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Blog #6

 Lisa Delpit The Silenced Dialogue — ARGUMENT 

    Lisa states two systems of thought that echo through all educational institutions, the silenced dialogue and the rules of power. When these ideologies are understood and challenged by educators, their students gain more autonomy and knowledge. The students then go forward equipped with tools to beat a system that wasn't designed with them in mind.

The silenced dialogue is explained as non white voices being ignored or underrepresented in the educational sphere. While white voices are being heard and understood, POC find frustration in the lack of support and are made fiercely aware of their non-whiteness. This shows up in the amplification of white history, in the suppression of non western conquests and rewriting of that history. Delpit says that when a white person makes a mistake it only reflects on them as an individual however when POC are operating in mainly white systems they take on the responsibility of their whole ethnicity due to white centered confirmation bias on stereotypes. 

Another structure that exists in education is the rules of power. These rules are dominated by the culture who retains the most power and influence. Delpits main argument for educations is not to change the system on some grand scale, rather to implicitly demonstrate the rules. Delpit notes that educators from different walks of life use a vastly opposed turns of phrase. Mainly white teachers using leading questions i.e “Is that what we are supposed to be doing right now” and black teachers use more clean directions “stop doing that, we are doing this” Although seemingly similar for a child who grew up only hearing directions from one culture this disparity could be increasing frustrating. This is why as educators its extremely important to understand the rules and conduct of power and how you play a role in its felicitation.  

    While reflecting back on this reading I felt the raw emotions of a child who didn’t understand, or felt entirely misunderstood. It is isolating having no power or say in major part of your life. That is why as teachers we work hard to be the shepherds to our learning populations. We need to bestow our best upon them and give the students the benefit of the doubt. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8tc52dISV8

Blog #7

 Alfie Kohn's What to Look Out for in a Classroom and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy by the Learning for Justice youtube channel -- CONNECTIONS

These two pieces of media drew upon many of the previous topics we've read about in this corse. Kohn's website had described what a classroom ought to look like, with ideas being shared among students, their art, class work, community and culture. The Culturally Relevant Pedagogy urges the message that educators are the bridge between cultures and they usher in a generation of enriched students that explored themselves and those around them artfully. Both of the assigned contents made sure to highlight that the children's lived experiences should be at the forefront of their education. This concept would be wholeheartedly backed up by both Sleeter's writings on ethnic studies as well as Shifting the Paradigm an academic research paper. Sleeter argues the more connected a child is to the content they are learning the more beneficial the educational outcome. When the students become the focus that falls in line with the Asset based thinking model introduced in  Shifting the Paradigm. When each student is recognized for who they are and where they come from, their assets are valued and in turn the student values themselves and see their self as a learner. 

    This reading really helped me look back onto my educational experience where one culture dominated the way lessons were prepared and taught. As a future music educator I want to expand music for my students. Ideas come to mind like open song suggestions or even as a joint effort, being able to write music with my future students. Exploring music through a non western lens could help connect students who were possibly drifting away from the content due to a lack of interest  

In these two images you can see one teacher at the front of the class displaying her writing with the students siting quietly listening to her, in the other photo you have a teacher speaking at the same level as her student wrapped in a discussion rather than a lecture and they are working on a collaborative assignment.

I had read a book called Flight and it detailed the life of a native American foster teen who only knew his culture through old western movies till his dreams started to morph with his past lives. The book explores what trauma the body and mind go through when you've lost your sense of identity. 

