BLOG 6

 Other Peoples Children -Lisa Delpit

Before writing my blog this week, I sat down and tried to decide if I disagree with that or not, and I am still unsure. I believe that everyone should be able to be themselves and act as they do at home, and that should be accepted. However, when it comes down to serious situations, such as being in school and following routines and rules, I can see where Delpit is coming from. Although I am completely aware of my privilege, wherever I go I still try my best to fit into social norms or what is expected of me.

When you think about it, if you ever visited a friend's house, you always followed their rules and what their parents said to do, even if that is not what you were used to. If they took off their shoes in the house, so did I. If they said grace before dinner, so did I. So, when students step into the classroom, they should probably be following the norm there.

At one point in the article, Delpit mentions that her white friend asked her son if it was about bathtime, whereas her Black friend directly told her son, “Get in that bathtub; you are dirty.” Both of these children knew it was a direction and that they had to do it. If these two students were in the same classroom and a teacher asked, “Isn't it about time you started working on your problem set?” they would both take this as a direction and begin their problem set. These are different cultural cues that work at home and would translate into an understanding in school as well. These examples demonstrated to me that it is not necessary to force dominant culture rules onto students in school because, let's be honest, a majority of the students know the expectations that the teacher has as long as they set them early in the year.

I realize that children understanding school expectations and cues is much different on a societal level. But in this case, why should society conform to any specific dominant culture's cues? Overall, I understand where Delpit is coming from because, yes, understanding the dominant culture anywhere would make it easier for anyone to fit in. I am just not sure that is completely necessary in such a diverse world. Maybe the issue is not whether students should learn the dominant culture, but whether schools should require students to abandon their own at the door in order to succeed.

The hyperlink I included is a quick read about 5 steps staff should be doing to support students of different backgrounds. Maybe having one adult conform to a few children is easier than children adapting to adult norms. I included the hand signal image because this reminded me of all the different classrooms I have been in, and the different symbols for things kids need! I always identify them by the end of the day, so it may be easier for a teacher than a student!