"The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit

In the reading from "Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit, the author argues that while a teacher needs to show their students that they are indeed the one in charge, they can't exhibit too much power, forcing their dominance upon the students. Delpit calls the theme of issues with a teacher's power over their students, "the culture of power", naming five aspects to this "culture". She states that the five aspects consist of, "1. Issues of power are enacted in classrooms. 2. There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a "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. 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. 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" (pg 24-26). Each of these aspects greatly support the overall argument Delpit is trying to enforce, that being that teachers can't exert too much power over their students, or else they are basically dooming the children they are being paid to instruct. Additionally, like the other authors we have discussed since the beginning of class, Delpit presents issues relating to how race comes into factor with power as well, stating, "It was the lack of attention to this concern that created such a negative outcry in the black community when well-intentioned white liberal educators introduced "dialect readers." These were seen as a plot to prevent the schools from teaching the linguistic aspects of the culture of power, thus dooming black children to a permanent outsider caste. As one parent demanded, 'My kids know how to be black - you all reach them how to be successful in the white man's world.'" (pg 29).
This reading overall made me think how important it is for teachers to present a learning environment to their students that can all feel welcome in, no matter what kind of life they come from. They can't be solely focused on the extremely bright students, or the one who are of a higher social status than others; they need to accept all their students from each of their backgrounds and treat them equally. But they can't forget who is in charge either; too much or too little power could tip the scales and ruin the balance in a classroom.