Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom
In the book Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, author Lisa Delpit presents her views concerning the difficulties children of color face in American schools. The author suggests that these children are denied access to the “culture of power,” with its implied rules and codes that are advanced by members of white middle-class society. Delpit maintains that in order to affect positive change, teachers of black students must be more successful as “cultural transmitters” and must find a way to educate these students about the system, while also affirming and validating their own culture. The author states that we must also acknowledge the issues of black teachers and parents, whose voices have been stifled by stereotypes, bias, and societal diminishment as part of “the silenced dialogue.” In the book, Delpit uses her knowledge and experiences to advocate for educational practice that provides equity for students of color through addressing the miscommunication among cultures that causes black students to fail.
In the book Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, author Lisa Delpit presents her views concerning the difficulties children of color face in American schools. The author suggests that these children are denied access to the “culture of power,” with its implied rules and codes that are advanced by members of white middle-class society. Delpit maintains that in order to affect positive change, teachers of black students must be more successful as “cultural transmitters” and must find a way to educate these students about the system, while also affirming and validating their own culture. The author states that we must also acknowledge the issues of black teachers and parents, whose voices have been stifled by stereotypes, bias, and societal diminishment as part of “the silenced dialogue.” In the book, Delpit uses her knowledge and experiences to advocate for educational practice that provides equity for students of color through addressing the miscommunication among cultures that causes black students to fail.
Lisa Delpit is an accomplished educator, author, and activist who has won accolades for her outspoken views on educational inequity and cultural conflict. Dr. Delpit is currently an Eminent Scholar and Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education and Innovation at Florida International University in Miami. She received a B.A. in Education/Psychology from Antioch College and earned an Ed.M. and an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Delpit received the award for outstanding contribution to Education in 1993 from Harvard Graduate School of Education, the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Antioch College Horace Mann Humanity Award for 2003. As a scholar, Dr. Delpit has served on the Commission for Research in Black Education (CORIBE) and as a consultant for the North Solomons Provincial Government, in Arawa, Papua New Guinea. In addition, Dr. Delpit was the Benjamin E. Mays Chairholder of Urban Educational Leadership at Georgia State University in Atlanta and also served as the Coordinator of the Teacher Education Program at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. During her tenure at FIU, Dr. Delpit has developed multiple programs to facilitate equity and academic excellence for students of poverty and color. These programs include:
- The Algebra Project Miami
- The Young People’s Project for Mathematics
- Family Literacy and the Arts Program
- Quality Education as a Civil Rights Movement
- The School Improvement Zone Research Initiative
- National Coalition for Quality Education in New Orleans
- Certificate for “Earth Ethics, Social Justice, and Intercultural Literacy” with Miami Dade College
- Partnership with the South Florida Work Force to develop an economic support system for public school students involved with the Center’s mathematic programs
- Community-based Adult Mathematics Literacy Course
- Miami Dade College Service Learning Partnership
- Urban Expo: What Works Conference.
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Google Images, Sweet Clipart, and PicMonkey