Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

by Lisa Delpit, Herbert R. Kohl (Afterword)

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 1,222 ratings · 106 reviews

This work develops ideas about ways teachers can be better "cultural transmitters." Lisa Delpit suggests that many academic problems attributed to children of color are actually the result of miscommunication, as teachers and "other people's children" struggle with the imbalance of power and the dynamics of inequality plaguing our society. Other People's Children is a must...more

Paperback, 223 pages

Published August 1st 2006 by New Press, The (first published March 1st 1995)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

books for teachers, educators

16th out of 295 books — 209 voters

Why Don't Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham

Books every teacher should read

77th out of 85 books — 41 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,806)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 02, 2008 Nancy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This would never be a book that I would consider recommending for gaining deeper insights into teaching children of color. I hoped to feel I had an edge to share with my teachers in dealing with and teaching children who come from culturally diverse backgrounds. Instead, I felt scolded and preached to and was unconvinced that even the author has ideas of how to best help, teach and reach our disadvantaged minorities. I concur with her last essay, that we need to value and celebrate the heritage...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 04, 2012 Andy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: teaching

Not a fan. A few take home points regarding the over-correction of grammar by teachers of students with varying dialects, but besides that, I felt personally attacked for the color of my skin... something I thought Delpit was trying to avoid. I think she does an important service in beginning a dialogue on cross-culturalism in the classroom, but the book feels largely out of date (published in 1995 with mostly 1980s data and 60s/70s anecdotes). She cites studies that did not show statistically s...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 18, 2012 Jenny GB rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a good book for all educators to read, regardless of race. It really was an education to see the teaching styles and cultural styles of interaction that occur in different groups of people. While I resented that she claims that all white teachers don't really teach, but just stand there and expect students do the work I could get over that to learn from how other teachers work with minorities with directness and clear discipline. I know that showing emotion in the classroom and having ve...more

like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Joey rated it 1 of 5 stars

I despised this book. It's a bitter, vitriolic, insensitive, racist, unsourced, and highly paranoid attack on liberal white educators. The book is literally a practice in reverse prejudice. Incredibly, Delpit's argument is one I agree with: that students should be taught Standard English (as opposed to African American Vernacular English) because the gatekeepers who are likely to decide students' futures (such as employers, interviewers, college admissions boards, and the like) tend to hold vari...more I despised this book. It's a bitter, vitriolic, insensitive, racist, unsourced, and highly paranoid attack on liberal white educators. The book is literally a practice in reverse prejudice. Incredibly, Delpit's argument is one I agree with: that students should be taught Standard English (as opposed to African American Vernacular English) because the gatekeepers who are likely to decide students' futures (such as employers, interviewers, college admissions boards, and the like) tend to hold variant English dialects against would-be applicants.

However, Delpit delivers the point in such a way that it turns me off almost immediately. I was variously enraged and disgusted by reading this book. Delpit makes some incredibly ridiculous claims, such as 'black people do not trust statistics,' and her main argument seems to be "white educators should trust my ancedotes over decades of scientific study, because I am black."

It must be noted that Delpit grew up in a very volatile time-period; I assume she attended school under the black cloud of racist opposition to desegregation, and so it makes perfect sense that she (and a cadre of black educators like her) are still stuck in the anti-majoritarian mindset of that time period.

However, she does herself no favors with her blatant and unfair attacks against all Caucasian educators. Repeatedly she suggests that white liberals are too scared to use authority in the classroom, and that they are too wimpy to properly teach African American children (who Delpit treats as if they are a species apart, and so require different teaching methods as compared to all other racial groups). She encourages her students to distrust and be suspicious of white Americans, and argues very early in the book that teachers who disagree with her (that is, those that permit the use of AAVE in speech and writing, as long as a proper point is communicated) likely only feel this way as a means to protect high-status jobs. She literally says, though the use of an anonymous teacher source's ruminations, that white teachers want their own kids to have all the good jobs, and so they actively work to keep black kids in the gutter. It's bombastic and absurd.

