Delpit Reaction

I enjoyed reading this assignment for several reasons. Most obviously it was an interesting article that offered an interesting perspective on an issue I had never considered too deeply, but it was also very pertinent for this class and for teaching across social, class, and cultural boundaries.

The testimonies contained in this essay helped to make it more specific for its readership, meaning an audience of predominantly white, educated educators. This was certainly the authors intent since she was trying to create a dialogue, or show that there was an ongoing dialogue which was being ignored that needed to be addressed. (Hence the title, 'The Silenced Dialogue').

I also enjoyed the discussion of the 'culture of power,' and the idea of how best to accomadate the learning of individual students from different backgrounds. This makes a lot of sense, not only in regards to a cross section of the cultural diversity of the united states, but certainly this can be expanded to accomadating international students, and people of any diverse background. Communication is arguably the most important component of any educational philosophy, and this essay does an excellent job of not only opening this dialogue in the direction the author was intending, but broaching a topic that can be potentially much larger than that.