Sarah's Example!
Rule Number Four from Delpits' Culture of Power:
"If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier".
(Delpit, The Silenced Dialogue).
Rule Number Four from Delpits' Culture of Power:
"If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier".
(Delpit, The Silenced Dialogue).
A classroom were students understand the rules and codes, versus a classroom that is choosing to ignore them because the teacher does not know the rules and codes. (Shown Below)
About 6 weeks into my service learning, Ms. D informed me that she would not be in school the following week. I decided to still come and get a new experience with a substitute teacher. This immediately sparked a Delpit moment. The sense of order that Ms. D had created was gone. The classroom became, in my eyes, its own society with their own rules and codes. The substitute teacher was given a few general guidelines from Ms. D to make "acquiring power easier". The students in the class understand the "rules and codes" of the classroom but they decided to make themselves the holders of power. They knew that the substitute teacher did not know most of their usual rules, so they took advantage of this. The students could have explained "explicitly the rules and codes of power" in order to make her time there more efficient and useful. Yet, the students chose to make their day easier, and grasp the power for themselves (an opportunity they rarely get). This time the students would be the ones with the "dominant culture" that the substitute was not aware of. This reversed the power dynamic that Delpit spoke about, and gave the students more power than the teacher. They were more educated on the classrooms rules and codes than the substitute. The substitute could not be fully accepted by the students, but despite this, she still got a lot done. There was definitely a change in atmosphere from a typical day with Ms. D. I found myself struggling to keep my three students on task. A question I used to gain their attention was, "would you be acting this was if Ms. D was here"; this got them back on task.
Another reason for the students taking advantage of this teacher could have been because their usual teacher is of similar race, while their substitute teacher was white. “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" (The Silenced Dialogue).They have grown accustomed to learning from someone who looks more like them, and they can relate their own situations to Ms. D more than with their white substitute. "Good intentions are not enough" (The Silenced...). The substitutes culture of power was different from this "classrooms community".
Connections-
The substitute teacher used a way to try and get her students to a focus in a way that Kohn would not have approved of. She used a "controlling voice" (What to look for...), which could be understandable, because she was trying to gain control in any way that she could. Additionally, when I arrived, the students were "hoping to be distracted from what they're doing" (What to look for...). They were more excited then usual that I was there; and this might have been because they finally saw a familiar face that knew their usual "rules and codes" of the classroom.
Another reason for the students taking advantage of this teacher could have been because their usual teacher is of similar race, while their substitute teacher was white. “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" (The Silenced Dialogue).They have grown accustomed to learning from someone who looks more like them, and they can relate their own situations to Ms. D more than with their white substitute. "Good intentions are not enough" (The Silenced...). The substitutes culture of power was different from this "classrooms community".
Connections-
The substitute teacher used a way to try and get her students to a focus in a way that Kohn would not have approved of. She used a "controlling voice" (What to look for...), which could be understandable, because she was trying to gain control in any way that she could. Additionally, when I arrived, the students were "hoping to be distracted from what they're doing" (What to look for...). They were more excited then usual that I was there; and this might have been because they finally saw a familiar face that knew their usual "rules and codes" of the classroom.
Mariah's Example
"Several black teachers have said to me recently that as much as they'd like to believe otherwise, they cannot help but conclude that many of the 'progressive' educational strategies imposed by liberals upon black and poor children could only be based on a desire to ensure that the liberals' children get sole access to the dwindling pool of American jobs" (The Silenced Dialogue, 29)
"Several black teachers have said to me recently that as much as they'd like to believe otherwise, they cannot help but conclude that many of the 'progressive' educational strategies imposed by liberals upon black and poor children could only be based on a desire to ensure that the liberals' children get sole access to the dwindling pool of American jobs" (The Silenced Dialogue, 29)
In my classroom the teacher is white along with almost all the other teachers that I have seen walking around the school. Delpit says that black students learn best from black teachers because they know more about their lifestyle and how they were raised and can relate to them better than a white teacher would be able to. Delpit also believes that if the teacher doesn't use the correct speech or language with students of another culture of power there can be a miscommunication. For example, "Joey, is it time to be playing with your toys right now?" vs "Joey put your toys away you have to do your homework". I see this all the time in my classroom, the teacher talks in a direct manner to all of the kids especially the black students because that is what there culture of power is like at home. She would say things like "Stop talking and do your work!" instead of "Do you think it is a time to be talking?". I knew that those kids wouldn't go home and tell their parents that their teacher yelled at them that day because they were probably used to getting the same treatment at home.
Connections:
Delpit can connect to Johnson because he talks about white people having the "luxury of obliviousness" because they are rarely aware of their privileges and it doesn't affect them whether they know or not.
Delpit can also connect to Collier because she thinks that teachers need to embrace the home culture of their students during the process of understanding where they come from. While Delpit says that while teaching the rules and codes of power it is important to help students value and preserve their home culture at the same time.
Delpit can connect to Johnson because he talks about white people having the "luxury of obliviousness" because they are rarely aware of their privileges and it doesn't affect them whether they know or not.
Delpit can also connect to Collier because she thinks that teachers need to embrace the home culture of their students during the process of understanding where they come from. While Delpit says that while teaching the rules and codes of power it is important to help students value and preserve their home culture at the same time.