She also attacks statistics, research, and science repeatedly throughout the work; but even so, countless times she makes statements like 'studies have shown,' followed by a completely outlandish belief. Every time she does this, it lacks a reference or any details about the study. All information as to where she got her "facts" is absent from the text.

In short, I hated this book, and found it absolutely useless. I'd rather read the Bible. (less)

like · see review

Jun 18, 2010 Kb rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book isn't so much an indictment of teachers and their practices as teacher education programs. This was published before The Skin that we Speak, so having read these two books in reverse order, it appears as if Delpit's ideas are becoming less refined, which of course isn't the case. In twenty years, I'm not sure if teaching programs are all that different from what Delpit describes in this book. One of her biggest critiques is the deficit mentality that is developed by increasingly White...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 20, 2011 Cruton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Despite my own reluctance to gaining another perspective on how people learn this book does manage to bring even the skeptic along. While I would not classify myself as a skeptic, as the product of a progressive middle-class education of which worked perfectly well for me, it was/is difficult for me to acknowledge that this model is perhaps not right for all students.
The first, mostly tacit premise of the book that I could really get behind was that all children of all races and backgrounds are...more Despite my own reluctance to gaining another perspective on how people learn this book does manage to bring even the skeptic along. While I would not classify myself as a skeptic, as the product of a progressive middle-class education of which worked perfectly well for me, it was/is difficult for me to acknowledge that this model is perhaps not right for all students.
The first, mostly tacit premise of the book that I could really get behind was that all children of all races and backgrounds are the same in that they all love to learn and demonstrate their acquired learning to their parents and role models. Any idea where one finds the statement group X just can't learn is prima facia false.
Another basic tenet of the book is that the children of poor families, demonstrating an exclusion from the mainstream modes of power (literacy, grammar, navigation of bureaucracy, etc.) need to be taught these things explicitly. It is not helpful to these students who have had no access to the language and form of power to beat around the bush they need the rules given to them in clear uncompromising fashion.
The author also details how one must follow the children carefully in that they may choose to exhibit their intelligence in what the white educational establishment may consider nontraditional. The author brings up the example of how some students were doing poorly on their writing tests but routinely came up with intricate rap songs.
Black culture is much more authoritarian. Thus the teacher that tries to soft peddle their commands, putting them in the form of questions, may be perceived by the African American students as lacking in the confidence or ability to command and lead and be treated accordingly.
Foremost among the things I found interesting in this book is the language aspect of it all. The author puts forward the notion that one must treat slang and/or the local dialect in essence as a separate language. In this way the teacher must strive to teach the class formal English but do so as one would teach the class French or some other completely foreign language because that is basically what it is to the students. The example is offered of having students ask themselves to think of the ideas they are expressing and rephrase them as they envision Walter Cronkite or Shakespeare might say them. This approach recognizes the cultural significance of the original dialect while at the same time teaching the tenets of formal English that the student will need to succeed in the larger world.
All these ideas are well and good and indeed I agree with them but a pillar of the author's rhetorical argument focuses on how Black educators have all they experience they need to teach black kids simply by being black. The author argues that the white teaching establishment insists on teaching children their way when they should be listening to the personal experiences of black teachers. Now I can agree with the author's idea that are markedly different approaches one should take to teaching people of different backgrounds, this she sufficiently convinces me of, but to make the claim that any black person off the street has a better idea of how to teach kids than any white person is simply ridiculous. Yeah listen to the community but not everyone's personal life experiences are equally valid. If one parent says she enforces discipline at home with beatings from a lead pipe that doesn't mean we should teach that way. This pastoral the simple black teacher knows better than the white Ivory tower establishment idea really irritated me and I found it rather ridiculous.
All in all certainly worth reading, and has educated me in an area I didn't know I needed educating which are perhaps the most dangerous areas.(less)

like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This collection of essays by the author was an interesting springboard for thinking about cultural issues in our education system that work to hold back individuals from cultural minority groups. I was certainly intrigued by many of the points the author made regarding how different cultural backgrounds influence whether or not the education system works for an individual, and how even some of the things educators may do to help children of different backgrounds can work against these students....more

like · see review

May 06, 2010 Janae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: janae-s

This is an excellent book to read if you're White and teaching in an urban school (or if you're Black and are searching for validation for beliefs that have met opposition). Here are some quotes/tidbits to give the gist of the book:

