Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

Rating:
Summary: Simplistic without really addressing issues at hand
Review: "Hello Grandfather" is one scholar's perspective on the deficits of traditional education in the Alaskan Bush. The author, Lisa Delpit, often reflects back and draws comparison between several Native Alaskan cultures and her own African-American culture. Ms. Delpit addresses the issues of relevance, context, and decontextualization within the Alaskan Bush classroom.

My response to "Other People's Children" is going to be a fairly critical one. Through her writing, Ms. Delpit stumbled upon a few major pet peeves of mine: ignorance and shortsightedness. While I am sure Ms. Delpit researched her hypothesis well, she left out one very important element which would have surely impacted her point of view; actually teaching in the Bush. I, myself, have taught in Napakiak, Alaska, a fly-in village along the banks of the Kuskokwim River. My experiences there drastically changed my views of rural education and the many contributing factors which "make or break" educational effectiveness. I am always extremely irritated with people who tend to romanticize the reality of Bush life when they themselves have not actually lived there for any extended period of time. There is this tendency among the more affluent population to want to make reparations for exploitations past by justifying away behaviors today.

Delpit attempts to link the failures of traditional Alaskan public education on outsiders coming into villages and half hazardously educating Native children without any regard to custom or culture. This is a great fallacy for many reasons. Firstly, one of the greatest obstacles to achieving literacy in Alaskan villages today is not the student's focus on context. It's the ongoing movement that all children must first and foremost become fluent through the public schools in their native languages. For example, in the Lower Kuskokwim School district, the first critical years where connectedness of language takes hold is wasted on teaching kids Yup'ik that the parents could teach at home if they so choose. Instead, the kids are dropped into a Yup'ik Immersion Program where the teachers are not qualified. (By qualified, I am referred to the fact that the teachers had not graduated high school, were not fluent in Yup'ik themselves, and knew very little about educational process or strategies.) How can I say such politically incorrect things? Easily. I lived there and supervised the Yup'ik Immersion Program unlike Ms. Delpit.

Ms. Delpit does not ever address sociological concerns of wide-spread alcohol abuse, child abuse and neglect, poverty, drug/inhalant abuse, or the lack of opportunities in village communities. How one can possibly criticize a teacher's inability to reach their students without fully confronting those issues is absolutely confounding to me. Perhaps had Ms. Delpit spent less time talking to Grandfather Mountain she might have had time to brush up on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Another constant source of confusion was Delpit's constant reference to her own experiences as a child within her African-American culture. Comparing rural Native Alaskans' cultural experiences to urban African-American cultural experiences is like comparing the proverbial apples and oranges. Both cultures are fantastically rich in perspective but being the receiving end of racism is not a leveling factor. Delpit repeatedly pointed to her own moments of revelation such as her mother stating Romper Room was only for white children. How does she parallel that moment of clarity with children who did not have television and were struggling with the daily challenges of subsistence living? How about the blind, generalized statement that at "white" universities that what you said was more important than how you said it? Delpit clearly has lead a sheltered existence is she honestly believes Caucasian people cannot read her body language or are not equally as offended at her subtly "rolling" her eyes.

Delpit comments towards the end of her paper, "Unfortunately, most Native Alaskan children do not have Native Alaskan teachers...". I would challenge Ms. Delbit to look deeper at that statement. Why is that? Are their cultural influences discouraging it from happening? I also have a story to share that a close Yup'ik friend told me while I lived in Napakiak.
A couple of years ago we had a girl go to school here. She was so smart. Everyone told her how lucky she was to be so smart. The girl studied hard and stayed in school. The year she was to graduate her teacher told her wonderful news. She had won a scholarship to go to college! When her grandfather, an elder, heard this news he did not celebrate with her. As the village elder, he refused to allow her to go. He said because she was so smart she was needed in her village. This wise old man could not see past the nose on his face.

Life in the village is not nearly as cut and dry as it seems. The race card is any easy one to play and often, a valid one. However, people are multifaceted and to ignore the factors in their lives which make each culture's experiences unique is a disservice to all. I wonder if Ms. Delpit is rolling her eyes now?

