Other People's Children

“The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them.” (p. 34)

This book has been eye opening. This quote emphasizes the need to strike a balance of power in the classroom. Students are learners as well as teachers. Everyone knows something and everyone doesn’t know something. This is where teachers and students have a reciprocal relationship. I think the key to allowing this interaction is listening carefully to students and treating their ideas with respect.

The author wants us to think about power. The first section of this book deals with issues of power in the classroom and in the larger context of society. The cultural aspect of power is of particular interest to me. I never realized how different African-American culture can be from my own. I was always taught that we are all somewhat the same regardless of our skin color. Acknowledging that there are cultural differences, and that it is ok to have them, has only happened for me recently. This does not mean that one culture is inferior to the other, just that they are different and we as educators need to recognize this in order to best serve minority students.

This reading will definitely influence my future teaching. I am not sure the specifics of that influence yet, but it has already had an effect. Realizing that this is an issue will help me form practices that will help me educate all of my students in a way that is meaningful to them. I am looking forward to reading more of this book and also taking literacy class in the fall to learn more about how to better serve minority students.