Blog Post #2 Other People's Children

 

                                                     Other People's Children: Lisa Delpit

Argument  - This Author, Lisa Delpit argues that there is a disconnect between teachers and students, predominately between white, middle class teachers and students of color. She argues that there is a culture of power, in which there are certain things in society that people, more specifically white people acquire whereas other groups are left behind. She urges teachers that already participate in this culture of power to teach these unwritten rules to their students who did not learn this information at home, breaking down this barrier of power and making all students at an even playing field. She also makes the point that class makes a difference in education where middle class students perform better in schools than lower class students, eluding to the fact that the education system is conformed to better suit these students. 

Lisa Delpit explained this culture of power further by breaking it into five major points. She argues that it is important to acknowledge that this culture exists, and instead of trying to erase this culture, we can teach it to students that did not know of this culture beforehand. It is evident that in the Unites States specifically, there is a group of people, (Straight, White, Men) that participate in certain advantages and powers in society. This power has even trickled down into the classroom, where you see a pattern of middle class students performing at a higher rate in school than lower class students. It is argues that this is because the institution of the education system has been centered around this culture of power in which middle class students benefit from. Some examples of this power being enacted in the classroom is the misconstruing of world history being shaped by textbook publishers, Most notoriously the story of Christopher Columbus. Lisa Delpit argues that it is not only important to acknowledge these powers, but furthermore, to teach students that would not formerly know about these powers, that they exist and what they mean. 

Comments: 

 One point of her explanation of the culture of power that suck out to me the most was "The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power." This is important to note because it is easy to stereotype and tear down those who live in lower class neighborhoods, resulting in them going to a "poorer school". I have had the privilege of going to private school for high school, and also had the privilege of visiting public schools in rural areas for my class for the first semester of college. There were clear differences in the teaching styles, speaking volumes to the culture differences in which these schools were places. There were no examples of using multiple languages to teach students in the classroom at the private schools, whereas I saw that on many occasions when visiting these rural schools. It is clear this is because upper-class private schools tend to predicate themselves on acquiring those that are participants in the culture of power. So, an English speaking first classroom is a reflection of this culture of power being emitted in the classroom.  

Hyperlinks: 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/02/class-differences#:~:text=%22Class%20affects%20whether%20someone%20is,lack%20in%20their%20daily%20lives.

Blog Post #1 Privilege Power and Difference

                                             

                                           Alan Johnson: Privilege, Power and Difference 

 Argument  - This author Alan Johnson argues that conversations about privilege and power throughout the United States has not been productive. Alan Johnson makes an effort to change the way people go about these conversations throughout the book, and tries to offer up new ways of going about these complex conversations, especially from the perspective of a straight, white, middle class, male the he is. His mission is to change the stigma around these conversations and to provide tips on how to become more comfortable talking about having these conversations. 

Alan Johnson uses the strategy of providing examples to convey his message to his readers. While setting up his point in the introduction he uses words like white privilege and white racism, which he mentions may turn off some people from wanting to read further, more specifically white readers. However, he backs up these words with specific examples from his own personal experiences. Some of these examples include Rodney King who was a man of color that was brutally beaten by the hands of the police, or his experience when taking a course with a woman of color in which he thought about the injustices she will face like waiting longer to be seated at a restaurant or not feeling safe when walking home alone. By putting faces and names to these examples, it makes it more real to the reader, and should induce feeling of empathy for these people. By bringing up these injustices and recognizing the difference in the American experienced based upon who you are is important to note when having these conversations. Living in the same country as someone else and having a completely different experience based on your gender, race, and sexuality is a uncomfortable reality in America and these examples throughout the book highlight that point. 

Comments

One point made that I found important is the vocabulary that is used in these conversations about privilege. Words like Sexism, Privilege, Male Privilege, Racism all have a negative connotation to them and often are met with negative reactions. It is important for people to be educated on these topics, and to become more comfortable understanding and using these words in order to have productive conversations. One example of these words that is used in the book is feminism. This word is important because today it seems to have lost its meaning. Feminism is not an organization that is out to specifically target and hate men, rather is is about bringing up these hard and sometimes uncomfortable realities and trying to jump start women to get them to an equal place to men. It is one of the words that can turn a lot of people, especially men, off from wanting to join that cause. 

Hyperlinks

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-erupt-in-los-angeles

Brian Crawford First Post