Rating:
Summary: A timely and important perspective on teaching to diversity.
Review: Critique of Lisa Delpit's Other People's Children

As public education strives to address the educational needs of an increasingly diverse population, it is critical to be able to understand what educators can and should be doing to better educate all children. Being able to view education through others' cultural lenses provides for our own insight into the issues that surround teaching to diversity. Lisa Delpit is one educator who has challenged the mainstream education of our children to look closely at how we meet the needs of children from diverse cultures and backgrounds. She has asked us to examine the role of power in culture and how the issues surrounding power have influenced society and educational systems. She brings a powerful voice not only to those children of color in American schools, but also to those from other parts of the world. With passion and reason, Delpit provides case after case of students and teachers who acknowledge the powers within their culture and the impact on their education. Delpit presents her stories in a series of essays that date from the early 1980s. The book is divided into three parts. The first part contains essays that address "progressive" approaches to teaching literacy. "Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator," explore the controversies surrounding the whole language approach to teaching reading. Experiences of teachers and students are movingly portrayed. Delpit was actually ahead of her time in suggesting that the methods of whole language and process writing have not always served the best interests of children of color. She supports a comprehensive instructional program that emphasizes basic skill instruction as well as a whole language approach. Without the basic skills, children of color are denied access to the knowledge that is conveyed through a whole language approach. She demands that children of color be challenged and held to high standards, but they must have the tools in order to do so. Delpit extensively discusses the culture of power in the second essay, "The Silenced Dialogue." By citing five aspects of power that connect the classroom to society, she suggests that children must know the codes of power in order to be successful in mainstream society. As educators we must give all our students the skills needed to access the power within our culture. But just as important is how the teacher can preserves the integrity of the student's native culture, community, and background. The challenge is to mesh these two important pieces in order to have students be able to move comfortably from native culture to mainstream culture and be successful in both. The second part of the book is a discussion that offers a "world view" of the impact of culture on education. From Alaska to New Guinea, these essays speak to the importance of upholding and valuing the customs, language, and heritage of native peoples. Education is most successful for children from diverse cultures when teaching is done in the context of the culture and community of these children. Special attention should be paid to how cultures communicate. The examples from the native peoples of Alaska speak to the importance of the context of communication-body language, intonation, who is the communicator. All of these components must be given serious consideration when using mainstream, traditional, decontextualized methods of teaching literacy. Delpit emphasizes the need to use a combination of teaching styles and strategies to meet the educational needs of all children. The final section of Delpit's book deals with how to make the changes necessary to successfully teach children from diverse cultures. Delpit takes a stand on the use of professional teaching standards and the need for alternative assessment to determine the effectiveness of minority teachers much in the same way the use of standardized tests are used to evaluate minority student performance. She expresses concern over bias in assessment that may overlook the essential and effective qualities of teachers of color that may be overlooked with current models of teacher certification, specifically the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). A second essay in part three deals with the politics of what teachers must do to help children from the lower SES and children of color function successfully in the dominant discourse while validating the students' home language. Drawing on the work of James Paul Gee, Delpit makes an impassioned plea for teachers to be committed to teaching ALL of their students by becoming agents of change. Finally, Delpit tackles the challenges of multicultural educational reform. Citing the impact of (1) stereotypes, (2) teaching to student strengths, not deficits, (3) the value of community and family, and (4) specific problems with educating poor and culturally diverse students, she challenges programs of teacher education to lead the way in creating a more diverse teaching force, one that prepares teachers to really see and know the students we teach. Only then do we as teachers become agents of change. As an educator with over 15 years experience in public and private education, at all levels from elementary to higher education, I find it difficult to disagree with Delpit's perspectives on the issues concerning teaching to diversity and the culture of power. Because I am a member of the "culture of power" the text has made me look closely at my own biases and prejudices concerning how we educate all children. I have closely examined my own objectives in striving to teach preservice teachers about how we all can teach to diversity. As a teacher educator, I want to bring the student voice strongly to the front; I want my students to tell their own stories as relates to the role of education in creating goals for a multicultural curriculum. Moving past the rhetoric of multicultural education, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom continues to be timely as Delpit has shown us a path to truly open up the world to all our students. I for one will strive to follow her lead.

