Other People's Children, by Lisa Delpit

On Tuesday, July 11th, we held our first meeting to discuss Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit. While the sections we read were originally published three decades ago, Delpit’s themes and concerns still resonate for many of us. We started by reflecting on why it can be difficult to talk about race, and why it’s important, especially as educators, to engage in this discussion. From there, our conversation touched on power dynamics in the classroom, teaching skills verses teaching process, and the different implications of more authoritative classroom management styles and flexible, student-centered approaches.

We wrapped up our conversation with lots of questions. How can our instruction both help students develop skills to access the language of power and also strengthen critical thinking skills so they are prepared to challenge it? How can you run a democratic, student-centered classroom that challenges students and teaches them concrete skills? How can we create space to have these discussions with other colleagues?

We’ll be meeting Tuesday, July 18th to keep the conversation going. Join us at the A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave, at 4:00.