Other People's Children

 

Other People's Children

Lisa Delpit

Quotes

    In this reading, Delpit writes about the issues involved in the classroom. The first quote I want to write about is, "I try to give them my experiences, to explain. They just look and nod. The more I try to explain, they just nod and nod, just keep looking and nodding. They don't really hear me" (Delpit 22). She expresses that no matter what she says and how she explains it these kids just agree. There is no debate back and forth as do they really understand the concept or is it something they were told to not speak about. Many black children are taught by their parents the dos and don'ts when talking to white people. 

    The next quote I can relate to when I was younger is, "She also can't go for a walk alone at night without thinking about her safety a lot more than I would- without planning what to do in case a man approaches her with something other than good will". I agree with this quote because even when I was younger my parents told me not to go out alone at night. They would always say to me that nothing good happens after midnight. A lot of us kids grew up with our parents telling us it wasn't safe and put that in our heads that bad things can happen from an early age. It's okay to say that in order to keep your kids safe but in reality, you put a bad name to some of these genuine people.

    Lastly, "When I told this gentleman that what the teacher was doing was called a process method of teaching writing, his response was, "Well, at least now I know that she thought she was doing something. I thought she was just a fool who couldn't teach and didn't want to try""(Delpit 32). It is sad that people can judge people of other color so poorly. We all learned to never judge a book by its cover, and we still do that now a days. Just because this teacher may have been a different skin color than you doesn't mean she's any less intelligent than you. Get to know the person first and if it comes down to you still not liking them at least you know you gave it a shot.

Here is a ted talk about the diversity in the classrooms.

Affirming Diversity In The Classroom Why it Matters to Your Students | Nadiyah Herron | TEDxCSUSB - YouTube

Comments: 

       Everyone deserves an equal chance at living, getting a job, going to school, etc. There is no need to treat people with different ethnicities or skin color any differently. These people are going through the same life, but we are making it harder for them, so let's stop and embrace the wonderful people on this planet.