If We Don't Talk About It Then How Will It Be Fixed?

In my opinion, I think that we need to discuss teaching minority children the language of power because to not discuss it would be like pretending that discrimination is not a factor in our society. Since we all know that it is, we need to talk about how language effects discrimination and the children who are most vulnerable to it. Minority children are stuck in between two realities that pull them in divergent directions. If we lived in a perfect reality, where discrimination didn't exist, then we wouldn't have to worry about teaching children the language of power because they would already know it. Teaching acceptance is teaching children how to function successfully within a structure that is not initially situated to think about their needs. If we want to have universally successful children then we must have children who are able to fit into the power structure and not be separated from it by something as arbitrary as how they speak.


Aimee Clark

When Acceptance Isn't Enough

When we say we all just need to be accepting, I wonder what we really mean by that? Do you mean we should be accepting of other people's differences and not judge them? Well, the problem is that that is not a realistic solution. Because an employer might be accepting that a minorty applying for a job is different than he is, and not judge him based on his different culture. But if the minority is unable to communicate clearly, or demonstrate the skills needed for the job because they were never taught what those were, I don't think the employer should be blamed for hiring a more qualified candidate. Yes, we should all be accepting in that we don't prematurely judge or exclude minorities. But the real world demand people have certain skills, and just being accepting won't help a minority find a job.

Laura Copeland

Decryptying Language

As an English, German, and International Studies major, working with languages is what I do. I enjoy nothing more than decoding other languages into another to communicate. When I was living in Germany an Italian friend of mine brought me this quote:
Rumsfeld, renowned for his uncompromising tough talking, received the prize for the most baffling comment by a public figure. "Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld told a news briefing. "We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
Whether Rumsfeld actually said this I don't know, but I found it interesting that my friend wanted me to explain it to him, and I was utterly baffled by the language.
Delpit's article focuses on the teaching of the language of power to children who do not live in that culture, and I believe her point is greatly seen in this example. The language of power can be manipulated to confuse even the best of native speakers, and it's this kind of cryptic, vagueness that poorly taught students will not understand, disallowing them to function as a member of the power society. This leads to multiple problems with politics, bureaucracy and daily living etc. This is the kind of language I want to understand to be able to explain it to others.
~Kelly Butler