Literacy with an Attitude -Patrick J. Finn (connection)

Right off the bat i thought that the article related to delpit. In the article Finn talks about one of the first times he starts teaching. His classroom was thought to have had to most learning going on than any other classroom. He even tells us about how the principal told him he would walk by his room "so they could see what could be done with our students." He had a very successful teaching environment going on. However his environment was very much the way Delpit says it should be. Delpit says that things should be told exactly what is expected of them. However just like Delpit says it's up to the teacher to create this environment. The teacher shouldn't be asking questions. The teacher should be telling the students what to do and how to do it, that way there is no room for things to unwind and become out of control. This is exactly how Finn describes his classroom. at one point in the article he says, "I didn't say to an errant student, "What are you doing?" I said, "Stop that and get to work." No discussion. No openings for an argument." This is exactly something Delpit would say. After this Finn goes on to say how he always has his assignments on the board to keep the kids busy. He then gives a run through of what an obedient student is and a disobedient student is. a few example are; "Obedient students were not kept in from recess, but most days there were one or two disobedient students kept in from recess. Obedient students' parents were not called up to school, but on one or two mornings a week I met a parent of a disobedient student who had been summoned to school at 8:30 A.M. before classes began." Once again i also believe this to be delpit because the kids know exactly what is right and wrong. there is no question about it. this is what happens to the obedient students and this is what happens to the disobedient stidents. It shows the children that the teacher is in control and determines right from wrong. 

Not only does Finn relate to Delpit but i believe he also relates to Johnson in some ways as well. In Finn's article he talks a lot about the poor students education. like Johnson, Finn believes that we need to help in educating those who are poor in order for them to be successful. i believe this also relates back in some ways to the article Separate and Unequal by Bob Herbert that we read a couple of weeks ago. in that article it says "Studies have shown that it is not the race of the students that is significant, but rather the improved all around environment of schools with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, pupils who are more engaged academically, parents who are more involved, and so on. The poorer students benefit from the more affluent environment." This is very similar to what is being said in Finn's article. We must help the poor to be successful. Would it be any different if those kids had the same education as the wealthy kids? In Herbert's article they talk about how student were said to have been successful when they were put in better learning environments. i believe this is the same scenario but a little bit different. If you gave the poor students the same opportunities as the wealthier students then they wouldn't struggle as much. After reading Marisa's blog she used a good quote from Finn which said " If the poor were educated the same, then there wouldn’t be such a “divide in levels of income, wealth, dignity, safety, health, and quality of life.” I thought that this was a great quote from Finn, and i believe it to be true. 

i was looking around trying to find some different websites about the education system and came across this website which i thought was really cool! 

Lastly i would like to talk in class about what people believe to be the best classroom atmospheres? is a delipit classroom the way to go? If so can you go about it in a way where you don't seem like such a drill sergeant?