Blog 9: Teach Out Project Article Summaries

 Teach Out Final Project 
Article Summaries 

Article 1: "Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit

      Lisa Delpit’s famous work "Other People’s Children" explores the five aspects of the “culture of power” that exist in the traditional American classroom. Her work proves that education is not a separate entity  from politics as socio-political dynamics are constantly at play in the classroom and are often reflected in the relationship between educators and students. She argues that academic problems that exist in vulnerable populations of students are a result of misunderstanding and miscommunication between teachers and “Other People’s Children,” or children of color. Teachers, whether consciously or subconsciously, seek to guide students to “success” by focusing on the discourses and literacies of the white man’s world, instead of empowering students of color to live as their authentic selves and master the languages codes and cultural rules of their own world. The educational system is deeply  flawed because of this power imbalance that permeates across classrooms, making the teacher the dominant figure and the students passive recipients of a failed education.

Article 2: “Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest ” by Patrick Finn

    “Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest ” by Patrick J. Finn is about literacy and its connection to access and opportunity for students. In his work, Finn treats literacy as a gateway to citizenship and social class. He argues that poor and working class students are conditioned through literacy to remain in that social class and consequently show resistance to their education. Middle class students are educated differently with possibility at the heart of their literacy as they are conditioned to believe that they can achieve great things through hard work. On the other hand, upper class students are granted powerful literacy from the beginning that prepares them for excellence in all capacities. Finn argues that our job as educators is to empower all students with powerful literacy, or literacy with an attitude, regardless of zip code or socioeconomic status. The unjust cycle of socialization cannot be broken unless educators first believe in the abilities of all students and secondly, provide powerful literacy to all.