Other People's Children

 "Other People's Children, The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children" by: Lisa Delpit

    After reading "The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Education Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit, I am once again left thinking about how I can be a better educator to my future students. In today's world, there are going to be students from all different cultures and backgrounds coming into the classroom. Even though I am a white woman, I will need keep all of my students' cultures in mind when setting classroom expectations and guardrails. Although I cannot truly compare my own experiences, it does make me think about my time so far as a substitute teacher. Going into different districts and schools, I have come to learn just how different each school and district runs from one another. It can be hard to adjust to all of the different school policies and routines since I am jumping around so much. I often times feel out of place as a substitute teacher because the other teachers in the schools have a much stronger bond with each other and obviously know how the school operates day to day. Even the students will call me out for doing something out of the norm or routine for them because they do not realize that I am not aware of exactly how things operate. 

    When I connect my own substitute experience to the article, it truly opens my eyes to how minority students must feel in their schools and classrooms. School can already be such a stressful environment for students, and if they are a minority in the school, it will only make it worse. Coming into a classroom with majority white students is going to be so overwhelming for a minority. They are going to feel out of place just by the color of their skin and different "language" that is used. These students are then automatically starting at a disadvantage because they are not aligned with the school expectations. This relates a lot to the topic of an asset-based model in the classroom. When teachers shift their lessons to include all students' strengths and interests, they will have a much easier time understanding the topic and continuing to be motivated. This can also be used when setting classroom rules and expectations at the beginning of the school year. Teachers should truly get to know each of their students in their class to ensure everyone is accounted for when making these expectations. It is not fair to set a rule for a class unless everyone is in agreement and fully understands what it means. If a student is from a minority culture, they may not be aware of a certain expectation in the classroom. Even something as simple as raising your hand in class may not be a norm for a student from a different culture. A specific example of this from the reading states, "Black children expect an authority figure to act with authority. When the teacher instead acts as a 'chum', the message sent is that the adult has no authority, and the children act accordingly. One reason that is so, is that black people often view issues of power and authority differently than people from mainstream middle-class backgrounds" (p.35). This quote is saying that black children are more likely to misbehave or act out if their teacher is not as strict as they are used to. 

    It is so important for every student in the classroom to feel valued and respected by their teacher. Teachers can do this by including each student's cultural background when creating classroom expectations at the beginning of the year. Even if some of the expectations are not "normal" for a minority student, as long as they are made aware of why this expectation exists, they will be more likely to follow along. In order to have a successful classroom, teacher must make every student feel heard. A way to do this is creating "classroom expectations" at the beginning of the year that each student can add to. Coming up with agreed expectations as a class allows everyone to feel included and respected by their teacher and fellow classmates. This class expectations can go a long way if each student complies and agrees. I hope to use a technique like this is my future classroom to make each of my students feel valued in my class. I want to create a welcoming and positive environment for all of my students no matter what their cultural background is. I will ensure that I get to know each student and can rework expectations that will work for everyone. I would never want to make one of my students feel uncomfortable or unseen in my classroom because everyone plays an important role. 

Reflection:

How as future educators can we properly balance the dominant power structure and also value the students' own cultural identities in the classroom? I found this article explaining simple ways to make every student feel values in the classroom and it has some very great techniques!