differences, however, most of the teachers were born in the same city as the schools but lived in better sections. Most of them were young and had graduated from the local teachers college; many of them were single.
2. In each category of school, Anyon observed what she called a "dominant theme". In the working class schools the dominant theme was resistance. Students vandalized school property and resisted the teachers’ efforts to teach. Boys fell out of chairs; students brought bugs into the classroom and released them; children lost books or forgot them; students interrupted the teacher. They showed no enthusiasm for projects into which the teacher put extra effort. They refused to answer questions and were apparently pleased when the teacher became upset. There was less resistance to easy work, and so assignments were rarely demanding.
3.The teachers in the middle-class school varied from strict to somewhat easygoing, but, for all of them, decisions were made on the basis of rules and regulations that were known to the students. Teachers always honored class dismissal bells. There was little excitement in the school work, and assignments did not seem to take into account the student’s interests of feelings, but the children seemed to believe that there were rewards: good grades lead to college and a good job. Remember, these were fifth graders.
Argument Point
The point of school work was to achieve, to excel, to prepare for life at the top.
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