Delpit Response
I would say that the most important thing I would take away from Delpit's article is perspective. I think everyone should be taught proper 'Unedited American English'. I am not sure what level of teaching I will be doing, but I do know that keeping an open mind about students' cultural language boundaries is important. Not only because it would help me understand their background, but also because it gives me a base to begin their lessons. I would think so at least.
I honestly do not like Delpit's article because we seem to be trying our best to include everyone in society. It almost seems like a punch in the face to tell some non color student or poor kid that we are going to teach him differently because they are poor or non white, or that we are going to take into account the small percent of these students and form our class structure around that. Maybe I don't like this article because I have been reading so many racial issues in my other classes that it's beating it into the ground and I'm losing interest.
posted by VictorK @ 9:28 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I agree that keeping a student's background in mind when it comes to teaching will be beneficial. I also agree that to single out minorities and try to teach them in a different way/with different curriculum would be a bit degrading. People could see this as potentially suggesting that minorities require special teaching styles because they cannot fully comprehend and function with what is taught. Minorities have been fighting for so long for the same treatment as whites, and to exclude them from the core curriculum would be extinguishing what they've been fighting for. Some may argue that their background and culture is being taken into consideration while others may see it as a demeaning way to segregate the races. It could potentially be a huge controversial issue.
It would seem that a bit of understand of their different backgrounds would be a huge help. Depending on the type of culture, you will have more success with different approaches.
I like what you said about prespective. I tend to agree with your statement regarding forming a class structure around a small percentage of minority students. Restrucutring a class system to fit the needs of a small few is a bit of an unrealistic aspiration, however, I do feel it is important to be aware of these people's backgrounds and potential learning styles for the possibility of one on one interactions with the teacher. If the student feels conveyed to get help from the teacher, I think that would be a perfect opportunity to exercize some of the cultural learning styles that Delpit discusses.
I think it is pretty hard to integrate everybody in a group. Whatsoever, language does not necessarily have to emphasize differences only. It can also point out similarities within a group.
I noticed that you said, "Maybe I don't like this article because I have been reading so many racial issues in my other classes that it's beating it into the ground and I'm losing interest."
I think that Americans are hypersensitive to race. I find that in most of my liberal arts classes we cover the topic of race and minority cultures at some point during the term. I hear the same arguments, problems, and solutions. I've begun to wonder if there is anything new that we can say or mull over when it comes to the race issue.
I think that while we worry about making every person of every race "equal" we forget that we have to recognize that we don't really want to be "equal" in the full sense of the word. We want to have our culture. We want to keep those cultural traditions that we identify with. Yet, we want to be considered "equal" in the work place and in the classroom. It is a balancing act that is difficult to manage.
Post a Comment
<< Home