Rating:
Summary: A timely and important perspective on teaching to diversity.
Review: Critique of Lisa Delpit's Other People's Children

As public education strives to address the educational needs of an increasingly diverse population, it is critical to be able to understand what educators can and should be doing to better educate all children. Being able to view education through others' cultural lenses provides for our own insight into the issues that surround teaching to diversity. Lisa Delpit is one educator who has challenged the mainstream education of our children to look closely at how we meet the needs of children from diverse cultures and backgrounds. She has asked us to examine the role of power in culture and how the issues surrounding power have influenced society and educational systems. She brings a powerful voice not only to those children of color in American schools, but also to those from other parts of the world. With passion and reason, Delpit provides case after case of students and teachers who acknowledge the powers within their culture and the impact on their education. Delpit presents her stories in a series of essays that date from the early 1980s. The book is divided into three parts. The first part contains essays that address "progressive" approaches to teaching literacy. "Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator," explore the controversies surrounding the whole language approach to teaching reading. Experiences of teachers and students are movingly portrayed. Delpit was actually ahead of her time in suggesting that the methods of whole language and process writing have not always served the best interests of children of color. She supports a comprehensive instructional program that emphasizes basic skill instruction as well as a whole language approach. Without the basic skills, children of color are denied access to the knowledge that is conveyed through a whole language approach. She demands that children of color be challenged and held to high standards, but they must have the tools in order to do so. Delpit extensively discusses the culture of power in the second essay, "The Silenced Dialogue." By citing five aspects of power that connect the classroom to society, she suggests that children must know the codes of power in order to be successful in mainstream society. As educators we must give all our students the skills needed to access the power within our culture. But just as important is how the teacher can preserves the integrity of the student's native culture, community, and background. The challenge is to mesh these two important pieces in order to have students be able to move comfortably from native culture to mainstream culture and be successful in both. The second part of the book is a discussion that offers a "world view" of the impact of culture on education. From Alaska to New Guinea, these essays speak to the importance of upholding and valuing the customs, language, and heritage of native peoples. Education is most successful for children from diverse cultures when teaching is done in the context of the culture and community of these children. Special attention should be paid to how cultures communicate. The examples from the native peoples of Alaska speak to the importance of the context of communication-body language, intonation, who is the communicator. All of these components must be given serious consideration when using mainstream, traditional, decontextualized methods of teaching literacy. Delpit emphasizes the need to use a combination of teaching styles and strategies to meet the educational needs of all children. The final section of Delpit's book deals with how to make the changes necessary to successfully teach children from diverse cultures. Delpit takes a stand on the use of professional teaching standards and the need for alternative assessment to determine the effectiveness of minority teachers much in the same way the use of standardized tests are used to evaluate minority student performance. She expresses concern over bias in assessment that may overlook the essential and effective qualities of teachers of color that may be overlooked with current models of teacher certification, specifically the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). A second essay in part three deals with the politics of what teachers must do to help children from the lower SES and children of color function successfully in the dominant discourse while validating the students' home language. Drawing on the work of James Paul Gee, Delpit makes an impassioned plea for teachers to be committed to teaching ALL of their students by becoming agents of change. Finally, Delpit tackles the challenges of multicultural educational reform. Citing the impact of (1) stereotypes, (2) teaching to student strengths, not deficits, (3) the value of community and family, and (4) specific problems with educating poor and culturally diverse students, she challenges programs of teacher education to lead the way in creating a more diverse teaching force, one that prepares teachers to really see and know the students we teach. Only then do we as teachers become agents of change. As an educator with over 15 years experience in public and private education, at all levels from elementary to higher education, I find it difficult to disagree with Delpit's perspectives on the issues concerning teaching to diversity and the culture of power. Because I am a member of the "culture of power" the text has made me look closely at my own biases and prejudices concerning how we educate all children. I have closely examined my own objectives in striving to teach preservice teachers about how we all can teach to diversity. As a teacher educator, I want to bring the student voice strongly to the front; I want my students to tell their own stories as relates to the role of education in creating goals for a multicultural curriculum. Moving past the rhetoric of multicultural education, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom continues to be timely as Delpit has shown us a path to truly open up the world to all our students. I for one will strive to follow her lead.

