Dana Latozas
3/5/2013
International Cross Cultural Education
Looking to the Future
In the book “Other People’s Children Cultural Conflict in the Classroom” by Lisa Delpit
there is a section in the book called looking to the future. There are six chapters in this section
that will be reviewed. There will be two scholarly articles that will be reviewed. Also, there will
be a section that will be about the experiences that I have and the lessons that were learned from
this reading.
In this section the first chapter is cross-cultural confusions in teacher assessment. This
chapter talks about the unequal power when it comes to teacher assessments. The teacher
assessment is a test like the SATs, that are suppose to look at what the person knows about being
a teacher and if they are capable. This chapter also compares teachers to preachers. “The more I
pondered their lack of similarity, the more I have been drawn to the resemblance of teaching to
another profession – preaching” (Delpit, 2006). When reading about the comparison it makes
sense because they are both teaching people about something and getting their point across to the
world.
In the second chapter in this section it is called the politics of teaching literate discourse.
This chapter goes into the political aspect of teaching. There are many issues that teachers need
to face. There are many letters that are looked at and commented on in this chapter. There are
different topics that are talked about such as overcoming obstacles to acquisition and acquisition
and transformation. “This is the alternative perspective I want to give to teachers of poor children
and children of color, and this is the perspective I hope will end the paralysis and set teachers
free to teach, and thereby to liberate” (Delpit, 2006). She wants to reshape the system for
teachers to have some freedom when it comes to teaching and their styles of teaching.
In the third chapter it is called education in a multicultural society: out future’s greatest
challenge. This chapter goes into the cultural aspects in education. There are clashes with
students and the school. There is always stereotyping with students. Assumptions are made when
a teacher thinks that a student has a problem or a disability. In the community people are
ignorant because they are use to how things are in the community and do not take change very
well. People do not always see the problems or the aspects that are hurting us in the long road.
There needs to be problems that are assessed and evaluated when it comes to education in a
cultural community. “I pray for all of us the strength to teach our children what they must learn,
and the humility and wisdom to learn from them so that we might better teach” (Delpit, 2006).
There are always lessons that could be learned from children. Children are usually not as
judgmental towards others and pick up on things that adults do not pick up on. Adults can learn
some lessons from children.
In the fourth chapter it is called “Reflections on Other People’s Children” by Herbert
Kohl. This chapter just gives the views that this person sees when it comes to reading the book
and having his own ideas. “Lisa’s work is about the complex intersection of theory and effective
practice that I have been concerned with for years” (Delpit, 2006). He has the same concerns as
the author about education and the students being taught. He feels strongly about this like the
author. He gives his own opinion on the book and looks at the different views that can be taken
from the book, like white people versus blacks would view this book differently.
In the fifth chapter it is called “Teaching the Hard of the Head” by Charles M. Payne.
This chapter goes into the experiences that he experienced as a first year teacher. He goes into
the feelings that he faced during his experiences and how some of his other colleagues did not
have the same views as him. “When I ask, as I always do in these conversations, in what ways
going to an elite university might have been a disadvantage for someone who wants to work in
the inner city, what trained incapacities could result, this student actually tries to think about the
question” (Delpit, 2006). This is showing people that not everyone knows what exactly to do
with going into a career and how to take the information and use it. There needs to be an
understanding of what the person wants to do with their life to be successful and to continue their
education.
The sixth chapter is called “Other People’s Children the Lasting Impact” by Patricia
Lesesne. This chapter goes into the experiences that this person has faced and what was learned
from this book. “Other People’s Children has deeply affected my teaching practice and my ways
of being in our school community” (Delpit, 2006). This shows that this person learned from
reading this book and now looks at her job and how to do it differently and how to be better in
the school community. This person goes into what she has done with teaching and how it has
changed from reading this book.
In the article “Understanding the Power of Words in Multicultural Education” by Festus
Obiakor, Darren Smith, and Marty Sapp, this article talks about how the world is changing and
there are more cultures coming to the U.S. that need to be addressed. It looks at ways to increase
multicultural education in schools and the communities. It talks about how language is a barrier.
“As it appears, our paradigms and powers seem to be shifting, and it is no longer necessary to
master conventional English in order to make it ‘big’ in this world” (Obiakor, Smith, & Sapp,
2007). This shows that the world is changing and how in schools they focus on making sure
students speak English well, this is showing that this should not be focused on as much because
you can still become successful without the proper speaking of English. In the article
“Descriptions of Dispositions for Assessment in Pre-Service Teacher Education Field
Experiences” by Pattie Johnston, Gina Almerico, Deanna Henriott, and Mykel Shapiro, this
article talks about looking at the experiences that field internships have and the assessments of
the performance. “Researchers strived to develop a greater understanding of dispositions being
assessed in teacher field education programs by identifying descriptors which clearly focus on
the conceptual meaning of a given disposition” (Johnston, Almerico, Henriott, &Shapiro, 2011).
This is showing that there is research into the assessments of experiences of field education.
Some people could have bad experiences and some people may not know how to assess other
people. These assessments need to be looked at further and researched to see if they are doing the
best job and if there is a different way to assess someone.
The experience, professional, and social change that I got from the reading is that there
are many issues in our education when it comes to people that are not white and have different
cultures. There is still discrimination and it is shown in this book with education, teachers, and
students. There are many people that have experienced the issues and who feel the same as the
author as this book. This shows that it is not just one person who recognizes this and that there
really is an issue with our education. This makes me think about how I treat people with social
and professional aspects. I know that I need to make sure that I do not judge anyone and listen to
what others have to say. Everyone is different and we need to get people to understand that not
everyone is the same. Just because someone is different from someone else does not mean that
they should be treated differently. This needs to get into people’s heads and needs to be
addressed. A good way to address this is in school to have the students learn about this and the
teachers understand this and not be judgmental. Education needs to start evolving with the world.
Reference
Delpit, Lisa (2006). Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York:
The New Press.
Johnston, P., Almerico, G. M., Henriott, D., & Shapiro, M. (2011). DESCRIPTIONS OF
DISPOSITIONS FOR ASSESSMENT IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION
FIELD EXPERIENCES. Education, 132(2), 391-401.
Obiakor, F. E., Smith, D. J., & Sapp, M. (2007). PART III: CREATING MULTICULTURAL
CLASSROOMS: Understanding the Power of Words in Multicultural Education.
Multicultural Perspectives, 9(2), 36-42. doi:10.1080/15210960701386392