Week 5: Article Summaries

Article Summaries
Article 1: "The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children" - Delpit

In this article, Delpit argues that argues that the current education system is not meeting the needs of people of color for the majority of their education (including K-12 and higher education); students do not feel seen or heard in the classroom. She begins by giving specific examples of the ways in which people of color have felt within a classroom that does not feel inclusive or welcoming. The is exactly what she means when she is discussing the idea of the ‘silenced dialogue’. Delpit also discusses the concept of power and how it is such a huge component of inequality and a huge part of the racism that we see in our society today. Lastly, Delipt discusses the ways in which she believes educators can create change in the classroom. This would be her concept of a top down approach and the ripple effect that would come of that if it were implemented.

Article 2: "Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest" - Finn

In this article, Finn argues that education does not always help reduce inequities, but actually plays into the cycle of inequity via the type of education provided to the student. To begin, Finn talks about two ways in which education presents itself. He states, ““First, there is empowering education, which leads to powerful literacy, the kind of literacy that leads to positions of power and authority. Second, there is domesticating education, which leads to functional literacy, literacy that makes a person productive and dependable, but not troublesome” (p. ix-x) This is the premise for the entirety of the article, meaning that he goes through and discusses the ways in which education either empowers or leads to the continuation of the cycle of systemic injustices in our society. He often connects to the concept of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and shows the ways in which this form of educating students in beneficial for all parties involved.