Rating:
Summary: Eye-Opening, Alarming...
Review: Currently a recent college graduate from a predominantly-white Midwestern background, this book got me on a serious soul-searching thought process. This fall, I will teach high school students from a culture considerably different from my own... a Public School in the primarily Cajun and Creole areas of Southern Louisiana (where Lisa Delpit was raised!). I'd always thought I could rely on my own memories of great teachers from my childhood to guide me in my own techniques. This book opened my eyes to the fact that my own assumptions are based in my own culture. Effective methods of learning, communicating, and especially TEACHING children of other cultures can and probably will vary significantly from my own.

I think a previous reviewer seriously misjudged Ms. Delpit's intent by saying she implies "we need to separate our students by cultural backgrounds to teach them individually using different approaches." Far from that, Ms. Delpit simply explains that we need to question our own assumptions on all levels of the teaching profession, from the way we teach students to the way teachers are evaulated as "competent" on a national level.

Lisa does not present simple answers... difficult problems are seldom solved by such methods. Like any good teacher, she thoroughly presents us with a serious problem and leaves us to explore the answers within ourselves, while pointing us in the right direction. This isn't a "How to Fix Public Education" guideline as much as a "What Needs to be Fixed and What We Can Begin To Do About It" memorandum.

The language was honest, powerful and easy to read. I cannot stress enough how important books like this are to improving the quality of education (not just for minorities!) in our school systems nationwide.

Rating:
Summary: Eye-Opening, Alarming...
Review: Currently a recent college graduate from a predominantly-white Midwestern background, this book got me on a serious soul-searching thought process. This fall, I will teach high school students from a culture considerably different from my own... a Public School in the primarily Cajun and Creole areas of Southern Louisiana (where Lisa Delpit was raised!). I'd always thought I could rely on my own memories of great teachers from my childhood to guide me in my own techniques. This book opened my eyes to the fact that my own assumptions are based in my own culture. Effective methods of learning, communicating, and especially TEACHING children of other cultures can and probably will vary significantly from my own.

I think a previous reviewer seriously misjudged Ms. Delpit's intent by saying she implies "we need to separate our students by cultural backgrounds to teach them individually using different approaches." Far from that, Ms. Delpit simply explains that we need to question our own assumptions on all levels of the teaching profession, from the way we teach students to the way teachers are evaulated as "competent" on a national level.

Lisa does not present simple answers... difficult problems are seldom solved by such methods. Like any good teacher, she thoroughly presents us with a serious problem and leaves us to explore the answers within ourselves, while pointing us in the right direction. This isn't a "How to Fix Public Education" guideline as much as a "What Needs to be Fixed and What We Can Begin To Do About It" memorandum.

The language was honest, powerful and easy to read. I cannot stress enough how important books like this are to improving the quality of education (not just for minorities!) in our school systems nationwide.

Rating:
Summary: A Catalyst If Nothing Else
Review: Delpit raises a lot of questions and brings up a lot of issues that need to be delved into more deeply. She recognizes and questions the power inequity that exists in our school systems and in society as a whole but does not offer any concrete solutions to the problem. She suggests that we teach students to "play the game" but never takes into consideration that for many it is more difficult to give up power that you have acheived than it is to do without that which you have never possessed. Delpit's book is a great starting place in that it does a good job of spelling out the inequality in the educational sphere and giving other educators a good starting point for creating some truly radical theory.

Rating:
Summary: For All of Our Children
Review: Delpit writes a compelling, engaging work that is accessible, understandable, readable. Soon-to-be-teachers, new teachers, veteran teachers, teacher-educators, teacher-researchers, educational researchers wil surely find meaning in the words crafted together in this award-winning book. This book will most certainly be an education classic. She, in this work, has provided an avenue of hope for all of our children in today's and tomorrow's classrooms.

Rating:
Summary: For All of Our Children
Review: Delpit writes a compelling, engaging work that is accessible, understandable, readable. Soon-to-be-teachers, new teachers, veteran teachers, teacher-educators, teacher-researchers, educational researchers wil surely find meaning in the words crafted together in this award-winning book. This book will most certainly be an education classic. She, in this work, has provided an avenue of hope for all of our children in today's and tomorrow's classrooms.

