Skills and other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator

In this section Delpit begins by sharing her interpersonal struggle to identify with both her and
profession (academia) at the same time. She explores the differences in race and cultures in the
field of education. More specifically she analyzes the differences between black and white
teachers, connecting their varying teaching styles (skills oriented vs. process oriented) while also
connecting it to her graduate school education. She discusses elements of a progressive writing
education (a holistic approach) that was promoted in her graduate studies and highlights how that
type of instruction does little for black students. Although her graduate school education
emphasized the need to teach students how to be fluent, black students need a more traditional
approach; they need to be taught skills that will help them find success with academic Standard
English. Delpit attempts to blend the progressive with the traditional on page 19, Students need
technical skills to open doors, but they need to be able to think critically and creatively to
participate in meaningful and potentially liberating work inside those doors. Moreover, without
being explicitly taught the skills first, students will be unable to participate in the meaningful
work progressive teachers want them to participate in. She concludes with a call to action, asking
members of the dominant group to be realistic when thinking about teaching minority students.
The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other Peoples Children
This section is an extension of the skills vs. process debate introduced in the previous section.
Delpit explains white teachers reluctance to debate the topic and black teachers frustrations
over the lack of initiative to have the conversation and have their voices heard. She asks why this
struggle to communicate occurs when both parties ultimately want the same thing- to provide
their students with the appropriate tools to be successful. She introduces the concept of the
culture of power and includes five different aspects:
1. Issues of power are enacted in classrooms
2. There are codes or rules for participating in power
3. The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who
have the power
4. If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules
of that culture makes acquiring that power easier
5. Those with power are frequently least aware of it- or at least willing to aknowledge its
existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence
In addition, she expresses the importance of developing students into autonomous human beings
regardless of their skin color. She also touches upon the different views different cultures have
on authority and how that impacts teachers interactions with students. Most importantly she
argues that in order to be successful, all students must be taught the necessary codes needed to be
successful in society. This cannot be done however until both sides recognize that the culture of
power and its respective codes exist.

Language Diversity and Learning

Delpit discusses the affective filter as it pertains to learning a second language. Supported by
research, Delpit restates the notion that the less stressful the language learning process is the
more readily the student will be able to learn. Rather than teaching them through memorization
and rule policing, allowing students to learn to communicate in an authentic expressive manner
will help to decrease this affective filter. Delpit reminds teachers the importance of embracing
both languages for bi-lingual students, which supports the larger idea that no students native
language should be deemed inaccurate. This supports the exploration of different ethnic and
cultural groups, specifically looking at how members of these communities communicate (i.e.
celebration of oral expression in African American community, storytelling, etc). Like language,
students from different culture groups might approach writing and rhetoric differently, this is
important for teachers to be aware of as well. Moreover this chapter is all about the celebration
of language diversity in every classroom in every school. This kind of environment will translate
to a global community that will be better able to understand and appreciate differences.

Robinson, C. & Clardy, P., (2011). It Ain't What You Say, It's How You Say It: Linguistic
and Cultural Diversity in the Classroom. Journal of Cultural Diversity. 18 (3),
pp.101-110
Robinson and Clardy are interested in looking at how teacher education programs approach
multiculturalism in education. They looked at instances where cultural and linguistic
diversity are only addressed in specific diversity courses and instances where this material
was explored through the entire programs coursework. This article introduced me to the
Critical Race Theory, a framework that explores inequity and racism while also not
neglecting to discuss privilege. They critique sentiments regarding acceptable forms of
English, arguing that, rigidity is problematic not only because it functions as a gatekeeper
(or "gatekeeper") which can effectively foreclose or substantially impede the education of
speakers of languages and dialects other than Standard English, but also because it lessens
our opportunities to learn about other ways of knowing. This statement reaffirms the idea
that language has the power to open doors to colorful conversations about cultural
differences; they go hand in hand. Members of the dominant community should not devalue
other dialects of English, a concept highlighted in the enlightening anecdote provided.
Members of the dominant community use their mastery of standard English as a way to
silence and belittle their linguistically diverse peers- a problem that needs to be
acknowledged, addressed, and solved.
Tharp, D.S., (2012). What It Takes to Do Diversity Education. About Campus. SeptemberOctober, pp.28-32

This article calls for professional development on diversity education. Tharp argues that
teachers must explore their own identities, think critically about inequity and privilege, and
become well versed on critical pedagogy in order to best serve their students. Although this is
supposed to be a summary, I have decided to break down his points explicitly for my own
personal future use. Displaying the information as such makes all of this main points and
subsequent arguments explicit and clear.
1. Be aware of your own social identity and its impact on others
Time spent analyzing their own social identities is vital in order to
understand and articulate how they choose to identify, the significance of
their identities in their lives, how their identities have impacted/continue
to impact their relationships with others, and the emotional triggers
associated with these identities.
i.e. acknowledge when my whiteness can silence and marginalize
others either intentionally or unintentionally
2. Know and apply social identity development theories
Bennetts Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity highlights the
six stages individuals move through as they replace an ethnocentric
perspective (stages of denial, defense, and minimization) with an ethno
relative paradigm (stages of acceptance, adaptation, and integration).
Theories help facilitators answer questions about participants, including
how they are currently embracing or rejecting their social identities, the
rationale behind emotional and/or cognitive resistance, how relationships
between different identities influence how meaning is made within these
identities, and how to move beyond paralysis to action and ownership.
3. Recognize how multiple social identities and power interface with society on
an individual, communal, and institutional level
Race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion, etc
4. Carefully consider your approach to curriculum development and facility of
diversity education
One important thing that was reiterated in both of these articles was the mention of privilege and
the need to address it. This was something that I found in my e4 assignment on multicultural
education and social justice as well. So much of the literature published on culture and diversity
focuses solely on marginalized populations. All of these articles argue for privilege to be
introduced to students with the specific purpose of informing and enlightening the students of
privilege to recognize how their status affects others perceptions of them. This corresponds to
Tharps argument that teachers need to examine their own personal identities and social status
before expecting their students to do the same kind of work. Having a better understanding of
who we are as people and teachers will enable us to understand why certain students might react
to our instruction in a certain way. As Robinsons example demonstrated, minority students can
feel intimidated in a classroom led by a member of the dominant group. She goes on further to

connect this to language as well when she shares the students silence in the presence of her peers
who were fluent in Standard English. During my undergraduate education I took Composition
Theory and Rhetoric where I was first introduced to the idea that Ebonics is considered a dialect;
it is not ungrammatical. This awareness, I argue is something that should have been brought to
my attention before I entered college. That conversation should not be reserved for academia. It
should be introduced, discussed, and accepted in our secondary public schools.