Does Delpit have what might be called a “radical middle” position, or is she taking sides? (see, for ex., p.30)
Stemming from our readings regarding race, language, and education I was reminded about a class activity in which Dave asked us to draw where we see language in our body. I wanted to elaborate more on my drawing and how this exercise relates to Delpit’s The Silent Dialogue.
Firstly, I talk many languages in one day. At times I may speak (or try to speak) standard Spanish to my parents and relatives. This is the language that is native to my homeland. However, I struggle speaking standard Spanish with relatives and at times feel alienated from my own family. I have this language barrier because as a child I was taught Spanish at home and English at school. As result I slowly began to adapt the English language and use Spanish less often. That is why I see standard Spanish in my head because it’s a language that I have to really think about in order to speak it. This language has been a “skill” that has been that I have “learned at home in order to survive in my community” (Delpit, 1995). Similar to what Delpit argues, I believe that homes must instill certain skills that help the child survive in society. These skills cannot be taught by schools and must come from the children’s home. However, this does not say that Delpit sees a strict divide between what is taught in school and what is taught in home. I believe Delpit is yet another educator that falls in the “radical middle” since she advocates cultural enrichment at home, AND also wants schools to provide the “cultural orientation that is found at home.”
Next, I also speak a variation of the Chicano language that is a hybrid of both English and Spanish. This is the language that I most identify with because it’s the tongue that I used to communicate with friends at school and in the neighborhood. I hold it really close to my heart because it’s a language that comes naturally to me. I don’t have to think about it, it a language that I love to speak because it represents who I am and who I am not.
Lastly, the English language to me is a tool that I use every day. I use it to socialize and advance academically. I see English as being in my hand because it’s something that I use to work and get ahead. Without my hands, or the English language, I would be lost in this society. Regrettably, I agree with the “several black teachers” that Delpit presents who say that “progressive” education imposed by liberal on poor children are only be based on “the desire that the liberal children get access to the dwindling pool of American jobs.” For that reason I have constantly tried to assimilate myself into this “progressive” education and utilize English to have access to the “dwindling pool of American jobs” and succeed in this world.
Where does language fit into YOUR body? Do YOU agree that the “progressive” education Delpit demonstrates really exists?
What do YOU think?
Do you think that by saying that black/working-class children find it more difficult to succeed in "progressive" middle-class school environments because the rules of power are different than what they encounter at home is taking sides against progressive education where all children get the "same" instruction?
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