The Silenced Dialogue Blog Post #2

The Silenced Dialogue:
Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children
By: Lisa Delpit

Think Piece

     There were many parts of this article that stood out to me. First and foremost was just the concept of silenced dialogue. This is a term I was never familiar with, and had never actually recognized in my everyday life. After reading this article, however, I realize how strong of an impact it has on people of color, and I additionally realize what I can hopefully improve upon in my life and future classroom to prevent silenced dialogue.
     Another part of the article that really stood out to me was when Delpit talked about the different ways that black teachers/parents talk to children compared to the way white teachers/parents talk to children. The degree of authoritarianism that the adults used and the everlasting affect it has on students was mind boggling! To think that a black student who is used to a strict mother, then goes to school and has a difficulty responding to a teacher's rules, and consequently is put into remedial, behavioral or special education classes is a huge issue. That is probably what I take most away from this article, is that as a future teacher one of the most important things to keep in mind is the way in which you talk to students.

    As also expressed in the Robert Lake article, and by Delpit, things like the way students are used to being talked to are all influenced by their culture. And because this "power culture" so many of us are used to is dominating schools, this is why many very capable students can not reach their full potential. Connecting the piece by Lake and Delpit, I found an article about young students celebrating their Native American culture http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/living/cnnphotos-red-road-native-americans/.
     Martha Demientieff's work with her Native Alaskan students was also discussed in my Educational Psychology Class last year. The concept of teaching students how to speak in their Native Language and then also teaching them the formal way to speak is an interesting one. It reminds me of teachers in some high ESL schools who teach the students in both English and Spanish. This serves two purposes; being bilingual helps students learn to read and write in both languages better and quicker, and being bilingual is also a skill and asset in the real world. Being multicultural and teaching students that there is one societally accepted way of doing things and then millions of other more interesting and probably better ways of doing things is a good way to go.

     Points to discuss in class:
Including points made by both Lake and Delpit, what are some ways that teachers can make it easier for students of different cultures better able to learn in.an "American" classroom. As the USA becomes more and more diverse, should the makeup of a traditional classroom be changed all together? Or are there other ways that we can make children who have skills, assets, and knowledge from other cultures more welcome and better able to reach their potential in the traditional classroom?