Academic Paper

Haley Gibbons

EDBL 603

Culture of Power in Classrooms Academic Paper

Dr. Ahn

Delpit’s analysis of “culture of power” in classrooms concluded that classrooms can sometimes be centered around curriculum that uses a language majority viewpoint and doesn’t leave much room for bilingualism. In my opinion, curriculum should be filled with the various cultures that the students in the classroom possess. The class that I observe in is a 1^st grade bilingual classroom. Based on my observations, I believe the teachers do a good job trying to contradict Deplit’s culture of power analysis. The two teachers really get to know each student and incorporate culture into the classroom in various ways.

Some of the things the teachers do to bring culture into the classroom are events such as “culture day” or secret reader. In the beginning of the year, the students were all asked to decorate their notebooks with pictures and drawings that describe themselves, their families, and their culture, and were given the opportunity to present their notebooks to the class. All of these are great ways to create a culture filled classroom. However, when it comes to curriculum, I think its very important to ensure there are tools offered in all the languages used by the students of the classroom.

Although, I was not able to interview the teacher and students in person about the various bilingual books in the classroom because of the school closures, I was in my classroom this week gathering some belongings I left there and was able to grab some of the bilingual books with the teachers permission. I gathered a few books that caught my eye and tried my best to get some feedback virtually from the students and teachers about these books.

The list of books that I chose to bring home with me from the classroom to analyze are as follows: I Know the River Loves Me/ Yo Se Que el Rio Me Ama by Maya Christina Gonzalez, Abuela by Arthur Dorros, La Princessa and the Pea by Susan Middeton Elya, Sweet Dreams/ Dulces Suenos by Pat Mora, and Only One You/ Nadie Como tu by Linkda Kranz. I chose these books because all of them had some sort of mix of the English and Spanish language and I thought the illustrations were very culturally diverse. All in all, at a quick glance I felt as if all of the books would go against Delpit’s framework that talks about a language majority viewpoint.

The students are only in first grade, so they weren’t able to give me full opinions on the books, but I did get one answer that stuck out to me. When asked why they liked that the books in the classroom were in both English and Spanish, the student replied “I like the books in the classroom because I am like being able to read in the language I talk with my mommy.”  This response from a first grader is a great way to show that bilingual students, no matter what the age are appreciative of having their own sense of culture brought into the classroom.

However, I was able to video chat with one of the classroom teachers and really break down each book. When chatting with the teacher, she told me how important it is as a bilingual teacher to incorporate various cultures and languages into curriculum. I talked to her briefly about Delpit’s framework and how I felt that these books would kind of go along with his theory that there should not be a language majority viewpoint in curriculum. When I brought up the book, I Know the River Loves me / Yo se Que el Rio Me Ama, the teacher explained how much the kids love that book because of the bright blue and green illustrations from cover to cover. She also says it has worked great for her lower level biliterate students because each page has one short sentence in both Spanish and English and the reader is able to take it slow.

When I asked about the book Abuela by Arthur Dorros, and La Princessa and the Pea by Susan Middelton Elya the teacher said these were some of the books she didn’t leave out often for choice reading time because the books are in all English with just a few phrases in Spanish here and there. She said she feels there’s not enough bilingual support throughout the books for an emerging reader. However, they are good to have for our stronger English readers in the classroom.

When asked about the last two books, Sweet Dreams/ Ducles Suenos and Only One You/ Nadie Como Tu, the teacher explained that these are both solid books to have in the classroom library accessible for students because they both have an equal amount of English and Spanish in them.

The teacher explained that the right book choice all depends on the reader and what level they’re at. Each student in every class is going to need a different kind of attention. “It’s about figuring out every student and going from there.” She said.

Judging from Delpit’s framework and speaking with teachers and students from a bilingual classroom, I can see really how important it is to incorporate different languages and cultures into curriculum. Based on my conversations, observations, and analysis, I have concluded that having all different levels of bilingual readings in the classroom can be beneficial. It is definitely important to have books that are in English but translate completely to Spanish as well. But it also can be beneficial to have books on hand that have sprinkles of Spanish in it for readers who are further along and more comfortable with the English language.

References:

Delpit, L. (1988). The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children. Harvard Educational Review, 58(3), 280–299. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.58.3.c43481778r528qw4

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Genishi, C., Stires, S. E., & Yung-Chan, D. (2001). Writing in an Integrated Curriculum: Prekindergarten English Language Learners as Symbol Makers. The Elementary School Journal, 101(4). https://doi.org/10.1086/499678

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Carey, S. T. (1991). The Culture of Literacy in Majority and Minority Language Schools. Canadian Modern Language Review, 47(5). https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.47.5.950

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