In response to whether or not students should be taught Standard English, many parents share these sentiments: "My kids know how to be black - you all teach them how to be successful in the white mans' world."

"Teachers do students no service to suggest, even implici...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Abbi Dion rated it 5 of 5 stars

Focused, honest, insightful and challenging. I took the time to type a few standout moments:
We have given up the rich meaningful education of our children in favor of narrow, decontextualized, meaningless procedures that leave unopened hearts, unformed character, and unchallenged minds. xiv
The reductionism spawned has created settings in which teachers and students are treated as nonthinking objects to be manipulated and “managed.” xv
Were we focused on our children as inheritors of the future, p...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 Jon Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

The set-ups to most of Delpit's problems were confusing for me, initially, as she battles both conservative and liberal educators in these essays. When it comes to literacy of children of poverty and color, instead of what I at first thought seemed a perfectly progressive, liberal stance of "let them write themselves", Lisa employs the "David Foster Wallace" method of disclosure: you have to write like this so white people will take you seriously, so you can effectively affect change in the worl...more

like · see review

Mar 17, 2013 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, african-american, multicultural, nonfiction

I skimmed through the book and took away nuggets of information to think about. I don't think that everyone will find the book enlightening or career-changing if they're in education, but it is something to think about. And for those who are frustrated with the pure "black and white" idea, Delpit does also interject comparisons to Native Alaskan education to show another aspect of multicultural education.

If I had more time, I could definitely find ways to tweak my practice and my educational th...more

like · see review

Mar 15, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very thought-provoking explanations of why WL-inspired progressive teaching styles don't necessarily work with children of color. The writer offers her own experiences in a teacher education program, as well as interviews with teachers working in the field, as the base for her observations. This book is great not only for its identification of structural inequalities, but also for its explanation of real alternatives that teachers could start using tomorrow. Actually, my only complaint is that s...more

like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am not an educator or person of color. I am merely a white mother and active PTA parent whose kids go to schools that are majority non-white. I am very interested in approaches that will raise achievement for all students.

Part of the reason I gave only three stars, I think, is that this book is a bit dated. Not that the problems don't still exist, but the context has changed. I had to laugh in frustration when the author discussed adapting the curriculum content and ways of teaching to better...more I am not an educator or person of color. I am merely a white mother and active PTA parent whose kids go to schools that are majority non-white. I am very interested in approaches that will raise achievement for all students.

Part of the reason I gave only three stars, I think, is that this book is a bit dated. Not that the problems don't still exist, but the context has changed. I had to laugh in frustration when the author discussed adapting the curriculum content and ways of teaching to better reach the students. Each successive reform in recent years - No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and now the forthcoming APPR evaluations for teachers - have led to less and less flexibility towards teaching and curriculum. The jury is still out on whether this is good or bad for struggling urban students, but it's the way it is.

The book seemed repetitive at times. I felt the author got her point across in the first half of the book, and after that was just reiteration. I was skimming so much by the end, that I almost skipped the short essays by other people at the back of this edition. I'm glad I didn't because I thought these provided excellent insight on how this book influenced education and teaching and brought up some of the issues I felt while reading the book. (I'm now adding Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys Vol. I�IV Series to my to-read list.)

