Blog #6: Other People's Children - Lisa Delpit

 Connections

The works of Lisa Delpit, Khan, and Allan Johnson all surround the themes of power, marginalization and current systems in place that need to be reexamined. Khan and Johnson provide a theoretical and historical foundation for Delpit’s findings, with Khan focusing on the barriers that arise from the structure of the education system and Johnson focusing on the systems and structures of privilege. 

In “The Broken Model”, Khan’s critique of the educational system provides a historical and structural explanation for the "culture of power" that Delpit identifies. Khan's "broken model" is an explanation of some degree of Delpit’s "culture of power." While Khan focuses on how the system can crush creativity for students, Delpit highlights how this system marginalizes other people’s children, denying them the explicit instruction needed to navigate the codes of power she describes. Khan calls for a deeper look at the education system as a whole, and details how the "Prussian Model" was explicitly designed to produce "loyal and tractable citizens" rather than independent thinkers, and that the system, although outdated has become the norm, simply because it has been in place for a long time. This aligns with Delpit’s view that the "culture of power" is a system of rules that is often treated as normal/inevitable. This also can explain the resistance Delpit observes in white educators who dismiss the perspectives that challenge the effectiveness of their standard teaching methods.

Allan G. Johnson’s work, Privilege, Power, and Difference focuses on the systemic inequality, and provides a sociological reason  for the interpersonal "silence" and "defensiveness" Delpit describes. One of Johnson’s main arguments is the paralysis that society is stuck in that perpetuates suffering because people lack an understanding of how they are connected to the "trouble". He points out that individuals must understand that people are simply part of a system that has privilege and oppression built into it, and not the fault of an individual. However, the problems of racism and sexism don’t solely belong to those that are affected by it. He identifies the defensive feelings such as blame and guilt, particularly among white or privileged individuals that come up when systems of privilege are discussed. This defensiveness prevents people from taking the steps to get out of this “paralysis”. This defensive reaction is exactly what Delpit is describing when she mentions that the personal experiences non-white educators are often dismissed. The "silenced dialogue" she focuses on is the direct result of the "defensive paralysis" Johnson identifies. The dialogue stops when those in power feel threatened or uncomfortable by the truth of marginalized experiences. 

Reflection

Coming back to school as someone who took several education classes in my undergrad has allowed me to revisit a lot of the concepts from those classes. I have enjoyed having a fresh perspective and even rereading some of the readings that were in the classes I took. It also is encouraging to see that there have been so many changes in the education system since I was in elementary, middle, and high school. I like to think that there have been steps in the right direction, although there is still much resistance from people not willing to acknowledge the marginalization and achievement gaps, and I hope this is something that happens soon. Here is a reading I found about supporting marginalized groups in the classroom.