The transcendent properties of language and power

I believe that context is the key factor in determining language and power. For example, “standard English” is the criterion in American culture; and to succeed in this context, it is important to adopt the rules. As Delpit stated in her article, “…there is a political power game….” However, there are other standards that diverse communities hold, in which “standard English” would become futile. With that said, I believe it is important to hear what is being said. And although “standard English” is the dominate language in power, we should not dismiss other cultural styles. Furthermore, I believe that we are all teachers; and as teachers, we must be patient and open to a unique variety of languages.

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.

Better than just acceptance

It is important to teach minority children the language of power because they are the ones most impacted by its downfall. The minority children feel the most outcast and suffer the most because the other students and teachers do not understand them. The students then view themselves as “bad” and that they themselves are in the wrong. However Delpit wants to give students courage to understand the value of the codes they possess. They should recognize that they are in the minority not because they are less right, but only because there is less of them in numbers. Acceptance is important for the individual level. However minorities are group that should not be ignored.

Teaching the Luanguage of Power vs. Acceptance

In a very practical sense, it would make sense to teach the language of power over acceptance because it would be much easier to teach. In teaching the language of power, it can be taught at a very young age in the school system. In teaching acceptance to those in the culture of power, a number of problems would arise. One problem I see is that the culture of power consists of many people that are so ingraned in their way of life, that it would be very difficult to help them understand and appreciate a different culture. On the other hand, it would be much easier to teach something like the language of power to younger people; they are in school, and have much more ability to adapt to life and culture changes. In addition to this, so much of the culture in the United States runs off of the language of power, that not teaching it would leave many at a disadvantage.

The Language of Power

The language of power needs to be understood by all people if they are to be successful. Although teaching acceptance is important, the language of power will always give mainstream people an advantage over minorities if it has not been taught to them. It is important that minority children understand that their own language is unique and should be cherished, but that there are times when standard English is needed in order to get by. In this way, minorities can retain their own cultural values in addition to learning some new ones. Teaching acceptance of all cultures sounds nice, but learning the language of power is the path to success.

The Importance of Teaching the Language of Power

Delpit really dives into the idea of the language of power. Before reading her article, I wouldn't have understood the need to teach it explicitly, but now I see it more clearly. Students who come from minority families have different language backgrounds and cultures. Although the way they speak and write is valuable, they also need to know how to succeed in the white world where they must have a solid grasp of the language of power. For their verbal and written communication to be a success, they need to be instructed on how to fit in. Simply teaching acceptance will not change how the corporate world operates. I appreciate the way Delpit does not suggest that educators try to rid them of their own cultural backgrounds. It is important that though we teach the “white way” we must also value who they are and where they come from. The Native Alaskan teacher in the article did a great job of this.

The Power Language versus the Acceptance of All

The question of teaching the power language is rather startling in my opinion. The power language is really the language of the minority seeing as the majority of the American population does not have access to it. As an idealist, I hope that one day acceptance and equity will be the fundamental ideas of society. The reality at this point, however, is that the power language controls the fundamental institutions of society, and if we refuse to instruct students in the language of power, the education system is denying them fundamental tools necessary to succeed. I believe that there are ways that classroom instruction, as Delpit's article describes, can honor and recognize all manners of communication. This instruction facilitate acceptance while providing every student with an equal opportunity to access and master the language of power. If the ideal is to work towards acceptance, minority languages must gain power and work to deconstruct the prejudices towards language present in society. The irony here is that this level of power is only attainable through the utilization of the power language; thus, providing instruction in the power language should be mandatory.

Delpit Assignment

Your assignment is to respond to one of the following questions related to Lisa Delpit’s “The Silenced Dialogue.” Aim for about 100-150 words, and post it to your team blog. Please follow the following guidelines: 1. Identify your entry with a title that suggests the content.
2. Single space. You may respond to other people’s posts through the comment feature. You may also read the blogs of the other groups by going to: http://writingcommonsone.blogspot.com/ http://writingcommonstwo.blogspot.com/ etc. through http://writingcommonssix.blogspot.com/ You can add a comment to other blogs by using the comment feature. You can only post to your own blog.

Questions (choose one):
1. If you are preparing to teach, what are you taking away from Delpit’s article regarding language and power that might help you as a teacher, and how could you apply these ideas to your proposed level of teaching?

2. One student asked, “Why do we have to discuss teaching minority children the language of power? Why not just teach everyone acceptance?” Respond.

3. For one of Delpit’s specific proposals (refer to the article), discuss the challenges of implementation. How could these challenges be addressed?

4. Your own topic.