Problems with Literacy in America
I though that the two readings, “What is literacy� and “The Banking Concept of Education�, were very insightful. I think that the first reading can be easier related to the situation of the American literacy problem today, while the second one was more an interpretation of a global literacy problem that I can’t personally relate to as much.
The first reading brought up some good points. The fact that literacy is not a cut and dry definable thing is true. It is very hard to distinguish who is literate and how or why they came to be that way. It reminded me of when the AVID speaker came to present to our class and said that 70% of the St. Paul Schools are minority and 80% have free & reduced lunch. These are the schools where there is no money for an improved program and therefore the gap of poverty, literacy, and the quality of education grows. Subsequently, the majority of people in the St. Paul area who have money and are mostly white send their kids to private schools while the people who cannot afford it are forced to send their children to a public school with a lower chance of success. This is not to say that all public schools are bad or that kids do not succeed in them, but if you look at the facts I’m sure there is a higher drop out rate and lower test score average at these public schools than the private ones. This exemplifies what the article states that the opportunity to become literate and consequently successful is not always presented to many American citizens.
One quote I found interesting was after stating that a literate community was a privileged one, "With privilege should come an obligation to ask questions: Is our community a closed or an open one?" This to me this presents a demand to the people who can read and write, that are considered "literate", to open this privilege and try to extend it to everyone that they can.
As far as the second reading goes, I just would like to touch on a few points. At first when I read it, "The Banking Concept" seemed almost outrageous. If it actually is in true practice, it is a ridiculous form of educating. But as the article continues the suggestions of the "problem-posing" education made much more sense. One quote I thought was good was the following, "... men know themselves to be unfinished; they are aware of their incompletion. In this incompletion and this awareness lie the very roots of education as an exclusively human manifestation." I think this quote symbolizes a state of mind that all humans know they can further themselves. And it is my opinion that a "problem-posing" education is the way to do that.
Comments
I definitely agree with your observation about the difference between public and private schools or even urban public to suburban public schools. Many public schools (mainly urban of course) do not have the resources and therefore the opportunities to become literate enough to be successful in today's world. The reason for this is mainly a lack of money. Budgets for many public schools are constantly being cut and in general, there was never enough money to begin with. In small towns, the citizens' tax money goes to maybe one or two schools and a lot fewer other jobs such as road repair (small towns have far less roadways and other opportunities for tax spending). It is all relative to population, but in general, a big city requires far more money to maintain. In a large city, tax money is spread very thin. Just look at say Minneapolis Washburn and then compare it to Osseo- both are public schools but Osseo is by far nicer than Washburn. This translates to how many computers a school has or how well the teachers are paid- which can effect their teaching. Until we can bring our urban public schools up to the same level as suburban ones, the literacy rate amoung those students will not be high enough to allow them to be successful today. What hurts many of these students even more is their race. The schools have high minority populations and when they don't recieve as good of an education as suburban white students, combined the the very evident system of discrimination in many work places, this prevents them from future success. Also, private schools fund themselves and they use tuition to cover their needs. If there aren't enough resources to give their students the best education possible, they just raise the tuition. Few private schools go without the neccessary resources for ensuring their students' literate success. This can also create a huge literacy gap between public and private schools. We clearly need to make some changes.
Posted by: Anna Burke | September 25, 2006 12:24 PM
I definitely agree with your observation about the difference between public and private schools or even urban public to suburban public schools. Many public schools (mainly urban of course) do not have the resources and therefore the opportunities to become literate enough to be successful in today's world. The reason for this is mainly a lack of money. Budgets for many public schools are constantly being cut and in general, there was never enough money to begin with. In small towns, the citizens' tax money goes to maybe one or two schools and a lot fewer other jobs such as road repair (small towns have far less roadways and other opportunities for tax spending). It is all relative to population, but in general, a big city requires far more money to maintain. In a large city, tax money is spread very thin. Just look at say Minneapolis Washburn and then compare it to Osseo- both are public schools but Osseo is by far nicer than Washburn. This translates to how many computers a school has or how well the teachers are paid- which can effect their teaching. Until we can bring our urban public schools up to the same level as suburban ones, the literacy rate amoung those students will not be high enough to allow them to be successful today. What hurts many of these students even more is their race. The schools have high minority populations and when they don't recieve as good of an education as suburban white students, combined the the very evident system of discrimination in many work places, this prevents them from future success. Also, private schools fund themselves and they use tuition to cover their needs. If there aren't enough resources to give their students the best education possible, they just raise the tuition. Few private schools go without the neccessary resources for ensuring their students' literate success. This can also create a huge literacy gap between public and private schools. We clearly need to make some changes.
Posted by: Anna Burke | September 25, 2006 12:25 PM
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