Blog Post #4

 REFLECTION:

Reading Lisa Delpit’s The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children made me reflect on my experience in a second-grade classroom and the way I communicated with students. At first, I would ask questions like, “Are we supposed to be doing that right now?”, assuming that prompting students to think about their behavior would guide them toward the right choice. But I quickly realized that this approach wasn’t effective. Some students wouldn’t respond or seemed unsure of what I was asking. Instead, I needed to clearly tell them what to do: “Please sit down and start your work.” or “We raise our hands before speaking.”

Delpit’s argument helped me understand why direct communication was necessary. She explains that not all students enter the classroom already familiar with the unwritten “codes of power” that govern academic and social success. These rules—how to participate in discussions, how to structure written responses, even how to interact with authority figures—aren’t always explicitly taught, yet they shape how students are judged in school and beyond. Simply expecting students to pick up on these expectations through indirect cues leaves some of them at a disadvantage. It reinforced what I had experienced firsthand: clarity and authority in instruction are not about control but about ensuring that all students understand what is expected of them.

This also made me think about how dominant cultural norms influence teaching. Many educators—especially those from white, middle-class backgrounds—advocate for student-centered learning that encourages discovery and self-direction. But as Delpit points out, this approach doesn’t always serve students of color, who may benefit more from direct instruction that makes expectations clear. I had always thought that asking guiding questions rather than giving direct instructions was a more respectful way to interact with students, but Delpit’s argument helped me see that withholding direct guidance can actually create barriers for some learners rather than empowering them.

Reflection/Questions/Comments to Share

One point I want to raise in class is how we can teach students the “codes of power” while also encouraging them to challenge those codes. Delpit argues that explicit instruction is necessary for students to navigate dominant systems, but how do we ensure that this doesn’t turn into simply enforcing conformity? 

 Delpit, “The Silenced Dialogue”