Rating:
Summary: Overall - Inspiring!
Review: Each year our schools are getting more and more diverse. We, as the entire US population, must understand what this means and how to incorporate all cultures into our schools. Lisa Delpit is the author of "Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom" which addresses the issues of diversity in our schools. I believe Delpit wanted to make the public aware of the problems involving diversity in our schools. After reading this book you will have a better grasp of the troubles both teachers and students have to face everyday in the classroom dealing with prejudices, various cultural differences, language barriers, and communication problems. "Other People's Children" is divided into three sections. The first section, "Controversies Revisited," is a look at Delpit and her ideas and/or issues. The second section, "Lessons from Home and Abroad," is a diary of experiences. The third section, "Looking for the Future," addresses many of the current aspects of education which need to be changed or improved for the future. Delpit starts her book with an essay called "Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator." Delpit spent some time defining skill. She is a huge supporter of programs that enhance basic skills and the whole language approach. She agrees skills should be taught to minority and poor students, but it must be taught in a context that respects the student's cultural background. Skills should be taught meaningfully. Delpit feels that many whole language classrooms focus on particular skills for a short a period of time, which causes the particular skill to be not internalized. Children of color are denied access to the knowledge that is expressed through whole language without being given the basic skills. With the proper skills and tools, children of color must be held to the highest standard and challenged to do great things. The educator must provide the students with these skills. In the second essay, "The Silenced Dialogue," Delpit is concerned with "the culture of power." She suggests in this section that there are five aspects of power. It seems to me that you must fully understand these codes in order to be successful as a student in today's world. Delpit argues that the aspects of power should be taught to the students in order for the codes to not be used against those out of the power structure. Educators must provide students with the skills to retrieve the power within our culture, and educator must keep alive the native culture and background of each student. Delpit states that students should not be taught the codes of power to be a slave to it, but rather a master of it. I believe, students need to find their medium in order to be successful. I personally found the first section of "Other People's Children" to be difficult to grasp. I found myself feeling many emotions such as confusion, understanding, sadness, anger, and inspiration. Maybe that is exactly the way Delpit wanted me to feel. I did not attend a public school where there was a lot of oppressed cultural diversity, so maybe I am naive. Delpit does have some valid issues, but I feel she is to the extreme of these issues. During my education to become an educator, I see that the issues of diversity are being addressed. The language approach and the aspects of power are good point. I found them to be very informational and introduced me to new ideas. The language approach seemed to be a little premature, and the methods did not seem to be the proper way to instruct children of color. I do not agree with the aspects of power, because I do not feel that the actual aspects need to be taught as codes of power. They can be integrated into the curriculum and supported by the educators. The educators have a lot of control in their classroom and it their main responsibility to be sensitive to all cultural diversities in the classroom. I really enjoyed reading the second section of the book. The essays stressed the importance of the heritage of native people all around the world. It is imperative that each culture up-hold the values, customs, and languages. Students are most successful when they are educated by someone who is from the same cultural background. It is more effective if the curriculum is done in the context of the culture and community. In Alaska, there is an importance in understanding body language and only a native of Alaska could educate someone properly on the communication methods of Alaskans. If anyone has ever lived in a foreign country or even visited can understand this concept. I took Spanish for three years in college and after I graduated I lived in Mexico for seven months. Those Spanish classes by no means prepared me for the cultural shock I went through (not just in the language). I agree fully that in order to understand a culture you need to be immersed into it. The easiest way to do that is to be taught by a native. I would and would not recommend this book to others. The book is very informational and can give an insight into the cultural diversity issues that have plagued our schools. The book is very bias to Delpit's ideas and experiences. The testimonials in the second section were very interesting, so I recommend those to you to read. Mostly, this book has inspired me to be a major part in overcoming cultural diversity in our schools. Now I am more aware and try to make my contribution. Cultural diversity does take place in our schools today. We are currently trying to take the steps to overcome these problems. Starting with the teachers. The teachers are being better educated and informed. The students are more aware because of their families and communities. I believe one day we will see cultural equality in our schools. If everyone makes a small step in that direction, we will get there. The first step in recognition and understanding.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy into it...
Review: First I will state that I am not anti-black. My principal is black, our elementary supervisor is black, and I teach in a school in which the majority of students is black. I do not teach black kids or white kids ... I just teach kids. I do agree with Delpit there should be differences in educational methods for low-socioeconomic students and high-socioeconomic students - regardless of race. That is basically where my agreement with Delpit ends. This book is very biased and anti-white. This book gives a very skewed view of white teachers. While I do agree that there are some white teachers who hold prejudices against black kids - and there are some black teachers who hold prejudices against white kids - it is not the majority as Delpit would have you believe.

