The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy In Educating Other People's Children 

    The author Lisa Delpit states that teachers should recognize and understand cultural differences in order to provide the best teaching for their students.  She states that there is a "culture of power" which is a reflection of rules of the culture of those who have the power.  The problem with this culture of power is that the people that possess this power are unaware of this power.   They are unwilling to acknowledge that they have the power because it makes them feel uncomfortable or it entails responsibility and facing some challenges.  This uncomfortable feeling brings up last week's discussion from Mellody Hobson's video about the importance of 'feeling comfortable with the uncomfortable."  Even as this power may cause an uneasy or uncomfortable feelings, it is importance to acknowledge that as a teacher you possess a position of power.  This allows for less confusion on the students that have less power.  Students realize that you as their teacher are in a position of power and when minimizing your power it allows for miscommunication or indirect communication.   

    Lisa Delpit also points out the importance of educators to recognize and understand cultural differences in order to give students a better opportunity to succeed in the classroom.  This is where colorblindness may become a problem due to teachers not recognizing and having a deep understanding about racism and culture diversity and how it affects students learning abilities.  When the teachers have an understanding that students come from different cultural backgrounds with different strengths and challenges, it allows teachers to employ cultural responsive curriculum.  Many students entering the school system may have experiences and skills that they can not apply to a specific classroom setting.  They may be perceived as having a learning disability when in fact the teacher may have not identified the student's strength and ways to highlight those strengths.  This is the reason why it is so important for teacher and educators to gain knowledge about cultural backgrounds of students and their families in order to accommodate different learning styles and abilities.  Being aware and fostering cultural inclusive classroom by allowing students to share their stories and cultural experiences.  The teaching should be able to meet the diverse learning needs of each student.  This will give each individual student the equal opportunity to effectively learn the lesson.  It also allows for better performance, increased motivation and higher confidence level which makes for a positive learning experience.  I thought this article defines what is cultural responsive teaching.

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/culturally-responsive-teaching-culturally-responsive-pedagogy/2022/04

    One interesting statement in the reading was  "Children have the right to their own language, their own culture.  We must fight cultural hegemony and fight the system by insisting that children be allowed to express themselves in their own language style." While I do agree that it is important for students to be allowed to use their own language styles, I also believe that teachers need to provide students the skills required to succeed in society they live in.  It is crucial to balance cultural diversity while providing essential tools for success.  I do recognize that this is challenge for most teachers as they are overworked with increased expectations.  It is not an easy task to take on for teacher but it is an essential one.   The author writes about one native American student that was in the teacher education program while struggling with proper writing skills.  It was interesting to hear about different opinions of the faculty, some believe that she should have never been allowed in the teaching program while others believe she should not be penalized for having a different writing style.  In both cases she was failed by the teachers, first they failed her by not giving her the opportunity to be in the teaching program due to her lack of skills.  They also failed her by not providing her with the right tools required to succeed in a teaching career.  The author was able to on this student and work on a plan to better prepare for her future teaching career. 

    

     In closing the author argues that students from upper and middle class come into the school system with an advantage because the culture of the school is based on the culture of upper and middle classes while students from lower class are deprived of these codes or rules of power.  They already are at a disadvantage before entering the school system.  There is a need to teach the disadvantaged children the basic principle of this power of culture which has not been taught at home.  She states "when I speak, therefore, of the culture of power, I don't speak of how I wish things to be but of how they are."  It is important to acknowledge that power does exist and "tell them that their language and cultural style is unique and wonderful but that there is a political power game that is also being played, and if they want to be in on that game there are certain games that they too must play."  In other words teaching students to appreciate their own language and culture while also teaching them the codes of power and skills required to be successful in any career path they decide to take.