Other People's Children. Delpit, L. (1995,2006)

Delpit starts her book "Other people's children" mentioning some of the statement he collected in the article she published called "Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator". In these statements, she shows different teaching methods and different feedbacks towards these methods. The complex theme she focused is "The culture of Power", where institutions as schools, universities, and workplace supports and enforces specific linguistic forms, acceptable ways to present of self, and communicative strategies. 

Of everything we could possible mentioned from Delpit chapters, I would like to highlight 2 things: The power in the classroom and Language standards.

The power in the classroom

How teacher talks to each student? what philosophy they are focusing on? what is their priority as mentor and leader? how much they are taking in consideration about students background? how much teachers are doing to make sure every student have the chance they deserve? who has the power in the classroom? ... Or who teachers who? These are questions came rolling to my mind when I tried to summarize everything Delpits mentioned  about classroom power and the interaction between teachers and students. 

The responsibility teachers have and how much they should take in consideration is crazy. I have thinking a lot about that lately. How we, as youth worker, find ways to step out of our ego and looking the student as whole. Student who come from a different back ground, different class, different race, different everything, and we still should have ways to connect with them and give them the best teaching possible. Then in the future, this student will feel prepare for the outside world.

Delpit talks about that in general, different race and different classes have different strategies when comes to communicate with their kids. He says that the one of the reasons black children disobeyed their teacher is because the way the authority is determined at home is different when comparing to the communication the kid receive in the school. She suggest that sometimes the child doesn't understand or react to certain statement because they are not used to that approach at home, and kids have difficult on interpreting directs or indirects statements or how authoritarian the teachers sounds. 

"Teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom"

Delpit completes saying that when you deny and recognize the students knowledge and their own expertise you, as the teacher, you are disempowering your student. This is probably my favorite part of the book. Are the kids struggling to understand the material or struggling to accept the information because how the teacher is trying to teach? "Somehow, to exhibit one's personal power as expert source is viewed as empowering one's students" (pg. 32). While I was reading this part of the book, I thought about my reading from my psychology class on Carls Rogers. He developed a person-centered therapy where the therapist try to empower and motivated the client. This therapy is part of the humanist psychology movement having focus on identifying each person capacities to fulfill her or his own potential. Similar to student-centered conference that E.V.  Saddle examined positive changes (quoted in the book- pg 33). 

What about asking everybody!?

In the page 33, Delpit talked about the methodology of Amanda Branscombe, teacher working with black high school students. She decided to use rap song in her classes, leaving the students as experts where students were responsible to explain rules for creating raps songs. The teacher then used the patters to explain the structure of grammar on Shakespeare's play. There was a shared value in the class, where students fell control and also let me controlled by the teachers, trusting her expertise. 

There are so many more of this type of approaches. I love seeing teachers thinking outside of the box to be more connected to their student, and giving them some authorities. I got two lovely videos of teachers that used rap/music to teach their student: Ernesto Lara Teaching Math in Maryland  and Zoe Rose teaching Equations  . I wish I could sound this cool when I try to rap... 

Language Standards

" I tell them that their language and culture style is unique and wonderful but there is a political power power that is also being played, and if they want to be in that game there are certain games that they too must play" (pg. 40). It is embarrassing for me to say that I had never looked to language and their rules as a culture power. I actually did not even think that there is a different way to learn if not this way. Or more important, never thought about that "the right way" to say, write or read comes from a white privilege middle-upper class culture. 

Now, running away from my ignorance, I couldn't agree more with Delpit where she mentioned the importance of diversity style of teaching. Just like Martha Demienrieff and her idea of teaching Heritage English and Formal English to Native Alaskan students. The heritage english is more realistic to the kids who live in this small isolated village. They shouldn't ignore their culture or way to live, and especially, they shouldn't think that the way they talk or live is wrong. 

In this case, the teacher openly discuss the importance of keeping their own culture but also being aware that there is a culture of power out there, passively adopting an alternate code when is necessary. 

In my opinion,it is just like learning another language and another culture. In Brazil, we have english classes since we are very young. We also being told that if we do not know how to speak english we couldn't find a decent job. It is nice to know that I have the ability now to speak English and still being able to speak other languages and understand other cultures. I feel when you come from this background it is easier to understand that not everybody comes from the same place and I have the same codes and rules. I believe that when you travel a lot you realize that being able to talk or write in certain way does not make you a smarter person or a better person. When comes to language, there is not right and wrong, there is only rules to be follow when is necessary. 

To finish, "I believe in diversity of style, and I believe the world will be diminished if cultural diversity is ever obliterated"(pg. 39). Hopeful, teachers are able to pass this along, where students understand the need for both approaches to give the opportunities of all the students to have a voice and power, and also coach "those voices to produce notes that will be heard clearly in the largest society" (pg. 46)