https://groveatlantic.com/book/flight/

Blog #4

Renkly, Bertolini--Shifting the Paradigm -- Quotes


Through the text I discovered that Asset learning really relies on the teacher getting to know the students, and on a larger scale and a community that is familiar with the student populations. Isolation causes despair and a fear of failure. One change in an educator's perspective can change the performance of a student. Asset learning means setting up an environment where a child’s skill sets can be drawn upon and supported rather than forcing a student to meet an arbitrary expectation. The writers of Shifting the Paradigm lay out some ways to highlight asset building in the classroom "These include having high expectations for your students, convincing them that these expectations are attainable, helping them remove their fear of failure by encouraging them to fail forward, setting small and attainable goals, and celebrating successes when those goals are met before moving forward further." These are the steps to bring asset based learning into a classroom. Renkly and Bertolini believe that children who are instilled with confidence and when they are allowed to fail freely gain more from their educational experience. They go on to site a study from 2013 "According to Albert (2013), personalized instruction in the classroom can build students’ assets even further. This can be done by first identifying each child’s jewels (skills, talents, and interests) and using these to help the student grow from where they are currently academically, socially, and emotionally." This evidence supports asset based learning on a student driven bases. When the students personal jewels show up in an educational environment further down their educational journey they find more fulfillment and build assets.

When reading this article I felt for all the students who have been reprimanded by their mentors and educators, leading to the disillusionment with learning and education. The current education system tears down children who walk to the beat of their own drum and forces them to tow the line of conformity. the only outlet children may have access to could be after school programs with a fee to join, or not within the caregivers schedule this boxes out under privileged learners and isolates them from expansive learning, meaning the school must compensate with the way they approach the "deficit" in education. 

https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2025/educating-ourselves-about-childhood-arts-experiences-and-why-they-matter

 

Blog #2

 Sal Khan-- The Broken Model ARGUMENT

Throughout the selected reading Sal Khan draws a lot of similarities between the current education system and subjugation through suppressing intellectual freedom, woah lotta big words right? Lets break that down! 

    In order for a system with power isolated at the top to remain, it must maintain control of the working and lower classes, known as the proletariat. In America a huge amount of control is in the education system. Although revolutionary at its inception with a goal of sharing knowledge to all growing humans, the American education system has now worked against it main goal and is stuck in this stagnated state. Khan argues school don't teach for expansive thought and growth, rather they teach for route memorization and testing well. In this system no room was made for outlier students, or difference in opinion or interpretation. All learners who cant fit a certain mold are seen as problem children, or they are marked lower than their peers. There is absolutely no room for the individual in the current state of educational policy. IF students were treated and cared for on a case by case bases their personal skills would shine through, however it is so that many learners are told to suppress themselves and deny their intrinsic being. This issue is only exasperated by class, for those wealthy family who can buy out of the the homogeny of the US educational system get their children's needs get meet, and they can churn out free minds unbounded by the current broken model of public schooling. 

    I can really relate to Khans thoughts on oppression through educational policy. It is ultimately out of the educators hand on what the government is telling them to teach, however I have encountered some great policy and expectations as a learner in public schooling. For example at my high school they changed the graduate requirements from a portfolio containing grades, essays, feedback from past classes and morphed the final grad requirement to be a project of your choosing. As a senior you could do anything like learn how to cook a 5 corse meal, plant a fruit tree or produce a song. This allowed the individual to look inwards and inspire passion for topics that layed outside the binary of the current educational system. 

https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-private-schools-vs-public-schools/2013/10?utm_source=goog&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ew+performance+max+subscription&ccag=subscription&cckw=&cccv=subscription+ad&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23338998931&gbraid=0AAAAADfp2x31gBAkSby1oWiMPCZVBcbY2&gclid=CjwKCAiAxc_JBhA2EiwAFVs7XEfgcII8z0eSP4R_45_ybbtBziLv5P-QJrIQnxsK7aLxL8rWO66J7BoCc-QQAvD_BwE

Blog FIVE

 The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies a Research Review by Christine E. Sleeter. 

