In "The Silenced Dialogue" from Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit, there was a lot of important information. Though it took me some time to process this text and understand the main idea, many quotes stood out to me, and thought was relevant to discuss. On the first page, the quote; “No they listen, but they do not hear.” (21) I was familiar because with it was brought up in other texts. It showed how we can all “listen” and nod but will not respond and agree to what is being said. Nothing will change because of how headstrong and set in our ways we are.
“Children from middle-class homes tend to do better in school than those from non-middle-class homes because the culture of the school is based on the culture of the upper and middle classes- of those in power.” (25) This is something that has been happening through the years and is something that will hopefully change in the near future. It is true that as Delpit discussed towards the end of the book middle-class and working-class speech do have their differences and how they see authority and will disobey teacher's directions. (35) This is because they see authority differently at home and not many teachers realize this and send these children to the office are at a disadvantage in more ways than one.
“Teachers are in the ideal position to play this role, to attempt to get all of the issues on the table in order to initiate true dialogue.” (47) Overall teachers are the ones who can fix the culture in school and educate themselves and others about how others learn and react to situations. Hopefully, things will change for the better and for generations to come.
