Other People's Children (Delpit, 2006)



Talking Points
  • People of color feel silenced when it comes to their opinions and experiences about educating children. White people nod and listen, but don’t actually hear. People of color do end up just stopping talking because they don’t feel like what they are saying is being valued.
  • If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquired power easier
    •  Explicit telling of “rules” of the culture is much easier for someone not in the culture of power, to learn the rules. Immersion is a difficult way to learn.
  • Students need a mixture of direct (structured) instruction (academic and behavioral expectations) as well as time where they are allowed to show their own expert knowledgeImage result for black english
Argument Statement

 “Students must be taught the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life, not by being force to attend to hollow, inane, and decontextualized sub-skills  but rather within the context of meaningful communicative endeavors; that they must be allowed the resource of the teacher’s expert knowledge, while being helped to acknowledged their own ‘expertness’ as well. Appropriate education for poor children an children of color clan only be devised in consultation with adults who share their culture. Black parents, teachers of color, and members of poor communities must be allowed to participate fully in the discussion of what kind of instruction is in their children’s best interest. Good liberal intentions are night enough” (Delpit, 2006, p. 45).

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