In her article,
The Silenced Dialogue, Lisa Delpit argues that even though teachers have power in the classroom, they need to help students of ethnicity to not be afraid of speaking up in a society where white people and power are dominant. She also argues that students of ethnicity need to be educated by teachers who understand and accept their cultures. Many white teachers have a tendency to belittle students of ethnicity, because they cannot connect to their backgrounds. Delpit mentions many classroom scenarios where African and Native Americans feel hopeless and are mistreated by a white teacher. According to Delpit, "one of the tragedies in this field of education is that scenarios such as these are enacted daily around the country." (pg. 23) Most people would think that teachers treat their students equally now and everything mentioned above is all in the past. However, that is not the case because teachers still do not seem to put much effort into preparing the future of the Native Americans and the blacks as much as the whites. This article is very similar to another article that we read in class:
Privilege Power and Difference by Allan G. Johnson. Johnson and Delpit both mention in their own words that whites have more advantages than any other race and the ongoing controversy on racism. Johnson discusses privileges on a larger scale, while Delpit focuses on classroom settings. I agree with Delpit's arguments throughout the article and strongly think that students of all races should have equal opportunities that will help them succeed in life. It is not fair that a white student is successful in college, while a black high school student is still struggling with sentence structure because of teachers from the past that educated the student poorly and the discrimination on their part.
The point I would like to make is that we, as future teachers, need to be ready to teach students that come from diverse backgrounds and struggling families. We should not choose favorites or make any student feel left behind. If a student has any academic struggles, they need to be taken care of right away before it is too late. I remember attending Wilbur McMahon Schools
http://www.greatschools.org/rhode-island/little-compton/128-Wilbur-And-Mcmahon-Schools/ in Little Compton, Rhode Island from kindergarten to eighth grade and students were taught to respect themselves, others, learning, and property. There especially needs to be a huge emphasis on respecting others because based on all of the articles that we read so far this semester, most students and some teachers seem to lack that.
