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

Quotes

Quote #1

“they listen, but they don’t hear” (Delpit, 2006. P.21)

The beginning of the article shares accounts by educated blacks of their experiences with white people. The quote explains how blacks feel their voices are not being heard by whites, and are merely given lip service. It was very disheartening to read how many of the black people mentioned in the article had even given up voicing their opinions for lack of being ‘really’ heard. The other thing that bothered me was that the black people described in the beginning of the article were stereotyping white people when in my experience we have to be open-minded and treat people as individuals, not by the color of their skin. I also noticed that the black people in this article referred to white people as “they” which felt like a derogatory term.

Quote #2

“The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them” (Delpit, 2006. P.32-33)

This quote reminds us as educational professionals that we do not hold all the power in the classroom and that learning should be collaborative, where both students and teachers can bring their experiences and knowledge into the classroom. A superb example of this collaborative learning is explained directly after the quote. It describes how black high school students analyzed rap songs and then taught the teacher how to create a new rap song. In turn, the teacher used her new knowledge to explain to her students the structure of grammar and connected both of these pieces of knowledge to some of Shakespeare’s works. The teacher and students shared their schema with each other to create new knowledge. This shared expertise was a very powerful way to bridge the differences of race, age, and experience.

Quote #3

‘the verbal directives given by the middle-class ‘townspeople’ teachers:

- “Is this where the scissors belong?”

- “You want to do your best work today.”

By contrast, many black teachers are more likely to say:

- “Put those scissors on the shelf.

"p " Put your name on the papers and make sure to get the right answer to each question.”

Is one style more authoritarian than another?’ (Delpit, 2006. P.33-34)

The directives given in the first example emanate the verbal style middle-class parents use with their children at home. The directive may be in the form of a question but culturally, all parties involved know there is no choice and that it is still a directive. Whereas in the second example, the directives are very clear and are not offering an alternative. The article reminds us that as educators, we need to understand children’s cultural backgrounds and how confusing our language will be to a child if directives are not stated clearly. It could result in disobedience from lack of understanding. Lastly, I think we also need to consider teaching style. I know plenty of white teachers who give clear verbal directives because they are cognizant of their audience and have had good training. The language used in ‘Responsive Classroom’ aligns with giving clear commands/directives; not phrasing directives as questions.

IAT Test Reflection

I took both the race and gender tests twice, once in the lab and again at home.

Race Test:

I found it easier to distinguish the African Americans than the European Americans. I wonder if this is due to the photos being cropped and black and white, which in my opinion allowed there to be more focus on peoples noses (AA easier to recognize) and also AA skin color was more obvious than the EA. Is this my subconscious prejudice or is a fact/common observation?

My results: The 1^st time I took the test it showed I had a strong automatic preference for white people and the 2^nd time is showed a slight automatic preference for white people. My conscious beliefs disagree with the results of the test. I consider my teaching experience has desensitized my awareness of differences. Seven years ago when I walked into the playground at the school I teach at, the first thing I noticed was that most of the children were children of color but didn’t really notice the variety of colors and races. Now, that’s my norm. So now when I go see schools with predominantly, if not all caucasian students, I notice their “whiteness” and feel sad for the lack of diversity. Our experiences play such a strong part in how we see the world. Maybe my subconscious is still holding onto the experiences I had up until 10 years ago when I had little contact with people of color.

Gender Test:

I found my results to this test much more in line with my conscious beliefs which are that both career and family are equally important and that gender doesn’t play a role in the workplace, but that it does slightly in the home. The first time I took the test it showed I have a slight association between male and career; the second time showing I had little or no association with career or family.

Final thoughts/Question

How much does the initial information you input affect the outcome of your test?

Hi, and welcome to my blog!

As my accent reveals, I grew up in England and lived there until I was 25 years old. I left my career as a

fashion buyer and traveled the world for over 2 years before meeting a wonderful American who has since become my husband. He persuaded me to move to Rhode Island where I retrained as an elementary teacher and embarked upon a less cut-throat and more rewarding career.

I graduated from Salve Regina University in 2003, and since then have been working at a charter school in Providence. My first six years were spent as a 3rd grade teacher. This school year an opportunity arose for me to move into a Title 1 literacy position where I could further my knowledge and experience in my field of interest. I now teach 1st through 4th grade students. The majority of the students I work with need extra support with their literacy skills. I also run two 4th grade book clubs which provide enrichment for highly proficient readers.

In my spare time (which is non-existent right now as I am taking another class and teaching full-time), I like many sports including sailing, skiing, and practicing yoga. I also like gardening and taking walks on the beach with my dog. After summer session 1, I plan to visit my family and friends in England and I can't wait!

I look forward to getting to know you all better through class discussions and blogging.