Quotes

"When acknowledging and expressing power, one tends towards explicitness (as in yelling at your ten-year-old, "Turn that radio down!"). When deemphasizing power, there is a move toward indirect communication. "

"Turn down that radio" is a direct phrase, which is used in my third grade classroom. Delpit writes about teachers of different race addressing their students in different ways. A white teacher is more likely to turn the statement into a question when giving a direction for example "Is this where the scissors belong?" As opposed to a black teacher saying "Put the scissors on the self." The teacher in my classroom will directly tell the students what they should and should not be doing. She is not a white teacher, but she is also not a black teacher. She is teaching in a school heavily affected by poverty and bilingual students. Like Delpit also addresses, the teacher has accepted her students and taken responsibility to teach them, and will press the students and push them to their limits. All while not taking away from any chance for them to learn and grow in the culture of power. 

Rachel's Classroom Observations

As I continue to observe the way a providence third grade classroom is run I realize the teacher uses a “direct style” and instructs students in the rules and codes of power. “How the teacher addresses the students shows if there is a difference in culture, class or power.” The classroom is very diverse. The teacher treats them all the same way [for the most part]. She does not talk to the students in question form. She directly addresses them and calls them out in front of the class. For example if a student has a toy on his/her desk she will not say, “are we suppose to be playing with that right now?” Instead she will say the student’s name then “put that away, you’re not suppose to have that out, next time I see it, I’m taking it.” By speaking this way, there is less of a chance for there to be a miscommunication. Within seconds of distracting the whole class, the class can be brought back to discussion without a big distraction. A teacher, whether male or female, must have a good amount of meanness; they cannot be a push over and must have control of their class. The particular teacher in the class I am observing has control of her class by making them follow certain rules and making there be no room for confusion.