The Silenced Dialogue

Talking Points:

1. In the reading The Silenced Dialogue by Lisa Delpit she talks about the culture of power and the 5 aspects. The 5th aspect states, “Those with power are frequently less aware-or at least willing to acknowledge-its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence” (pg.2). I thought this was a very powerful quote especially in regards to education. People with power may not see there are barriers, they may not see advantages that are had. The power they have may make them blind to what
   is around them. Delpit mentions that white colleagues/instructors can establish what they believe to be truth, regardless of what others of color may think. She also brings up the example of the interview that was between white interviewees and the man from India. There was clearly a power differential, the interviewees did not have the cultural background to connect with this man. They were unable to acknowledge that there was an unfair barrier and this led to the man not getting the job. This can be similar to education because as an educator, if our students are not able to connect with us and or learn from us, we might be setting them up for failure. I work in a diverse population with students from different cultural backgrounds. This helped shed light that I may need to take more time to connect with my students from different backgrounds.

   

2. “The teachers cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them” (pg.7). This was very powerful to read and I could not agree more. We need to empower our students and make them feel heard. This is another reason why direct instruction is not the answer our students need to learn in more indirect ways. Learning is not a one way street so to speak, there are many avenues. Our students can teach us about their culture/background and when they do so, they can grow their confidence. This can give them power. 

3. “Students must be taught the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life, not by being forced to attend hollow, innate, decontextualized subskills” (pg.13). As a former student, I can say I felt many times I was surrounded by these subskills. All the memorization and standardized tests really made me feel like I was a robot. If I did not do well, that was on me and there was no chance for redemption. As educators it is our job to ensure our students are given proper and fair chances to succeed. Delpit says that everyone should have a say in what instructions are best for their child. “The dilemma is not really in the debate over instructional methodology, but rather in communicating across cultures whose voice gets to be heard when determining what is best” (pg. 14). 

   
   
   

   
   

Argument Statement:

This author argues that it is our job to ensure that we keep the perspective that people are the experts of their own lives. I liked when Delpit said, “We must be vulnerable enough to allow our world to turn upside down in order to allow the realities of others to edge themselves into our consciousness” (pg.14).

Connections/Reflections:

Two weeks ago in class we watched Precious Knowledge which really shed light on the fact that students truly benefit from learning about their own culture/history. It is important to make sure that students that may have to learn at home are not at a disadvantage. Delpit goes into detail about this saying that student-centered conferences are important. That it is important to acknowledge that some students come to class with more accoutrements than others. I have seen this first hand where I currently work. Although I am not a teacher, as the nurse, I have seen some examples of how students may not have access to certain items which can impact their education. We give out chrome books to all of our students-many of these students do not have the resources at home to even use them (internet, support system, etc). I find they are at a disadvantage, but are still expected to learn and get their work done. Another example is the multilingual learners that we have. My district is great about accommodating these students and making sure they have the resources, however, I still find there is a barrier, like the class sizes. The class sizes at my school are very large. This definitely puts these students at a disadvantage as they may struggle to ask for help as the curriculum is geared toward English speakers.