(Blog 9) "Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route" by Jeannie Oakes and "Literacy with an Attitude" by Patrick J. Finn

REFLECTION

     In the article, Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route by Jeannie Oakes, she talks about the two sides to tracking in schools. Some parents are for keeping track of student's scores, because they want their kids to be around other successful peers. These parents think that the less academic students will have a bad influence on their kids. The parents that are against tracking think that tracking not only excludes kids, but also neglects them. Personally, I related a lot to this article while reading it. I also have some strong opinions on the topic. I am against tracking. I think that tracking causes the students that are put in the less academic groups to fall even more behind. Being integrated into a classroom with less and more successful students will help influence those who are less academic to do better. I think that tracking is unfair segregation. It makes students feel bad about themselves, which will only make them give up in school. Teachers will also lose hope on these kids, and only the students in the more advanced group will get attention, when they're the ones who need it the least. When I was in middle school, we had groups that were based on academic scores. The groups would never get along. Everyone would always think one group was better than the other. It caused constant conflict. I was in a less advanced group, and I didn't feel like I belonged in it. I was never able to reach my full potential. If I had been challenged more, I could have been a lot more educated. Placing students in a group off of only test scores can be completely off as to what their actual abilities are. Tracking will only cause kids to be over or under challenged. 

     The preface and chapters one and two of Literacy with an Attitude, by Patrick J. Finn was written in 1999, but is still a very prominent topic today. Finn connects his topic to Kozol's, which I though was pretty cool. Finn mentions that he was born with a birth defect, which made him unable to follow the family business like all of his other siblings were. This left him with school as his only backup to figure out what to do for his future. Of course, as a future teacher, I also have a very strong opinion about education. I believe that college is not for everyone, it really just depends on what career choice you make. However, I am a strong believer in getting your high school diploma. Like this article states, it is a hard era education wise. It is nearly impossible to find a good paying job without some sort of education. This article closely related to how I grew up. I always knew I'd have to go to college to become a teacher, and though it isn't ideal, it is the society we live in today.

QUESTION: Do you think that education should be important in finding a job? What can we do as a society to lesson the stigma that not having a college degree is bad?