Hello all,
I accidentally read "Lessons from Teachers" first and so my response/analysis is backwards =).
After reading Delpit's "Lessons from Teachers" I realized that this article was about how important it is that teachers weave multicultural education into the core of their curriculum. I think that this is still a problem today in that teachers don't create an environment that fosters a range of beliefs where students analyze racial groups and their contributions; this simultaneously encourages learning. I believe that if this was implemented, all students would have an equal opportunity to succeed. Some ways that teachers can successfully implement a culturally responsive curriculum are to use different learning styles and techniques integrate multicultural education into every subject, and recognize that every student black or white has strengths, are capable of succeeding, and they need to be challenged.
On the second page in the article, "Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator", Delpit says that "children should be in control of their own learning, and that all children would read when they were ready."I have to say that I disagree here because I think that if I were in charge of my own learning, I wouldn't know what to learn or where to start and wouldn't get a good education, if any at all. I think that teachers need to be facilitators while allowing students to make choices and get creative within the curriculum. On another note, I feel that this problem of stereotypes gets perpetuated because we put individuals into those groups of "poor black people" or "white rich people". If we can recognize that we have the same opportunity to succeed, I don't think this problem would be so great.
-Amanda
I agree with you Amanda about teachers acting as GUIDES and facilitators. I imagine that Delpit was referring to giving students choice by making learning something they want for themselves. i.e. a child who is engaged has much more potential to be in "control of their own learning" thereby actually learning instead of merely regurgitating meaningless facts.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a very important point by stating that if we could recognize that we have the same opportunity to learn then things would be much more equitable BUT teachers are the ones that can create those opportunities when the rest of society may not do so. I