Other People's Children

Introduction

            Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (2006) discusses the challenges that teachers have when teaching students from backgrounds different from their own. Delpit’s collection of articles presents the challenges based on her experience and knowledge of culture and its manifestations in everyday life. Through these articles, the author discusses the issues of the influence of cultural discourse on education, differentiated instruction in relation to ability and background, and educational disparities for poor students and students of color.

 

The Influence of Cultural Discourse on Education

            Delpit (2006) discusses the challenges that language differences bring to the classroom. She states, “students must be taught the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life…within the context of meaningful communicative endeavors” (p. 45). Delpit makes this statement to suggest that students who speak languages other than English or nonmainstream dialects of English must be taught English in an appropriate context. She further cites a Native Alaskan community member who believes that “learning to read and write in [students’] own language would allow children to become better thinkers” while another believes that “students should learn to read and write in [their native language] because…many children completed community school without having gained literacy in English…at least they’d be literate in some language” (Delpit, 2006, p. 85). Similarly, in the field of bilingual education, proponents argue that one of the benefits to teaching students reading skills in their native languages is that “a substantial body of research…suggests that literacy and other skills and knowledge transfer across languages” (Goldenburg, 2008, p. 15). That is to say, fundamental processes of reading can be transferred from one language to another and should therefore be taught in the context of a student’s primary language. To further support Delpit’s notion of preserving linguistic diversity, James Crawford (2008) states, “Language diversity is a fact of life throughout the world, the normal state of affairs in all but a few small countries…diverse societies need not be divided societies” (p. 1).

 

Educational Disparities for Poor Students and Students of Color

            As Delpit points out, “The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power” (Delpit, 2006, p. 25). White privilege is an intricate and pervasive system in our society that (for the most part) places the culture of power into the hands of white men (Jensen, 1998). In this environment, it is very hard for poor students or students of color to empower themselves in society. If teachers do not differentiate instruction, their students will most likely suffer from an educational disparity based on their culture or class. Teachers can cause these educational disparities by not offering clear and specific directives, or by not giving students curriculum that is relevant to their lives. Additionally, the students who have gained the culture of power usually have a nourishing home-life. As Morna Murray states, “All children need parents and care-givers who are not broken down or chronically depressed by the struggle to survive, find and keep jobs, earn enough money to pay the rent and light and heating bills, and have transportation to go to work” (Murray, 2005). While teachers cannot be parents or care-givers, they can be healthy and caring role-models in a child’s life. If a teacher does not get to know students and their backgrounds, or make an effort to build a relationship with them, they are in essence cutting their students off from their educational path.

Students also do not get an education that reflects the “whole truth”. A Native American teacher explains: “Those history books just said, ‘The Russians set up camp in Ruby’ (an Alaskan village). Nowhere did they talk about how they killed Natives for sport or stole women from their families and forced them to get married. My own Aunt was one of those women.” (Delpit, 2006, p. 108). This is also supported by Peggy McIntosh’s “invisible knapsack” where “I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.” (McIntosh, 1988, p. 2). While this lack of information is an educational disparity for all students, further extension should be made when educating students to whom it is culturally relevant. Education for our students should reflect the entire truth, in a way that is meaningful to the student. Additionally, individuals from a lower socioeconomic class have a lower life expectancy, partly because they are less educated; but the more educated individuals are, the longer and healthier their lives will be (Scott, 2005). If our students will grow up to live longer, this also diminishes the chance of conditional poverty for their children.

 

Differentiated Instruction in Relation to Ability and Background

            Another underlying theme in Other People’s Children is the need for differentiated instruction. One of Delpit’s five aspects of power is “If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier” (Delpit, 2006, p. 25). Therefore, while other students may get by with a teacher’s one-dimensional form of instruction, students, especially those within a different culture (who think this instruction is vague or confusing) should be empowered by direct and specific explanation (Goldenburg, 2008, p. 17). The following activity is a good way to differentiate instruction and help students understand the process of making this “translation” back and forth from inherent knowledge to de-contextualized language, not just from the teacher to the student, but the other way around as well: Have students write directions for one of their favorite recipes, then the teacher should use the instructions to try and create the dish (Delpit, 2006, p. 103). Students will better understand the level of detail that is required in order to get their thoughts across.

            In order to best serve a diverse classroom, the content should not mediate the teacher-student relationship, but rather the strongest bond should be between the teacher and the student. The content of the curriculum is reinforced by this relationship, and it is the journey that the teacher and the students take together to explore this curriculum that is paramount (Delpit, 2006, p. 139-140). Another important way to differentiate instruction is “putting a problem into terms relevant to the student’s life” (Delpit, 2006, p. 65). English speaking students and English language learners alike benefit from vocabulary words being “embedded in meaningful contexts” where students can make use of word repetition through opportunities within the classroom (Goldenburg, 2008, p. 17). When students understand that a problem or concept is applicable to their own lives, they are much more available to absorb the information.

 

Conclusion

            As Delpit and the related articles stress, it is important for teachers to be aware of the individuals that are walking into their classrooms, and the cultures that they bring with them. Teachers should be aware of the influence of cultural discourse on education, educational disparities for poor students and students of color, and differentiated instruction in relation to ability and background and know how to properly engage with students based on these concepts. When teachers take action with the understanding of these themes, they can more adequately address the learning needs of their classroom.

 

Bibliography

 

Crawford, J. (2008). Frequently Asked Questions about Official English. Retrieved from http://www.elladvocates.org/documents/englishonly/OfficialEnglishFAQ.pdf.

 Delpit, L. (2006). Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: The New Press.

 Goldenburg, C. (2008). Teaching English Language Learners. American Educator, 32(2). 8-44.

 Jensen, R. (1998, July 19). White privilege shapes the U.S. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

 Murray, M. (2005, July/August). The cradle to prison pipeline crisis. Poverty & Race, Washington, D.C.: Poverty & Race Research Action Council. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

 Scott, J. (2005, May 16). Life at the top in America isn't just better, it's longer [Electronic version]. The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

 Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. (1988). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Excerpted from “White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies” (Working Paper 189). Wellesley, MA: McIntosh, Peggy. Retrieved March 18, 2010.