"The Silenced Dialogue"

"The Silenced Dialogue" by Lisa Delpit was basically about different codes of power within school systems, I think. Some pages were missing so right when I began getting into different ideas the packet skipped two pages, so I was thrown off a bit.
One thought of Delpit's that stuck out to me was when she began explaining "dialect readers" which were "seen as a plot to prevent the schools from teaching the linguistic aspects of the culture of power, thus dooming black children to a permanent outsider caste. As one parent demanded, 'my kids know how to be black-you all teach them how to be successful in the white man's world.'" This quote was powerful to me because of the apparent assumption of some people that in the classroom kid's aren't being taught all of the different codes of power that would help them to succeed within the real world and not just be teaching them book smarts.
An idea that I thought was a revolutionary and creative way to teach kids was to relate topics they are learning in school to topics the kids are actually interesting in, as Amanda Branscombe did. As described "when she was working with black high school students classified as 'slow learners' had the students analyze rap songs to discover their underlying patterns. The students became the experts in explaining to the teacher the rules for creating a new rap song. The teacher then used the patterns the students identified as a base to begin and explanation of the structure of grammar, and then of Shakespeare's plays. Both student and teacher are expert at what they know best." I thought this was a really great way to corporate each individual student's knowledge, making them feel comfortable while learning, and in turn helping them understand a topic which most student's could honestly care less about.
"I am certain that if we are truly to effect societal change, we cannot do so from the bottom up, but we must push and agitate from the top down." This is very true because in order to make changes people need to put pressure on those who are in power and not on those who really can't do much to provide the change that we need.
Overall, I really found it hard to read "The Silenced Dialogue". It did not grasp my attention all that much besides a few quotes that stood out to me and I found myself becoming less and less interested after each page I read. Also, Delpit's language she used did not resonate well with me.

First 2 Days doing the SL project

Okay..let me start off by saying..wow. These kids really blew me away. They were so funny and warm and opened their class to me immediately. I got to George J West Elementary superrrr early and found my way to the office and signed in. Then I met my teacher, Mrs. Callaghan, in the classroom and we chatted about the school and the kids for a while until the kids came running in. It was SO hysterical to me that literally EVERY SINGLE GIRL commented/played with my hair and asked about my jewelry. Dr. Bogad called it! The first half hour we did an art project and I just went from table to table meeting all the kids and introducing myself (Ms. Lennon was sooo weird to hear) and helping the kids cut out paper heart cards for their father's. At 9:30 the class switched with another group of kids that are all kind of in the same reading level. Again I was bombarded with hair and jewelry questions along with the "who are you, "how often will you be here" questions. We all sat on the rug and did vocabulary words and then the kids were asked to write each word in a sentence. (I came across one snag at this time..some little boy kept putting his feet up on a girl's chair and she was getting SO mad about it so I tried to give him the "mom eyes" im so synonymous for at my job. I was surprised, however, that the eyes had ZERO power over this kid! I tried a couple times more and it was still hopeless. Finally I say "TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF HER CHAIR OR YOUR SITTING AT THE OTHER TABLE ALONE!" .... needless to say he stopped) The sentences took about an hour for all the kids to finish but in this time I really got to know the kids and I think I made a pretty strong relationship with the kids. By the time it was time to go the kids were hugging me and asking when I'd be back and if I could come more often than twice a week, which made me feel like I'd done a good job.
The second day went pretty much the same except I tended to ask kids to come in groups with me instead of me wandering from group to group. In the morning we did another art project. At 9:30 we did vocabulary and then writing sentences. Around 10:30 or so I took two kids and we did math problems. I didn't yell at any of the kids on the second day either, so that was a plus. Mrs. Callaghan also told me I had been doing a good job and she was thankful for the help, so that was a reinforcemenet for me. I told the kids when I was leaving I'd be back Thursday and as I was leaving they were switching to go to different classrooms. I got hugs all the way down the hall..it was so cute.

Allan Johnson

Here's a pic of Johnson..he said he was a "white, male, heterosexual" so many times I thought he might be lying..who's to say he's heterosexual though? So his whole theory that the way a person is viewed by others is in turn the way that person will be treated is a bit of a contradiction...seriously...

Allan Johnson's "Privilege, Power, and Difference" was, to me, somewhat repetitive. I felt that he made some good points that I did agree with but instead of putting his thoughts into a 2 or 3 page work he made it super long. His main ideas were that some people, namely white male heterosexuals, have greater opportunities than others just because of the fact that they have these characteristics.
One quote that I thought was good was on page 6... "We need to feel that we belong to something bigger than ourselves, whether it's a family or a team or a society. We lok to other people to tell us that we measure up, that we matter, that we're okay. We have a huge capacity to be creative and generous and loving." I feel that this quote is very true in general to everyone because humans are definetly social beings and we need the acceptance of others to validate ourselves, for whatever reason, and if we arent given that validity we somehow feel we dont belong.
Another that stuck out to me was when Johnson was speaking about racial profiling. I think I said something about it during class, how I felt it was still true today...but heres the quote... "The simple truth is that when I go shopping , I'll probably get waited on faster and better than she will. I'll beneift from the cultural assumption that I'm a serious customer who doesnt need to be followed around to keep me from stealing something. The clerk wont ask me for three kinds of ID before accepting my check or accepting my credit card."
This final quote I thought to be somewhat eye opening to me. I never really thought of race in this way but Johnson's outlook was interesting. "...skin pigmentation varies from one person to another. What he is saying is that unless you live in a culture that recognizes those differences as significant nd meaningful, they are socially irrelevant and therefore do not exist. A 'black woman' in Africa, therefore, who has not experiences white racism, does not think of herself as black or experience herself as black, nor do the people around her. African, yes; a woman, yes. But not as a black woman."
Overall I think "Privilege, Power, and Difference" was interesting and informative, however he repeated some things so many times that it got almost irritating. =)

About Me

Hi. My name is Sara. I'm 21 years old and live in Providence. I've been at RIC for 2 semesters...transferred from CCRI. I work full time at a Residential Group Home for abused and neglected children from ages 5-12 in Pawtucket and pretty much all I do is work and go to school. My job can be tough sometimes (restraining kids for example) but I feel the experience I'm getting will pay off when I'm in a classroom and forced to deal with behavioral problems. On my spare time I usually just go out at night with friends to different places. I have 2 older brothers (one of which is having a baby soon so all I've been doing is buying baby clothes) and an older sister. My summer so far is going alright, but I wish it was hotter out because I'm dying for some beach days. I have a minute to minute countdown to May 30th..sex and the city movie..its kind of an obsession. I have a 1 year old Yorkshire Terrier named Chloe...which I'm equally obsessed with. Shes adorable. This class looks like it should be interesting, but a lot of work. The vips stuff starts tomorrow and I'm having a small anxiety attack about it. But hopefully it will turn out alright. We'll see...