Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

Citation

Rodriguez, C. (2013), "Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom", Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 89-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/17504971311312636

Lisa Delpit has been described as an eminent scholar, focusing her career on the advancement of the education given to marginalized communities. Delpit has dedicated her career to revolutionizing education with the goal of getting students from varying cultures to learn and gain the necessary education in the classroom. Among her many accomplishments, Lisa Delpit authored a book by the name of Other People's Children. The literature addresses issues such as miscommunication between people of different cultural backgrounds, imbalance of power and also puts responsibility on teachers to be better informed and become “cultural transmitters”.

As I read through this book, there were several topics that caught my attention. Among them, was the topic on language diversities and learning. Delpit presents various scenarios and examples on acquiring a second language and how it could be successful or unsuccessful. Delpit also delves into code switching and how children at a young age recognize the difference in varying social settings, even if they themselves have not yet acquired that skill.

The way Delpit describes developing a second language seems like it would be the obvious way to go about it or teach, but this is not the case in most educational settings. Engulfing oneself in a second language without pressure or constant correction from an outsider has the highest success rate for learning a second language. Why then do we insist on drilling our students with different languages or dialects? By drilling information into these students, the attainment of another language becomes a daunting task full of anxiety. That coupled with the anxiety that these students already have by being in a new country or by the oppression that they deal with daily leads to little or no learning.

As I continued to read, I found myself asking, “what can I do as a teacher?” Delpit describes the different factors that one has to consider when addressing children whose language/dialect deviates from the “standard English”. It is important to keep in mind that the language that these individuals possess is language gained by family, friends and loved ones. To suggest that the language is wrong or assign any negative connotation to it, would be labeling as “bad” everything and everyone the child knows and is familiar with. This however does not mean that the child should not be taught the correct way, it just means that we, as teachers, need to be conscious of these factors.

Children still need to be taught to use “standard English” because it is necessary to survive and excel in the workforce and in the current economy. In order to teach this, there are strategies such as role play or activities that are intrinsically rewarding to the children that help them develop the language skills needed to be successful. This style of teaching allows the children to develop certain skills, code switch and reduce anxiety in a positive manner.

As a teacher, I am always searching for ways to diminish my student's anxiety and help them reach an optimal state for learning. I found this book to be very insightful and helpful. The book and the examples given, help to change the perspective on teaching not just children of different cultures but children or students in general. I found the text to be helpful in giving ideas to teach and help children and gives a the reader a great deal to think about.

Lisa Delpit has a wealth of accomplishments. Among them, the book Other People's Children which revolutionized American education. Lisa Delpit touches many points in this book, but the most important among them and throughout the book, is her ability to lead teachers to take an intrinsic look at their teaching and provide insight into the struggles of many of these students. After reading this book, one has a new sense of perspective when it comes to the complicated world of teaching, learning and multiculturalism.