My way or the highway

 Talking Points 

1. On page 24, Delpit describes the culture of power and its five aspects. Number five states, “Those with power are frequently least aware of – or least willing to acknowledge – its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence.” This power feels “normal” to those that have it. In schools, policies seem “fair”, but not seen as how it has been shaped by the dominant and more powerful views. These norms are not universal. Delpit argues that when those in power are conscious of it, thats when change happens. 

2. 
   Delpit said “What the school personnel fail to understand is that if the parents were members of the culture of power and lived by its rules and codes, then they would transmit those codes to their children.” This really resonated with me. It made me think of when we talked in class about language barriers. It is the dominant culture of power that schools “standard” is English. When students speak Spanish it is found to be informal and more a problem to “fix”. Parents who are Spanish-speakers may not understand these more unspoken rules found in classrooms of grammar and classroom participation that these schools expect. This also means they may not be able to help prepare their kids to meet these expectations. When students can’t meet these expectations, it can be seen as more of a shortcoming not a difference. 
   

3. “The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them.” (Delpit, p. 32-33) By denying the students their own experiences we are silencing them. They can start to think all that they know does not matter and only “academic” knowledge is real. When the teacher is the “only expert”, it gives the notion that what they are teaching is the only “truth” but knowledge is not one dimensional. 

Argument Statement

The author, Lisa Delpit, argues that people that hold the power (including many white educators) often don’t realize that they hold it and how it shows through in their classroom. Also even though we will hear out those marginalized students, educators, and colleagues, we are not actively listening. We dismiss their experience and insights. 

Making Connections

On page 37, Delpit mentioned a quote from Foster’s dissertation. It talks about a teacher that was mean and pushed him to learn and dive deeper into the books they read. He was proud of the teacher’s “meanness”. It made me think of an instance a few weeks ago with the third grade teacher. She was telling me that her class labeled myself and one of the other specials teachers, the most strict teachers they have. She said one of the students described it as “they only get mad when you aren’t doing what you’re supposed to and they actually make us do our work”. When I heard that, I was filled with a sense of pride. They know that I hold them to certain expectations and they will be learning. The students know I hold them all to a standard. Not a standard of who can throw the ball the farthest or run the fastest but they all are capable of trying their best and treating themselves and others with love and respect. I do still think I have these good intentions towards the students and this standard, but I still have bias towards the students. I tend to favor the students that behave in a way that I have put forth is “the right way” in my position of power and that’s sometimes a hard pill to swallow.