"Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit

Delpit argues that students be taught the "codes" needed to go with the flow of "mainstream" American life. All students should receive appropriate education, and it shouldn't matter if they come from poverty stricken families or are children of color; everyone must learn the "codes".

Passage of interest

• Issues of power are enacted in classrooms. Theses issues include: the power of the teacher over the students; the power of the publishers of textbooks and of the developers of the curriculum to determine the view of the world presented; the power of the state in enforcing compulsory schooling; and the power of an individual or group to determine another's intelligence or "normalcy". (Delpit 25 )

I agree with Delpit on this particular issue of power. The teacher and the textbooks are there to educate the children to ensure that every student gets a proper education. "My charge here is not to determine the best instructional methodology; I believe that the actual practice of good teachers of all colors typically incorporates a range of pedagogical orientation." The approach Delpit talks about, is the difference between "skill" and "process".

• The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them. ( Delpit 32-33 )

I believe the need for the teacher to be aware of the perspectives that both she and the students bring to the classroom. This does not mean that their understanding of how to behave in certain settings, but the language they use while socializing with others. "People are experts on their own lives." Children know how to behave in public and at home, but when it comes to things that are out of their norm they don't know what to do.

• But parents who don't function within that culture often want something else. It's not that they disagree with the former aim, it's just that they want something more. They want to ensure that the school provides their children with discourse patterns, interactional styles, and spoken and written language codes that will allow them success in the larger society. ( Delpit 28-29 )

I believe that we must empower students, we need to encourage them to show them that they matter as individuals...no matter what culture or color they are. But in the same breath, we don't want them to to feel they must lose their culture to be successful. We don't want to turn students away from school, which can happen if they think they don't have power.

Questions/Comments/Points to share

Delpit has a lot of good ideas, but I feel she could go beyond diversity in color to other types of diversity. As for how this fits in with literacy, I feel that helping students connect to each other and the classroom teaching style will help them learn better and increase literacy. Diversity can be between anyone, even those with the same culture. There is diversity in interests, knowlege, and learning styles. I found this reading a little difficult, maybe because so many pages were missing....or it just could have been her style......