Avni's Blog on Other People's Children

The author makes so many good points but the one that sticks out to me right now
is "I am also suggesting that appropriate education for poor children and
children of color can only be devised in consultation with adults who share
their culture. Black parents, teachers of color, and members of poor communities
must be allowed to participate fully in the discussion of what kind of
instruction is in their childs best interest."

I think this is really important because as a parent, I assume you'd want a say
in your childs education. Just because poor parents may not have that top dog
authority level or seem to be working every time theres a parent teacher
conference or cant ever chaperone or help out in the class, etc. it doesn't
mean they dont care about the childs education. They are simply too busy trying
to make ends meet. Anyways back on track, when I was way younger I would always
wonder why some top dogs were making decisions about education and whats best
for the children when they themselves didnt have children. Now, I don't wonder
that but I don't know why we don't do something to fight against this
institutional racism. It's kind of like the writing project delpit talks about,
the black teachers never wanted to go back because of the poor experiences and
nobody ever made it a point to do something about that because of ignorance. So
what it came down to was a bunch of white people doing this writing project. In
the same manner, the top dog authorities are primarily white, so how can they
possibly know whats best for children from low ses backgrounds, children from
different race/ethnicities, children from families with two moms or two dads,
etc. This just narrows the possibilities of perspectives that can be held.

I think that there are quite a few things the author wants us to consider (I
must say shes got real guts to write this book) including issues of language
and communicating across cultures of ethnic background, ses, etc. A big point
she tries to make is that we need to get to know each and every individual
child and learn as much as we can about their culture. Maybe it's just me but
another thing I am able to draw from all this is that we need to acknowledge
and combat institutional racism.

I certainly believe the reading I have done will only help me be a better
educator and person. I know I'll make it a point to get as much parent
involvement and input as I can for my class. I'll have to be careful when
talking to or giving instructions to children (think back to finding freedom in
the classroom and the student from Korea - it's not that she kept rambling in
her papers and could not write a decent paper but it was an issue of courtesy
and culture). The biggest thing that I feel can help me with all of this is
home visits.

I wonder how America would be today if we did not have schools....