I felt the author brought up a lot of pertinent issues, but many of her suggestions seemed focused on classrooms that are made up of students of one race. I know the situation of a white teacher with all black, all Latino, etc. students is common, probably more so since this book was written. However, in my kids' schools the case is teachers of diverse backgrounds teaching classes of students with very diverse racial, ethnic, religious, political and socioeconomic backgrounds. While in some ways this is very enriching, it also makes the classes difficult to teach for the very reasons discussed in the book. I felt that implementing some of Delpit's strategies in a situation like this would be very difficult, and I was looking for more ideas for this situation. One of the essays at the end of the book - the one by Patricia Lesesne - gave a little bit of direction.

Lesesne's essay also included a point that I had been thinking about while I read the book. Much of the disconnect between students and educators is as much about socioeconomic standing as it is about race. My daughter's middle school has made an effort to hire African-American faculty, but often these teachers' outlook is more like that of the white faculty members than the African-American students' families. I find that often our hall monitors and security guards can do an excellent job connecting with our poorer students at a personal level - probably because they understand the students' background. I would love a discussion of how to include these sorts of staff members in the educational conversation.

I understood the discussion in the book of different methods of classroom management and discipline in the book, and I think there is truth to it. But I also found it somewhat amusing because a common complaint of parents is that we are too strict with our students, and this kind of management of students wouldn't happen at an all-white school.

Despite some of my criticisms, I would love to see this book - or at least part of it - including in a faculty book group at the schools in our district. I think it would get some issues out that people are afraid to talk about and would invite people who are educating our kids to see things beyond the day-to-day teaching and data collection that they are focused on now. (less)

like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: education

What does it mean to be a culturally competent teacher? How do issues of power in society show up in schools? In a collection of academic articles, Lisa Delpit explores how issues such as asserting authority, what makes a good teacher, appropriate language, and the importance of human connection and context vary across cultures. She advocates for teachers teaching ‘standard English’ and the unspoken rules of the dominant culture while encouraging students to think critically about power dynamics...more

like · see review

Jul 12, 2009 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An eye-opener. A collection of essays by Delpit and others looking at the classroom from the minority (minority in many senses) perspectives.

Through tales of Native Alaskan tribes, urban blacks, and minority student teachers, Delpit reminds teachers, parents, administrators, and students themselves about diverse upbringings and differences in linguistic cultural traditions that can easily be misunderstood in a school environment that is run by and which teaches the (white, professional) culture...more

like · see review

Dec 11, 2008 Toriamae rated it 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book when I first started reading it. It seemed the author was way into race issues in a way that would make me feel guilty as a white woman who has chosen to work with ethnic and linguistic minority communities.

But Delpit's message is not one of hate or hopelessness. The bottom line is that everyone can learn, bias exists and that thoughtful teachers should go to whatever means necessary to educate their students, teaching them to be successful in main...more

like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This book would be pretty dry for most people since it is a grad school book that one of the teachers I work with lent me. The main point of the book is that different cultures have different linguistic styles that often create a barrier between teachers and students, especially since the amount of "minority" children in city schools are growing while the amount of "minority" teachers is shrinking.

The other main point is that minority children should learn how to read and write academically, or...more

like · see review

Oct 22, 2007 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Teachers and anyone interested in equity in the classroom

Shelves: educators, adults

There is really not much to say for this book: it is simply one of the most interesting and useful books I read as a teacher, and I recommend it to everyone who is considering becoming an educator. Lisa Delpit doesn't shy away from plainly stating the issues that face students of all ages. People who grow up in different communities have different expectations and ideas about getting and giving respect. In order for a student to succeed, she or he needs to be able conversant in the language that...more

like · see review

May 03, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, library, must-read, nonfiction

There was a time when I might have felt defensive reading Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, but that is certainly not the case now. Perhaps because I had already confronted a career crisis (and have decided to return to teaching), what Delpit says makes a lot of sense. I do wish there was more explicit, how-to advice for an elementary school teacher, but the point is there are no universal how-tos. Context matters.