Delpit denounces white teachers for thinking that black students are different from white students and then goes to great lengths and into great detail to specify just how different black children are. She seems to want teachers to act "black" to educate black children. She also seems to think that rules and regulations are a "white" practice.

Delpit implies that white teachers are racist and don't educate black children properly. In reality, white educators' hands are being tied because (as described by Gilbert Sewell):

"Shivering at the prospect of being called racist, some teachers are unable to hold nonwhite youngsters to strict academic account. As a result of all this, any teacher with exacting standards runs the risk of interference from students, parents, administrators, and colleagues, all of them ready to challenge the instructor's informed opinion. Not surprisingly, as more teachers withdraw from their traditional positions as standard-setters for a younger generation, many students grasp the fact that they have the power to defy, circumvent, or ignore adults in schools."

Delpit implies that white teachers cannot "control" black students. The idea that teachers have to "control" students is absolutely erroneous. It's easy to blame one's actions on someone else. The key to any civilized society is SELF-CONTROL. What happens to these children who need "control" when they have no one there to "control" them? Perhaps that is why (as Delpit states) that one in four black males is "involved with the prison system." Gilbert Sewell states:

"Effective learning environments require, first, self-control, respect for adults, and love of work on the part of young people. Modish adults who remain hostile or neutral to such primary values do the schools and children no good."

As far as student rights are concerned, Mr. Sewell states:

"...the never distant threat of lawsuits made school officials squirm at-or refuse to take-punitive action against even very disruptive or defiant students, especially if the administration was white and the student body nonwhite. Legal constraints on educators and the collateral hesitancy of adults in schools to enforce institutional rules became widely shared items of knowledge among young people. The most cynical of these students concluded correctly that no matter how annoying or depraved their conduct, school officials could not in practice deny them the "right" to go to school."

Far from being "racist" as Delpit asserts in this book, the feelings and beliefs she describes have more to do with class than race. According to Mr. Sewell:

"...urban middle-class whites have resolutely refused to send their children to schools where most pupils are black or Hispanic. Why? The reason is class much more than racial friction. Working-class and middle-class parents of any race generally insist that their children attend school with classmates raised in families where scholastic achievement and good manners are prized. They will not willingly transfer their children from high-achieving to low-achieving or from safe to unsafe schools, even when the government orders them to do so. Furthermore, they bitterly resent government fiats that seem to imperil their own child's future in order to provide opportunities for other people's children."

"Above all, urban schools have faced increasing numbers of lower-class students who have trouble learning. When frustrated or alienated, these pupils frequently disrupt classrooms, make schoolyards unsafe, and flamboyantly ignore middle-class educational values. Not unexpectedly, downtown districts have tried to accommodate these unhappy newcomers, gradually adapting to negative attitudes toward schooling. Many city educators, accustomed to home climates unsupportive of academic achievement, have introduced numerous schoolhouse social services to make up for parental inability or negligence, have taken ambivalent postures toward the value of "white culture," and have tolerated student behavior that middle-class parents find offensive or immoral."

Delpit complains about school standards for minorities, but, in reality, minorities have demanded different standards in such ways that it makes it practically impossible for schools to legally uphold high standards for every student. Sewell says:

"...making distinctions of any kind is likely to arouse the suspicion and anxiety of those who believe that their own interests will be jeopardized by the resulting standard. In a relativistic age standard-setting rarely occurs without complaints from individuals that guidelines are arbitrary or brutalizing. Many minority groups try to make the point that color-blind standards are discriminatory. Chagrined by inequalities and intimidated by pressure groups, many education leaders find it personally or politically impossible to install standards designed to make every individual try his best to achieve value or excellence against impartial or at least normative models."

"In schools [students] base their actions in the language of personal entitlements and rights; many are well versed in the limits on the powers of their educators. These students demand good grades for little achievement; in matters of discipline or possible failure, they always want another chance. When school personnel are not accommodating to individual wants, their aggressive challenges often lead to disruptions centered on alleged adult insensitivity."

All of the things that Delpit complains about in this book are things that came about because minorities demanded them.

All in all, it's best not to waste money on this book. It's more of the same arguments and postures that led to the state that schools are in today.