The Silenced Dialogue - Lisa Delpit
5 Aspects of Power
“Issues of Power are enacted in the workplace.”
This is a known fact as an example of the manager and employee. These power dynamics don’t often get questioned.
Schooling is inherently related to this aspect of power because the teacher has more power than the students, and the curriculum maker has more power than the teacher.
“There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a “Culture Of Power.”
Linguistic codes in schools make it harder for non-English speaking or multilingual students to learn in schools.
Different cultures, areas, or generational dialects might also affect this “rule” because of the different meanings and words that aren’t “wrong” at home but are wrong to “Phonics”
“The rules of the “culture of power” are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power.”
This goes with the ideas of censorship and “history is written by the winners.”
This goes with the previous points that its less often that people with power speak those other dialects and languages, and therefore, they are “wrong” in the eyes of the school curriculum.
If you are not already a participant in the “culture of power”, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier.”
If you are an outsider to a culture but you have a genuine intrigue, in the culture, it makes understanding the culture easier.
If you aren’t fully receptive of the the culture or the culture is not receptive of you, gaining power can start to feel impossible.
“Those with power are frequently less aware of– or least willing to acknowledge– its existence. Those with less power are often aware of its existence.”
Truth!!!
Going along with this statement, pushing aside the power dynamic and saying it doesn’t exist, you are only separating the dynamic further.
By acknowledging that you have a higher power in our society, you can educate yourself on the experiences of those without power, listen to their voices, and then and only then, you can start being an active member in supporting initiatives to promote equality and justice.
Black Power Initiative has a program to get Marginalized Students equal opportunities as those with Power called The Liberated Minds Institute, where they do donations and volunteer work on their website as well as an about us section that is a good place to start if you want to start educating yourself on how our power dynamics are negatively affecting our students without power.
“To provide schooling for everyone’s children that reflects liberal, middle-class values and aspirations is to ensure the maintenance of the status quo, to ensure that power, the culture of power, remains in the hands of those who already have it.” Page 28
This statement is gross and true, and the only way, as future educators, to help change this is to start with our own classroom.
I love how you went into detail about the five aspects of power in the classroom. That list in the article really made me understand how people can feel differently in a classroom setting, even though the teacher may believe that every student feels the same way.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job with this post. The way you broke it down by numbering it made it easy to read and understand. You also choose a good picture. The quote that you used was a powerful one.
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