Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

 In the chart, Kohn distinguishes between a positive learning environment and a negative learning environment. The central themes of the chart show that a space that is more open and welcoming to students will facilitate more learning and a better learning environment. My biggest takeaway from the chart is how valuable a well-decorated classroom can be. In my own experiences in school, especially in elementary school, every one of my classrooms was covered with decorations and furniture. The chairs and tables were often put in spots where we could work with others. The chart was relatable to me because nearly everything from my classes that made them memorable for me are a part of that. 

In the video, it discusses culturally relevant pedagogy, which is the idea that schools have to take students’ culture and use it to connect to them. Schools have to be understanding of students’ culture and take it into account. An example of this would be how students from a low-income family and from a culture that doesn’t have a lot of wealth wouldn’t be able to connect with a teacher from an upper class culture easily. It’s important for the teacher to understand students' culture and teach them relevant to what they know and understand. This video goes somewhat against the ideas of Delpit because the video says that students’ culture should be taken into account in education, whereas Delpit argues that students should be taught to be successful “in the white man’s world.” I personally align more with what the video describes because it’s easier for students to learn when they are given references or examples they understand. While it’s important for students to be taught the culture of power, students still need to learn by using what they know, and I believe a mix of these two strategies would be the best option. In regards to the chart, I believe that there can be a dramatic difference between a well set up classroom and a "boring one." From personal experiences, a classroom that is well-designed is much easier to learn in.

10 Best Classroom Setup Ideas

The Silenced Dialogue

 In the text, Delpit argues that there is a “culture of power.” She describes this in five steps. The theme of these five steps are that the rules of culture and power stay with those who have the power, and people with power often don’t realize they are in possession of power while people who don’t possess power are more aware that they don’t. Delpit applies this to education, where she argues that there are two main ways of teaching. One of the methods is Distar, which is being direct with students and being explicit when instructing. The other method is using indirect ways of communication, such as asking questions and implying directions. Delpit also discusses the value of different learning styles for students of different racial and cultural backgrounds. One of the biggest things she points out is how the system is designed for students who come from middle and upper-class families and have already been exposed to power and the codes/rules that come with it. She says how students who come from a family that is not in this power structure have difficulty interpreting the non-verbal cues from society. In addition to learning academics, people outside of the power structure have to learn all of the cues and non-verbal actions given by people of power. Delpit suggests that students be taught these codes during their time in school in order to function in mainstream American society.

In my time in school, this was never something that I thought about. I never thought about the certain social cues that we learned and where we learned them from. I always assumed that everyone could understand them like I did and I never put any thought into what they are and how I learned them. I also never realized how the system was set up for me, personally, to succeed, coming from a white middle-class family. 

The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies

Sleeter argues that schools today in the U.S. do not offer students opportunities to explore different cultures other than Euro-centric American history. In a majority of textbooks, the history of America is told through people such as the founding fathers and other white historical figures. Not a lot of room is added for other cultures within the United States, such as Native American, Latin, African or Asian cultures. Many of these cultures and the people from them played big roles in the founding and development of America and they are not talked about nearly as much as other White figures. As a result of this, many students who have different backgrounds other than European find it difficult to relate to these figures in class, and are often left wondering how their culture played a role in American history. When they reach high school, many students become aware of the bias towards European and White American history and can become disinterested with what they are learning. 

After our class on 2/13, the ideas of Sleeter’s writing became more apparent to me. The film Precious Knowledge gave me great insight on how classes in Ethnic studies could be a great solution to the problem Sleeter discusses. In my own experience, my textbooks in k-12 did have a predominately Euro-centric theme, with books occasionally mentioning people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but certainly not more than other white figures. We had a European history class in high school, but no other options other than U.S history. As a predominately white school, I never saw anyone be upset with what the classes offered and I thought most people in my school were represented in class. One question I would have for class would be if anyone had a different experience in school, especially if the school was diverse. 

Link to article about California Ethnic Studies requirement:

Link to Article

The Broken Model

     Chapter 2 of Salman Khan’s “The Broken Model” explains how the idea of the modern school came to be. It begins with Khan posing the question of why we do the things that we do, such as eat three meals a day. It then transitions into the idea of why schools were created they way they were. The United States took their education model from Prussia in the mid 1800s. It was designed to create a large workforce, with some students excelling and becoming highly intelligent leaders and innovators while most students became middle class factory workers or worked other menial jobs. Schools were also used to “Americanize” immigrant children. Schools taught all students the same subjects and at the same levels, giving all students a baseline level of knowledge. Early schools in America wanted to remove creativity from students and give them structure and discipline, something that we can still see remnants of in our schools today. The chapter also discusses testing, and why it should not be used to determine a students intelligence. It argues testing can be good to see where students are at a certain point in time, but they cannot be determining factors in how “smart” a child really is. 

Timeline of American Schools