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.
I really enjoy the way you connected this piece to previous pieces and conversations we have discussed in class. I'm not sure if this was the right piece to read but because of the lack of blogs I wanted to read yours anyways :) I love the cartoon you posted as well. The more power someone has, the more privilege they think they have.
ReplyDeleteWhite, male, Christian, heterosexual privilege is real. I have seen it work against me in my High School as my genetic makeup is both Syrian, from the Middle-East and Sicilian, an island off of the coast of Italy. While both are perceived to be white,
ReplyDeletebeing accepted that way is another story entirely. While in High School I was never bullied, because there were plenty of my kinsmen from both sides to start a war. Also, because we all came from working class families, we never really wanted to cause the Great American Melting Pot to "boil over?" I think the local fat cops would have all had heart attacks and died if they gave us reason to rebel. I spend my summers in Narragansett. When at the Town Peach South Pavilion my friends and I can be seen around Life Guard Chair # 1. Back to the point of this story; When I am with my rich white friends in Narragansett I am accepted as white, however if were not to dress up, but to dress down, I would not be accepted as white. Want Proof? I can give you 65 years of it, Up-front, and personal.