A Silenced Dialogue, by Lisa Delpit, was a very interesting article to read, although I enjoyed it, I feel like the comments stated were ones that I figured out on my own, yet were sad to actually read. However, there were a few statements that stood out to me and caught my attention. In the first paragraph, the author is speaking to a Black teacher in an urban elementary school and discussing certain instances she has had.
"White people think that know what's best for everybody, for everybody's children"(21).
-This stood out because the teacher has been through it first hand in the school system and the way other faculties and parents are approaching her. She has seen that the way she teaches, others believe that it is not right and she could be doing more, when she is doing the best she can. It makes me upset that people have come to this reasoning, and others are letting it happen. This leads to the author describing that there are five rules of people or culture with power. I believe that the Black teacher feels she has no power over the White people telling her what to do.
The next quote I found interesting was "many liberal educators hold that the primary goal for education is for children to become autonomous, to develop fully who they are in the classroom setting without having aribitary, outside standards forced upon them"(28).
- In this comment, I took it that higher authoritative people believe children learn who they are and their best inside a learning classroom. However, I completely disagree, I feel that children learn who they are outside of the classroom, as well. I think that children discover more things about themselves than just school work or how they are labeled in a classroom. This also relates back to the issue of people having more power than others and thinking that their opinions are more important. This comment really made me think about how I feel if someone said that to me.
-EDITED: This quote and the explaination that I wrote about reminds me of Shor. Shor speaks of socialization for the students and that it is a great thing for them to do. He says that we shouldn't be just focusing on the basic subjects, which is true. Student's learn so much more than just outside of the classroom and that is where they realize the joy in learning. Shor says that the attitude of the teacher and the students plays a big role, which I agree on that. It is just the power of the school and teachers who believe that learning is strictly in the classroom. However, Shor would have to say the opposite, and I agree with him!
The last quote that I found really interesting was "I am also suggesting that appropriate education for poor children and children of color can only be devised in consultation with adults who share their culture. Black parents, teachers of color. And members of poor communities must be allowed to participate fully in the discussion of what kind of instruction is in their children's best interest"(45).
- I think that this comment is extremely important because it is true. Parents and adults know their children better than anyone else and they should have in say in how they are taught. They know what is right for them and they should be allowed to act upon that. However, not everyone believes that should be the case, and thats wrong. Delpit said "both student and teacher are expert of what they know best," and that is certainly true and both can learn from each other.
-EDITED: This reminds me of when we spoke of Brown vs. Board of Education. One father pushed for his daughter to be at the right school and get the same education as the white schools. He knew what was best for his daughter and he made sure that is what he was going to get. Even though they were not so much poor, they were still classified as that because they were African Americans and during that time it was seen as unequal. No matter who the parent is, the parent should always play a role in their child's education.
Here is an interesting article that I found, from 2012. It is an interview with Lisa Delpit and her theories and points made in this article we read.
Comment: What exactly is Distar? Which schools did this program take place in? I was a little confused.
"White people think that know what's best for everybody, for everybody's children"(21).
-This stood out because the teacher has been through it first hand in the school system and the way other faculties and parents are approaching her. She has seen that the way she teaches, others believe that it is not right and she could be doing more, when she is doing the best she can. It makes me upset that people have come to this reasoning, and others are letting it happen. This leads to the author describing that there are five rules of people or culture with power. I believe that the Black teacher feels she has no power over the White people telling her what to do.
The next quote I found interesting was "many liberal educators hold that the primary goal for education is for children to become autonomous, to develop fully who they are in the classroom setting without having aribitary, outside standards forced upon them"(28).
- In this comment, I took it that higher authoritative people believe children learn who they are and their best inside a learning classroom. However, I completely disagree, I feel that children learn who they are outside of the classroom, as well. I think that children discover more things about themselves than just school work or how they are labeled in a classroom. This also relates back to the issue of people having more power than others and thinking that their opinions are more important. This comment really made me think about how I feel if someone said that to me.
-EDITED: This quote and the explaination that I wrote about reminds me of Shor. Shor speaks of socialization for the students and that it is a great thing for them to do. He says that we shouldn't be just focusing on the basic subjects, which is true. Student's learn so much more than just outside of the classroom and that is where they realize the joy in learning. Shor says that the attitude of the teacher and the students plays a big role, which I agree on that. It is just the power of the school and teachers who believe that learning is strictly in the classroom. However, Shor would have to say the opposite, and I agree with him!
The last quote that I found really interesting was "I am also suggesting that appropriate education for poor children and children of color can only be devised in consultation with adults who share their culture. Black parents, teachers of color. And members of poor communities must be allowed to participate fully in the discussion of what kind of instruction is in their children's best interest"(45).
- I think that this comment is extremely important because it is true. Parents and adults know their children better than anyone else and they should have in say in how they are taught. They know what is right for them and they should be allowed to act upon that. However, not everyone believes that should be the case, and thats wrong. Delpit said "both student and teacher are expert of what they know best," and that is certainly true and both can learn from each other.
-EDITED: This reminds me of when we spoke of Brown vs. Board of Education. One father pushed for his daughter to be at the right school and get the same education as the white schools. He knew what was best for his daughter and he made sure that is what he was going to get. Even though they were not so much poor, they were still classified as that because they were African Americans and during that time it was seen as unequal. No matter who the parent is, the parent should always play a role in their child's education.
Here is an interesting article that I found, from 2012. It is an interview with Lisa Delpit and her theories and points made in this article we read.
Comment: What exactly is Distar? Which schools did this program take place in? I was a little confused.
I really liked the quotes that you picked and thought that your post showed good engagement with the text. I also liked how you expressed your personal opinions and connected them to the concepts in the article.
ReplyDeleteoverall great blog post and i especially liked the last quote you chose and your opinion that you added in after it about how parents know their children better than anyone else! Maybe for next time just spread everything out more but the rest of the information was very good
ReplyDelete