like · see review

Mar 22, 2009 Dave rated it 3 of 5 stars

interesting and thought provoking
abit slanted towards the struggle of minority groups and a bit victimized and thinking that the whole world has been constructed to keep every group culture marginalized incomparison to the ruling Euro-American power base.
well the book was written a while back and Delpit has been teaching for longer than I have been alive, so certain terms used in the book show this angle and frustration on her part. A good read if you are interested, but 21st century reader hav...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: professional, diversity

Some things of note from this book:

"That, I believe, is what we need to bring to our schools: experiences that are so full of the wonder of life, so full of connectedness, so embedded in the context of our communities, so brilliant in the insights that we develop and the analysis that we devise, that all of us, teachers and students alike, can learn to live lives that leave us truly satisfied." p104

What can teachers do? p 163-165

1. Acknowledge and validate students' home language without using i...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Miste rated it 3 of 5 stars

The title of this sounded intriguing especially for someone like me who works in a school with quite a bit of diversity. There is a serious debate and concern about how to help ALL children succeed in school and I thought I might gain some insight from reading Delpit's book. I think she makes some salient points that are worth considering but the book seemed a little dated. Dated in the sense that alot of the teaching methods she was finding fault with are no longer used (thankfully). That's not...more

like · see review

Oct 27, 2009 Aileen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-grad-school

This book is widely read among foundational education courses. It brings to light the systemic practices in modern teacher training that further perpetuate the divide between the "culture of power" and the "culture of poverty." The vignettes paint a discouraging account of what it's like to be a teacher of color in a predominantly white-staffed school.

Yet, Delpit lacks a proposal of solution. She points out the problems, but doesn't give an explicit recommendation of how to fix them.
If this ha...more

like · see review

Jun 19, 2011 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this. It's like Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers", for educators. Incredible, soetimes heartbreaking insight into culturally diverse communities and classrooms. The prologue to the most recent edition, about Hurricane Katrina and race, was painfully thought-provoking. Teachers should read this - especially "majority" teachers with "minority" students.

like · see review

Apr 02, 2013 Lee Fleming rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this book and the premise behind it, but I always struggle with books that convey one person's experience--like Nickled and Dimed in America, or Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I never know what to do with the fact that the stories don't align with my personal experience so I don't connect as much as I would like.

like · see review

Apr 24, 2010 Alecia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thought provoking discussion of cultural differences in conflict in the classroom. Teachers are mostly white middle class women, with students from various cultures and classes, and places where the two may conflict! Lots to learn and be aware of before we just assume that we know what we're doing and it's the right thing to do.

like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Deanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although this book has so much controversy surrounding it, it is quite a valuable read. Especially beneficial to teachers and pre-service teachers but also to any person who has interest in issues such as these. This book provided great insight to cultural conflict in the classroom and contains valuable messages.

like · see review

Jul 26, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Absolutely life-changing. I'm unbelievably proud of my school administrators for picking such an intense, important, CRITICAL text for us to study as we start the next school year. I want to reread it already. Challenging but affirming at the same time. HIGHLY recommended.

like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Hank rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was the best and most useful book I read as part of my teaching credential program. I'm white and teach in a very culturally diverse school -- I've been exposed to more cultures, customs and nations than I ever knew before in my life. Delpit is my role model.

like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Sarah Beck rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book I have been doing a lot of thinking about education and what it will mean to be me an educator from a white middle class family. This book addressed some issues of how to begin to understand students with a variety of backgrounds and I will use this when I start to teach.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 93 94 next »

Non Fiction

41 users

Teaching

41 users

Race

6 users

Social Movements > Social Justice

6 users

Writing > Essays

5 users

Sociology

4 users

Academic

4 users

Academic > School

3 users

Race > Anti Racist

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Lisa Delpit

"Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children

The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom

Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools

Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students

The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Other People's Ch...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom
avg rating	preview: Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom Goodreads rating: 4.05 (1222 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65326.Other_People_s_Children?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328751519l/65326.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65326.Other_People_s_Children?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit[/url]

Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (3)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Lisa Delpit

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Other People's Ch...

Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (3)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Lisa Delpit

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Other People's Ch...

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (3)