Kozol Talking Points

Although I sensed a very negative tone from the beginning, Jonathan Kozol’s article was truly eye-opening for me. I had no idea that this racial segregation even existed in schools today. I also could not believe that some of the horrific school conditions Kozol described are still true in the United States. He tells stories of holes in the ceilings of schools where rain comes in, rats living in schools, and district-wide scripted programs being implemented that are so focused on procedures, rubrics, and standards that the teachers aren't able to develop a real connection to their students. And all of these schools are populated by a majority of poor black and Hispanic people. The children from these schools even feel as if they are unwanted.
While I was reading this article, there were many questions that came to mind. I found myself being a bit skeptical of some of the points Kozol made because he did not provide factual evidence for some of his claims. Here are the questions I had:
*Could it be that the reason some schools are dominated by a black and Hispanic population is because the makeup of the general population in the area the schools service is mostly made up of blacks and Hispanics? Kozol says the parents of white students pay for them to go to school elsewhere, but I can't imagine that is true or even affordable for most white families. I'm sure it is true in some cases, but I would have liked to see some numeric facts to back up this claim.
*If the white people in the neighborhood can afford to send their children elsewhere, why can't any of the black people from that same community afford to send their children to another school? And although some may not be able to afford it, I assume the opportunity to attend alternative schools is the same for both white and black students.
*Kozol presents the argument that poor black children are not given the same opportunities for preschool as white children whose parents can afford to pay for two or three years of preschool before they go to kindergarten. While I cannot deny that children benefit from being exposed to a preschool setting before going to kindergarten, I can't imagine that all white people can afford to send their children to preschool either. What about the Head Start programs in these cities? I don't know that all major cities have Head Start programs, but I know many of them do and they are free. Having been part of a Head Start program, I know that these programs are also held to much higher standards than many preschool programs that people pay for.
*Kozol implies that the wealthy children are taught by more experienced teachers and poor children are taught by inexperienced teachers. Is this really true? I did not see Kozol's evidence to support that claim.
Maybe many of my questions are due to my obliviousness that situations like these even existed, but these are just some of his points I found hard to believe.

Delpit Talking Points

Lisa Delpit, the author of Other People's Children, argues that children can be best taught not by way of skills or process, but with a combination of methods including skills, process, and input from adult members of the culture of the children being taught. She claims that “the culture of power” is prevalent in all classrooms by way of textbooks, curriculum development, intelligence assessments, and teachers having power over students. Within her text, Delpit provides some wonderful examples of how effective teaching is implemented in some classrooms where children who are not part of “the culture of power” are in the majority.
Delpit begins her article by suggesting that there is a debate of whether teaching methods of skill or process are more effective in teaching children who are not part of the "culture of power." She argues that black teachers’ opinions on this issue are often ignored by white teachers, and therefore; many black teachers have given up trying to prove that their methods of teaching are more effective. White teachers tend to base their methods of teaching on research while black teachers base their methods of teaching on experience, which appears inferior to the arguments of white people, who make up "the culture of power."
Delpit suggests that there are implicit codes in “the culture of power” that people outside of our culture are not aware of unless they are explicitly expressed. She claims that white parents and teachers tend to give more implicitly expressed directions to children, while black parents and teachers give more explicit directions. This can become very confusing for a child who is black and in a white teacher’s classroom.
Lisa Delpit expresses that black parents want their child to learn different things in school than white parents. White parents want their children to learn how to become independent thinkers, while black parents want their children to learn how to become successful living and working in “the culture of power.” In conclusion, Delpit claims that people of different cultures appreciate different methods of teaching. They want to be able to maintain their own culture, while learning the codes of “the culture of power” in order to obtain credibility in a white middle and upper class society.

Johnson Talking Points

In Privilege, Power, and Difference, Allan G. Johnson wrote"...if we dispense with the words we make it possible to talk about what's really going on and what it has to do with us. And if we can't do that, then we can't see what the problems are or how we might make ourselves part of the solution to them..."(page 2) This quote points out that if we are afraid to use words such as "racism" and "privilege" then we can't solve the problems these issues cause. In today's world people may feel that they need to avoid using such words because they often bring with them negative connotations. People may not feel comfortable using such strong words. Johnson uses these words freely to express his thoughts and opinions, which makes his writing very meaningful.
Johnson also stated "We are prisoners to something, but it's closer to our own making than we realize. And we, therefore, are far from helpless to change it and ourselves."(page 4) In this statement Johnson is basically saying that we, the people in our society, create our own problems. As much as we may think that we are not part of these social issues, they affect everyone. And because everyone has created and is affected by these problems, it is also our job to try to fix the problems. We have worked together to create the problems and now we must work together to fix them.
Regarding privilege Johnson wrote "It is a trouble that shows up everywhere and touches every life in one way or another."(page 9) Johnson acknowledges that people having privileges that others do not is a problem that everyone faces, whether they may realize it or not. This quote makes you think about how privilege has affected your own life.

IAT Response

I thought the IAT was very accurate for me. My results were exactly what I would have chosen to describe myself. The IAT was designed to test feelings that people aren't always willing or able to admit, but apparently my implicit feelings towards race are aligned fairly well with my explicit feelings.
The Dateline video made me realize that many people don't know their implicit feelings on race and test results can be very different than people would expect of themselves. The video also helped me to understand how implicit attitudes towards race can affect people in their everyday lives. People may unconsciously favor a certain race and act upon their favoritism without even realizing.

First Post

This is the second graduate level course I'm taking towards a Masters in Special Education. This semester is a bit overwhelming so far, but I'm sure I'll get through it!
I work in a preschool class with 19 children from the ages of three through five. There are four weeks left of the school year and I can't wait until the end!
When I'm not working or in class I am often babysitting or spending time with family and friends. I also love to visit new places and go on trips!