I really enjoy reading the dialogue you all are engaging in
our blog space. And am happy that
reading each others’ blogs offers you new insights about the parts of our texts
that might now click on first read. It
is so engaging for me to see you play with the metaphors and ideas we are
struggling with in class from one week to the next. I, too, find Delpit insightful, personal and
challenging to me a white, middle class educator. And I have also come to think of her as the
most important teacher I have ever had.
I stalk her at conferences, and while I haven’t ever met her face to
face, I think I might stammer and blush like a 12 year old if I did. There is a t-shirt hanging outside my office
door that one of my students made me a decade ago: What Would Lisa Delpit Do?
Here are some of the major themes I heard you raise this week, themes I hope we will talk about tomorrow in class.
- Good intentions
- Knowing is half the battle
- Learning rules and codes at home
- Role of SES vs. race: what constitutes the C of P?
- You talkin’ to me??
- Communication across cultural lines
- Veiled commands
- Doing what is best for ALL students
- What does teaching the rules and code of power look like?
And this is a great keynote address that Delpit gave in 2013. Worth the 20 minutes if you feel inspired:
Dr. Bogad,
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most inspiring about Delpit, is that she constantly searches for ways to make us feel uncomfortable. I am a believer that when we are uncomfortable, we have the opportunity to grow. Sometimes I find her statements inflammatory on purpose, and other times she hits you with a fact you just need to stop and consider. The latter often happens very subtly. As she spirals around our curriculum, I look forward to both types of push from her, and to the conversations she inspires within our cohort, and in my classroom.
thanks,
Brian