Literacy with an Attitude

Literacy with an Attitude, written by Patrick J. Finn, attempts to redefine literacy as the term exists within the education field. In his professional life, Finn served as an Associate Professor Emeritus of the Graduate School of Education from the University of Buffalo. He also and co-chairs a committee of Urban Education through the University of Buffalo that helps provide support for the schools and school districts in Buffalo, NY. His book outlines the differences between 'domesticating' and 'liberating' education, and offers advice on how to fix the discrepancy between upper and lower class schools. Finn references studies conducted by other published authors within the field of education, including Jean Anyon and James Gee.

Synopsis

Chapters 1-3

Finn outlines different socioeconomic levels at which schools exist, and dissects the educational practices that are common for each. These types of schools include executive elite, affluent professional, middle class, and working class schools. Working class schools are characterized by work being seen as a procedure, with the dominant theme as resistance. Middle class schools are characterized by work as getting the right answer, with a dominant theme of possibility. Affluent professional schools are characterized by work being carried out as creative activity carried out independently, with a dominant theme of individualism with a minor theme of humanitarianism. Executive elite schools are characterized by the dominant theme of excellence.

Chapters 4-6

This section outlines the difference between immigrant and involuntary minorities. Finn introduces the concept of oppositional identities observed by John Ogbu, which states that some students, such as those from working-class backgrounds, see their cultures are directly opposed to what is being taught in the classroom. Finn illustrates that students with oppositional identities find it more challenging to self advocate for their education than those who do not have them.

Chapters 7-10

This section discusses the dynamics between lower, middle, and upper class students and the ways they use language. Lower class students were often noted to use implicit language, middle and upper class students use explicit language. Finn also argues that all students regardless of their socioeconomic status should have access to empowering education.

Finn discusses how a community comes together to form a discourse. Students get their primary discourse from their family but in the larger society students will develop a secondary discourse. Students with oppositional identities often have trouble acquiring the dominant discourse.

In chapter ten, Finn introduces the four types of literacy. There is performative, functional, informational, and powerful literacy. These literacies exist within society.

Chapters 11-12

Chapter eleven reviews the history of schooling in America. After reviewing the beginnings of the educational system, Finn explains that Corresponding Societies questioned authority and exercised power to learn, discuss, evaluate, conclude, formulate, and exchange. This is more like literacy “with an attitude” than a defeated form of literacy expressed earlier in the book. The chapter continues by going through the history of Corresponding Societies until settling on that this ultimately became an education for domestication.

In chapter twelve, Finn discusses New Literacies by giving an example of a classroom that uses it. In New Literacies, communication is indistinct and expression is emphasized over correctness. "Gatekeeping" is a mode of correctness that often deters from the content of what the student is trying to communicate. Finn argues then that the approach of New Literacies could help this problem. Finn then discusses ways that New Literacies is difficult to employ in the classroom. An ideal classroom to promote democracy would be similar to that of New Literacies.

Chapters 13-20

From chapters thirteen to twenty, Finn claims to offer solutions to the problems he poses in the text’s earlier chapters. He bases much of his proposed solution on the work of Paulo Freire. Friere suggests that problems should be diagnosed and eliminated through activism. Based upon this, Finn recommends Frieian motivation in the classroom, or the idea of teachers teaching students to stand up for themselves. He provides research that supports this thesis, as well as exemplar organizations that are already using this type of education.

Reception

At Publication

When the book was first published, education scholars had mixed reviews. Some, like John M. Watkins, note that the book holds to strong ideals that cannot be enacted. In his review, Watkins states that Literacy with an Attitude is "passionate" and "urgent". He says that Finn does not present himself at a distance from the subject. Instead, Watkins states that this book should be read by those who are worried about the failure of schools in their attempts to "Educate all our citizens into a powerful democratic discourse". However, Watkins believes that we will not be able to utilize Finn's advice. He states that he does not believe that we have the will and that we will not be able to "help working-class children develop literacy with an attitude".

Throughout his review, Watkins repeatedly mentions his "discomfort" that occurred while reading Literacy with an Attitude. Watkins attributes this "discomfort" to the direct nature of Finn's writing. Watkins states that the most uncomfortable moment was Finn's personal anecdote of "his own painful realizations of the extent to which public education has betrayed him".

In contrast, Honey Halpern notes that the book presents great contributions to the education community. In her review, Halpern states that Finn's book opened up "new and perceptive ways of looking at familiar situations" in education. Throughout her review, she notes that Finn's identification of politics in education is outwardly insightful. Halpern argues that the change that Finn is looking for is possible through aligning curriculum with powerful literacy. She concludes by urging that all teachers learn about the effective ways to help middle class students become literate.

Since Publication

Literacy with an Attitude has been accepted by others in the education field, including Donna E. Alvermann, a professor of Literacy at the University of Georgia, who has served as the director of the National Reading Research Center, and has published extensively on literacy and popular culture. Alvermann referenced Finn’s discussion of “domesticating education” in her article “Reading adolescents’ reading identities: Looking back to see ahead,” to point out the flaws of the “deprivation approach” an approach to literacy that suggests struggling readers are disadvantaged. She says that when students are thought of this way, they often receive domesticating education and social inequality. For that reason, the label “struggling reader” should be avoided.

Rosalie Romano, an education professor at Western Washington University, explained in her review that Finn's argument on teaching powerful literacy as a matter of justice is significant to societal challenges to "our environment, to our infrastructure, to our social systems, and to our public institutions". The approach to literacy that she approaches in response to "Literacy with an Attitude" is one of engagement and purpose in a democratic society.

Critiques of Literacy with an Attitude come from Whiting in his outline of the book; he states that although Finn has a well put together argument, he does not provide readers with practical and applicable solutions to enact.

Influence on the Education Community

Finn’s book influenced the research for the book Urban Education with an Attitude, which seeks to empower and reform the individuals that are ingrained in urban education curriculum. The authors use the basic principles of Finn’s Literacy with an Attitude to model their solutions for the problems that circulate in urban education. Romano states that his idea of powerful literacy can be translated to teaching social activism throughout American history and its purposes. His research on working class schools and their deficiencies is often cited and referred to in the education community in articles that advocate for change.