1. “The Silenced Dialogue:
Power and Pedagogy in
Educating Other People’s
Children”
• Summary and
Response to Lisa
Delpit’s article by
Amanda Rochwick

2. From Other People’s Children:
Cultural Conflict in the Classroom
• What must be done to
help teachers and
students better
understand each other?
• How can we stop
training teachers to
expect less of certain
children?

3. But first, a little about
Ms. Lisa Delpit…
I went
to Harvard!
• holds the Benjamin E. Mays Chair of Urban
Educational Leadership at GSU
• questions the validity of popular teaching
strategies for African American students
• wants educators to recognize, acknowledge,
and value the cultural strengths that a child
brings to school

4. The “Silenced Dialogue” --
What is it?
Silence occurs when nonwhite
teachers are “left out of the
dialogue about how best to
educate children of color” (23).
Illustrations of the silence:
• Native Alaskan quote
• Black educator quote

5. Where is the Dialogue
Silenced?
• Skills-oriented
approach vs. process-
oriented approach
• Writing process
advocates dismiss
teachers of color as
“too skills oriented”
which leads to
feelings of
estrangement (23).

6. The Essential Questions:
How can such complete
communication blocks exist when
both parties truly believe they
have the same aims?
How can the bitterness and
resentment expressed by the
educators of color be drained so
that the sores can heal?
What can be done?

7. Ms. Delpit’s thinking:
“The differing perspectives on the
debate over ‘skills’ versus ‘process’
approaches can lead to an
understanding of the alienation and
miscommunication, and thereby to
an understanding of the ‘silenced
dialogue’” (24).

8. The Culture of Power
Lisa Delpit claims that aspects of power have
created the schism between liberal educational
movements and that of non-white, non-middle-
class teachers and communities.

9. The Culture of Power
There are Five aspects of Power:
1. Issues of power are enacted in
classrooms.
Ex. Power of teacher over students,
power of publishers of textbooks, etc.

10. The Culture of Power
2. There are codes or rules for
participating in power; that is, there
is a ‘culture of power.’”
Ex. Linguistic forms, communicative strategies --
ways of talking, ways of writing, etc.

11. The Culture of Power
3. The rules of the culture of power
are a reflection of the rules of the
culture of those who have power.
Therefore, success in school is predicated upon
acquisition of those who are in power.

12. The Culture of Power
4. If you are not already a participant in
the culture of power, being told
explicitly the rules of that culture
makes acquiring power easier.
Think about going to a new place: Wouldn’t you like to
be directly informed about the culture?

13. The Culture of Power
5. Those with power are frequently
least aware of -- or least willing to
acknowledge -- its existence. Those
with less power are often most aware of
its existence.

14. Statements from the Culture
of Power
Statement Made Differing Perspective
“I want the same thing for everyone Parents outside of the culture of
else’s children as I want for mine” power often want something else:
“My kids know how to be black – you
all teach them how to be successful in
the white man’s world.”
“Child-centered, whole language, Teachers do students no service to
and process approached are needed suggest that product is not
in order to allow a democratic state important. They will be judged on
of free, empowered adults, and their product, regardless the
because research has shown that process, in life.
children learn best through these
methods”

15. Statements from the Culture
of Power
Statement Made Differing Perspectives
“Children have the right to their We must accept students but also
own language, their own culture. take responsibility to teach them.
We must fight cultural hegemony Tell students that their language and
and fight the system by insisting that cultural style is unique and
children be allowed to express wonderful but that there is a
themselves in their own language political power game in America –
style” they have to access the power codes.
“It’s really a shame that she seems Different cultures address each other
to be so authoritarian, so focused in different styles. Take Shirley
on skills and so teacher directed. Brice Heath’s study, “What no
Those poor kids never seem to be bedtime story means” for example.
allowed to really express their We can’t judge one culture by the
creativity” values of our own.

16. What we can learn:
• Teach the codes of • Understand the need
power so students can for both “skills-
participate in oriented” and
mainstream American “process-oriented”
life. approaches.
• Consult with adults • Communicate across
who share your cultures, and listen to
students culture to find alternative points of
the best ways to teach view...
them.

17. BUT...
“To do so takes a special kind of
listening, listening that requires not
only open eyes and ears, but open
hearts and minds. We do not really
see through out eyes or hear through
our ears, but through our beliefs”
(46).

18. Images for My Presentation:
All images for this PowerPoint Presentation
were found at the following websites:
•Letters to the Next President
•Voices from the Field
•FIU’s Center for Urban Education
•Meet the Commissioners
•Other People’s Children

19. A Chart for EDIT 6150:
90
80
70
60
50
40 Effective for
30 classroom
20 Ease of Use
10
0
Word
Website
Powerpoint

20. PowerPoint Tip:
To get the best black and white hardcopy from
PowerPoint. From the “view” menu choose “black and
white.” To alter the way any object will print, right-
click on that object, and then choose the appropriate
option, like “Black with White Fill.” Now, you don’t
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black and white and one for color).