Language of Power

One student asked, "Why do we have to discuss teaching minority children the language of power? Why not just teach everyone acceptance?" Respond.

Fact is, the language of power is the dominant language. It is the language that will help us go through an interview and get a job, it is the language that will help us gain respect from other people, and, perhaps, the language of power may show others that we are well-educated. The reason why the language of power is taught to minority children, or just to students in general, is because it is necessary. The language, itself, is powerful, and it will help an individual become powerful. Although it is always necessary to use a language from our own culture, but it is more necessary to use the language that is on high demand. It is obvious that a powerful language is the only communicative form that can get us somewhere in life. For instance, if we used slang [eh, dude, I ain't like that] during an interview, where would that language take us? Nowhere. Thus, it is especially important to teach the language of power to minority students to help get this from point A to point B. Why? Because the language of powerful is universal. It is one language that is used most by the world. Furthermore, the way one speak represent what one holds. If educators do not speak the language of power to the minority students, the minority may become even more of a minority. The minority students will not be involved in the communicative form that the entire country uses. And we know that speaking is powerful, thus speaking the language of power represents.

Language of Power

It is important to discuss the language of power so that everyone knows what the issues concerning it are. Before I read this article I had never heard of the culture and the language of power. Minority children deserve the same educational opportunities as everyone else who is already a part of the culture of power. They also deserve to know what is expected and required of them to be competitive and successful in society and life in general. When children grow up without the same level of support and guidance that is present in most white middle-class homes they lack some of the fundamental knowledge that is taken for granted by those children who have had that along the way. It is then the teacher’s responsibility to step in and notice this and teach the underprivileged kids those basic skills and concepts so they are up to speed with the rest of society. The teacher is there to give those kids all of the knowledge that she has and not to ignore them or leave key elements of education out simply because they may be "black". You can’t teach everyone acceptance because that just isn’t realistic, but children can be taught the proper reading, writing and communication skills that they will need to be successful in life. People don’t get hired based on acceptance. If they lack the proper skills that are required of them and someone else has those then the other person will get the job.

The Language of Power

A student asked why it was important to teach the "language of power" rather than acceptance. I would like to be neive and tell you that everyone is always accepted, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Perhaps in many ways, the lanuage of power is closely related to acceptance. I am not suggesting that everyone conform to other cultural beliefs, or ideals, but to be functional in society, you must understand the "language of power". Without this language, people might find it hard to communicate, find jobs, and prosper. It is not simply minorities who must conform either. Everyone conforms. It may just be more aparent when the cultural differences are significantly more obvious. Within most cultures and nationalities, there are factors that divide society-- The rich and the poor, the blue collar and the white collar, the atheists and the religious. Each subgroup speaks differently to eachother. It may be due to educational background and a variety of other factors, but when faced with other subgroups, it is important to be able to have a unified way of communication. Many people may accept others for their differences, but if communication was not unified to a proper language, the "acceptance" would only further divide the groups, making communication difficult. I am upset that this discussion usually only focusses around minorities, because the majority faces the same dilemas in different ways. Are there differences between how you may speak in slang compared to how your parents speak amongst their business associates? Can you hear the difference between a poor city kid and a wealthy suburban one? I don't understand why it has become such an ongoing topic that minorities are so different from us. Their skin may be a different color, they may wear different clothes and speak differently, but isn't everyone different? Acceptance is the key for everyone, but everyone needs a unified way to communicate in society to succeed.

Why teach in the language of power?

It may seem excessively "college" to relate this question back to a drinking game, but let’s think about how people play the game "Presidents and Assholes." The game, even from the title, resembles the status quo in this country. Each player starts with equal standing, and then positions his or herself in the hierarchy from "President" all the way down to "Asshole" depending on both their knowledge of the rules at the start and the first hand they're dealt. Position in the hierarchy during successive games depends on successive starting points, because of rules in place to keep trump cards in the hands of the higher-ups, and the ability to understand the rules of the game being played, which can change as the president becomes able to make decrees. When I play this game, if I see someone playing poorly because they don't understand what is or is not an intelligent play, I will, when I get tired of watching the “President” force the "Asshole" to drink too much for no particular reason, teach that person a few things about the game to improve their chance at making it up the ladder. Every asshole wants to change the rules to make their life better, but the fact is that if you want to change the rules, you have to first win the game being played. We teach the language of power so someone new can win the game being played, and maybe then make some rules to level the playing field for all of us.

Welcome

Welcome to your Grammar Blog. Your assignment is to respond to one of the following questions related to Lisa Delpit’s “The Silenced Dialogue.” Aim for about 100-150 words, and post it to your team blog. Please follow the following guidelines:
1. Identify your entry with a title that suggests the content.
2. Sign your first and last name at the end.
3. Single space.

You may respond to other people’s posts through the comment feature. You may also read the blogs of the other groups by going to:
http://writingcommonsone.blogspot.com
http://writingcommonstwo.blogspot.com
etc. through http://writingcommonsseven.blogspot.com

You can add a comment to other blogs by using the comment feature. You can only post to your own blog.

Questions (choose one):
1. If you are preparing to teach, what are you taking away from Delpit’s article regarding language and power that might help you as a teacher, and how could you apply these ideas to your proposed level of teaching?

2. One student asked, “Why do we have to discuss teaching minority children the language of power? Why not just teach everyone acceptance?” Respond.

3. For one of Delpit’s specific proposals (refer to the article), discuss the challenges of implementation. How could these challenges be addressed?

4. If you are not planning to teach, how do issues of language and power apply in the field you plan to enter? Does Delpit offer relevant insight?