FNED 546 Weekly Blog Assignment #6 - The Silenced Dialogue" by Lisa Delpit
QUOTES REFLECTION
Lisa Delpit offers insight and a path to improvement in her
essay “The Silenced Dialogue.” Her perspective begins with this quote
from Education Week, “Culture doesn’t help you teach somebody. Start off with
what is to the best of your knowledge good teaching. If you run into problems,
then culture is one of the explanations that you can look into to solve a problem.”
Her essay began with several quotes from black students and educators
who felt their voices were not being heard. Frustration was a common theme:
“I don’t know if they really don’t listen or if they don’t
believe you.”
“They won’t listen. White folks are going to do what they
want to do anyway.”
“When you’re talking to white people they still want it to
be their way…they think they know what’s best for everybody, for everybody’s
children.”
Delpit delivers her insights and suggestions after clearly
establishing her “five aspects of power.”
1.
Issues of power are enacted in classrooms.
2.
There are codes or rules for participating in
power, that is, there is a “culture of power”
3.
The rules of the culture of power are a
reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power.
4.
If you are not already a participant in the
culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes
acquiring power easier.
5.
Those with power are frequently less aware of –
or least willing to acknowledge – its existence. Those with less power are
often most aware of its existence.
She believes that the first three are widely accepted in the
literature of the sociology of education, but that the last two have not been discussed
in much depth. Even with well-meaning attempts to better meet the educational
needs of low-income and black students, Delpit asserts that the process needs
revision at the very start, “The dilemma is not really in the debate over
instructional methodology, but rather in communicating across cultures and in
addressing the more fundamental issue of power, of whose voice gets to be heard
in determining what is best for poor children and children of color.”
CLASSROOM REFLECTION: One thing that always makes me wince a
little in discussions about anything involving race/racism is when absolute
statements are made (even well-meaning ones). Statements like these tend to
arrive with an edge:
“…white people still want it to be their way.”
“They only want to go on research that other white people
have written.”
“Black children expect an authority figure to act with
authority.”
I think the discussion can go a lot further with a little verbal
caveat, like when Lisa Delpit says “People of color are, in general, skeptical
of research as a determiner of our fates.” I’m not sure if a blanket statement
is ever totally accurate to describe any group of people, are qualifying words
like most/many/a majority/typically can deliver a truly valid point or insight
without making the reader or recipient bristle.
Hi Mark, great post! I agree with your reflection on the reading regarding the use of absolutes or blanket statements. These readings discussing diversity and racism in the classroom and school system have all been very informative and useful. However, when I read statements like “They won't listen; white folks are going to do what they want to do anyway”, all I can think is that the people who need to read this article the most are going to be turned away from that kind of generalization.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark! I agree that blanket statements make it hard to have meaningful conversations. Oftentimes when I need to have discussions on topics like this, I find it really helpful to utilize approaches from restorative justice practices to set expectations, goals, and have common ground before diving in.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark! I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Your post made me think of Allan Johnson's Privilege, Power, and Difference, because he talked a lot about the systems of privilege not being the fault of individuals, rather that the systems of privilege are built in and we all exist within it. One of the aspects of power, "Those with power are frequently less aware of – or least willing to acknowledge – its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence" made me think of Johnson's point that we need to understand that the problems of racism and sexism don’t solely belong to those that are affected by it, and that not seeing yourself as part of a problem prevents seeing yourself in the solution. I definitely think this perspective can shift away from the blanket statements you mentioned and the "paralysis" we seem to be stuck in because the conversation of racism makes people uncomfortable because it leads to defensive reactions when we use blanket statements or blame individuals.
ReplyDelete