Finn Reflection

 Knowledge is defined as facts, information and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. In Finn's text, the idea of knowledge is presented as a definition that has different meanings depending on economic status. Many people know and believe that those in richer neighborhoods have the best education and those in middle and lower class do not. However, the idea that education and knowledge comes from a textbook and primary sources is challenged as it is believed that knowledge is best acquired when individuals are allowed to dive into their creativity and spontaneity. 

For this reading, I connected it to the Ted Talk in which Joe Rohl discusses how he decided to change his ninth grade Biology classroom from a teacher led classroom to a student led one. In his reflection, he highlights the idea that in giving his students choices it not only allowed for their creativity to flow through but for them to also take responsibility and hold themselves accountable for their own learning and education. Through the mentoring and guiding that the teacher should posses in the classroom, students are more equipped to really look at the how and why when it comes to what their learning and connect it to the real world. 

In Finn's text, one student was asked what knowledge meant to them and they replied with "facts and memorization" to summarize. Schools do not teach children to think critically. They teach them to memorize names, dates and events and test them on that knowledge and base their learning on their memory. Critical thinking skills really challenges an individual to discover the world around them through testing and experimentation. When we limit the mind, we limit the future and in changing our ideologies on what knowledge and learning are, we open ourselves to Rohl's beliefs in student led learning.