"The Silenced Dialogue" by Lisa Delpit

REFLECTION

I think it was great that Delpit chose to use the title "Silenced Dialogue" for this particular piece of writing. I had an idea of what the title could mean but it was clarified a few pages into the reading. She gave great examples of a teacher trying to talk about her experiences and just getting nods. The teacher was saying that they just nod. People don't want to hear what she has to say, they just want to go off of what research written by white people tells them. Delpit found a connecting theme of the silenced dialogue and it was "The culture of Power".

The culture of power is in our every day lives and I could see how it would easily connect to the silenced dialogues. There are certain people, especially whites, that have an entitled sense of power which can also relate back to SCWAMP. There is no doubt that some still view whiteness as superior or "Privileged". Which in many cases is still true. I remember a few classes ago one of my classmates was telling me a story about one of her relatives named Jose. I believe he was Mexican and he had been applying for jobs and been unsuccessful. So on his application he changed his name to Joe and got the job. There are still those who view whiteness as superior which is how some whites may have this "Culture of power" that Delpit is referring to. Another great point that was raised in the reading was that people with power, often, don't acknowledge their power. They may find it uncomfortable.

Towards the end of the reading Delpit used a great example of a Native American girl that submitted a paper that had no technical structure.  She was suggesting in a meeting with the other teachers that they should make sure the students have technical writing skills before they reach the senior level. The responses were shocking with some teachers suggesting that those students shouldn't have been allowed into the teacher education program! I think it is absolutely ridiculous that these so-called "educators" are not putting an effort in to do their job correctly and for the benefit of the student. Delpit stated something that stuck with me, saying "To deny her entry under the notion of upholding standards is to blame the victim for the crime." This is very true, how can you blame a student for doing something wrong, when you didn't teach them how to do it correctly? The answer is simple. You can't, because that's ridiculous.

Comments: I think that Delpit used multiple great examples throughout the reading to really get her point across. Using the real life scenarios and examples is a great way to make the information stick with you! A lot of the material that was talked about and covered in this reading had many connections with in class discussions and other readings we have don this semester!

Hyperlink: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom - http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-65-issue-3/herbooknote/other-people-s-children_293

I thought this cartoon was a good example of culture of power because it shows the people that have power saying "Oh everything is just, and fine in the world" because they don't have to experience the bad and the people that don't have power saying how unfair things are because they are the ones living it.

"Why Can't She Remember That?" by Terry Meier

QUOTES

I think it only makes sense to start with the quote that is used as the title of the reading. It is also one of the most important quotes in the reading. Before I started the reading I assumed that the quote was an adult saying "Why can't she remember that?", but once I got further into the reading I found out that it was said by a bilingual Puerto Rican girl named Gabriela. This is an important quote because it was the little girl asking why her teacher couldn't remember the answer from the book they were reading. When the teacher asked "How many mittens are there?" Gabriela didn't understand that her teacher knew the answer and was just trying to engage the children in the classroom! Children from multicultural classrooms are not accustomed to the teacher asking questions with obvious answers. Before this reading I had not considered that some children may not understand that you know the answer and are asking them to keep them engaged!

The second quote that I chose from the reading was also very important and I believe as a future teacher it has a lot of relevance to me. Meier states "There is no more essential task for teachers in preschool and kindergarten classrooms than to help make books meaningful in children's lives." As teachers we must realize that not all children have the same privileges. Some children may come to preschool never having been read to before. As teachers we must be prepared to teach children about books and teach them to appreciate them as well. If you get little children interested in something chances are it is going to stick with them, which is the ultimate goal! If we read children books that have connections to their own lives they are more likely to take an interest in them. As educators this is an extremely important role and I was very glad Meier brought up this point.

The last quote I chose was towards the end of the reading when children were referred to as "information givers". It was brought up that we use a reward system in school and praise the children that give the right answers to questions. The reading goes on to talk about how children are just talk to spit back an answer. With all the standardized testing it only gets worse as kids move up to the higher grades. Children need to not always be robotic and spit out answers that they have been told are correct. Children should be using their creative minds to especially at younger ages. They should be engaged in their learning and interested, not just sitting there taking in the information.

Comments: I really enjoyed the end of the reading when Meier gave the three keys to get kids to enjoy books and literacy. The earlier children develop a deep connection with the books, there is a higher likelihood that they will do well in school. The three ways to get children into literacy were
1. Choose books that relate to children's lives
2. Teach book reading behaviors explicitly
3. Make books come alive

Hyperlink: Early Literacy- http://www.kindercare.com/for-parents/early-literacy/

This meme shows how important literacy can be in life and that is why it's so important to make sure children take an interest in literacy at a young age!

 

"Amazing Grace" by Jonathan Kozol

ARGUMENT

This author, Kozol, argues about the desolate conditions in the South Bronx area. He really attempts to open the readers eyes to the poverty conditions that these people are living in.

He tells his own personal story about his long walk with a 7 year-old boy named Cliffie, that goes to the St. Ann's Church. When the boy is walking him down all different streets around the church he would stop and tell him what certain places are. At one point they pass a building and Cliffie says "they burn bodies there.". Kozol expresses that the boy did not seem sad when he told him this. That really showed how even children have become so used the terror, and poverty that they live in. Kozol gave gruesome examples of murders that had taken place around that area and on guy was found in a bathtub and his had had been decapitated. He gets his message across in a very powerful way. When you bring children into the situation it automatically makes people listen more carefully because children don't chose to be living in those conditions, they are just born into that life. It really gets the message across. I really enjoyed this reading.

Comments: I think it was really great how Kozol described the church as the communities safe haven. A place that children and families can go to escape the violence that they live in. He used a great example of the pastor Martha Overall carrying a new baby. He referred the the church as a "gentle sanctuary" and the way he described it made it sound like that. As a reader it sort of gave me a glimpse of hope for the community and the people in it. There was clearly still good in this community and it gives hope that maybe they can spread that good and make their city a better and safer community.


http://ceadserv1.nku.edu/longa//public_html/heros/kozol.gif

Hello Friends,
My name is Jackie and I am a sophomore at RIC! I'm majoring in Early Childhood Education because I love working with kids! I've been coaching preschool gymnastics for 5 year and I absolutely love it :) I am also on the gymnastics team here at RIC and a short fun fact is that out of the 19 girls on the team I am the only education major! If I have any extra time in my schedule I enjoy watching t.v, most likely Law and Order: SVU. Other than that I like to hangout with my friends like many other college students! I look forward to getting to know everyone this semester!