Other People's Children Cultural Conflict In The Classroom

When we look at the people within our world, you can see all of the differences we have between us all. May those differences be physical or may the differences be hidden within the people we meet. We are all different from one another but why can’t these differences be seen as a strength within us, rather than the deficits that we label them as? In this paper, I will be touching on the wide variety of differences that students bring into a classroom and how we view those differences as a deficit rather than a strength. Those differences could vary from language, culture, home environment, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, gender, etc. In Other People’s Children Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit, Delpit discusses …show more content…
Students are going to be physically aware that they do not all look the same. Depending on the environments in which our students grew up in, may cause controversy within the classroom. In order from hiding the fact that students look different, bring attention to the subject and begin to make culture a regular topic throughout the classroom. Do not fear the difference between the students, instead, use it as an opportunity to incorporate all cultures into that classroom letting students learn from one another. As we can examine many different examples, I thought I would use Lisa Delpit, the author of Other People’s Children, personal example from when she was a …show more content…
I have personally experienced this in my life. I have had a learning disability all of my life, however, it was not brought to attention until I was in second grade. I was supposed to be in special education, but my mom had fought the school based on how my brother was treated while in special education. In place of being put in special education, I was given a 5O4 plan. A 5O4 plan is similar to an IEP but the 5O4 allows students with learning difficulties to have accommodations to their academics but will spend the entire day in the general education classroom. I saw how teachers treated students in special education so different than those who weren’t, that was my biggest fear, however, I was brought to ease knowing I would still get help without having the “stigma” of being in a special education classroom. I was wrong. With my teachers knowing of my disabilities, it was almost like they couldn't help themselves and made it very obvious to my classmates that I was different than them. What my teachers didn't realize is that the extra strategies that I had been working on at home to advance my learning, was also helping my peers as I would suggest things while in group work to help a student better understand the subject at hand, just so they could turn around and be praised by the teacher giving me no