My reflection:

For this research review I enjoyed the anecdotal beginnings that ignited Christine’s interest in bringing a culturally rich education to all students. Something that really stuck with me was, how learners disengage when their lived experiences aren't represented in the classroom content. As well as being told that the struggles of living in America as a minority group have been resolved to history. This washed down version of American history is taught solely through a white lense. As Sleeter points out, the aversion to discussions or lessons on topics of racism or discrimination of any kind are unseemly, or unnecessarily upsetting for the students. I believe this line of thought to be operating in a deficit model. Schools have teachers who avoid topics that may bring upon negative thoughts to students, without checking in with their classrooms and asking probing questions that could lead to important discussions about discrimination based on race and its history and current day influences on the United States. I know this because, as Christine points out, black middle schoolers were able to point out their lack of representation. Being forced to learn about white greatness and taught only of black suffering. But when her latino student was introduced to his own culturally rich history, his passion for learning was found. A lot could be said about whether or not this model of education was sculpted on purpose or not, however its outcome isolates learners who disassociate with western history after a certain point. If on purpose, it's another byproduct of white supremacy. If not, it’s another oversight that leaves BIPOC learners disenfranchised by their own schools. 

Personal Comment 

Although I enjoyed the reading I kept wishing this paper was written with fresher content and perspectives on learning. I recognize my own bias when drawing comparisons to my own public education, but, I felt as I entered high school more abstract concepts on America and race arose from my classroom. And cultures felt adequately celebrated, especially Latin culture and language. So I would like to know how other distract in modern day would hold up as well. 

The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies a Research Review by Christine E. Sleeter. 

https://www.ccri.edu/hsi/

Blog post #3

 What “Counts” as Educational Policy? Notes toward a New Paradigm by Jean Anyon

 

QUOTES:  

Throughout my reading I was curious about what Jean Anyon’s comments on the economic state on 2025 would be. All his data compiled with observations on how SES (socioeconomic status) affects students is exasperated (comparably) with current year statistics. Pressure on family finances are rising exponentially, and housing costs have become unaffordable. His opinion on how everyday institutions uphold this economic gap is laid out in this quote, “policies such as minimum wage statutes that yield full-time pay below the poverty level, and affordable housing and transportation policies that segregate low-income workers of color in urban areas but industrial and other job development in far-flung suburbs where public transit routes do not reach, are all culpable.” Jean Anyon is stating that everyday institutions that are supposed to aid in a thriving society cause harm and prevent any climb out of poverty. The lack of transportation, housing, job availability, and a livable wage are all factors that affect a child’s SES. Anyon also touches on how racist policy has played a hand in segregating communities from the suburbs, where more opportunities were obtainable. As I sat here comparing the early oughts’ to today, J. Anyon also makes comparisons “In the early 1900’s… relatively few urban poor students went beyond fifth grade, the vast majority did not require further education to find employment in industries that could lead to middle-class income (Anyon, 1997; Ayres, 1909). Currently, relatively few urban poor students go past ninth grade: The graduation rates in large comprehensive inner-city high schools are abysmally low.” Here is a correlation between two urban schools from different centuries and how they were educating their students to the same degree. Teaching the skills required then off to the world equipped with the knowledge to acquire a minimum wage job. A job that will keep the students in the same poverty cycle they grew up in. A harrowing point made on how rage education system has failed students with lower SES for centuries. Of course, prejudicial policy and law have caused a ripple effect of systemic injustice in the education system. Overall, a unifying factor that predicts success in a student's education has been SES. Anyon has raked through the data and conclusively tells that “Longitudinal studies that have been carried out also demonstrate that “family income consistently predicts children’s academic and cognitive performance, even when other family characteristics are taken into account” (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997).” The studies from the 2000’s draw a clear line between SES and academic performance; against all factors it remains the most prevalent issue. Anyon didn’t lay out any other solution other than to fund under privileged communities, and to strive to live and teach for an equitable society.

 

 

 

 

COMMENTS:

Anyon mentions many places where government institutions fail students and families, but he didn’t mention health care. I thought it important to bring this up because a new family can walk out of a hospital with 10k assumed in debt by just giving birth. This is not economically supporting new families and definitely doesn’t set up a great start for raising children.

I also wanted to throw down an infographic on how our own state os failing students and other citizens by the proposed RIPTA cuts. The cuts did go from 14mil to 4mil because of public backlash. But a huge percentage of bus routes are still affected.

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/08/28/ripta-board-approves-less-drastic-service-cuts-but-plan-is-no-victory-for-bus-riders/