Week 7: The Silenced Dialogue

Week 7: The Silenced Dialogue

Argument Statement:

Lisa Delpit’s book, Other People’s Children, is divided into three parts.  Part I, titled Controversies Revisited, includes the section “The Silenced Dialogue”.  In this section, Lisa Delpit argues that in a system with mostly white educators, it is essential that non-white students to be taught the ‘rules of the game’ to access success and power while also respecting an individual’s culture and beliefs.  She also emphasizes that we need to include non-dominant educators and parents in the conversations when determining what these students truly need to be successful.

 

Talking Points:

“Rather, I suggest that the differing perspectives on the debate over 'skills' versus 'process' approaches can lead to an understanding of the alienation and miscommunication, and thereby to an understanding of the 'silenced dialogue'.” (p.24)  

 

“I tell them that their language and cultural style is unique and wonderful but that there is a political power game that is also being played, and if they want to be in on that game there are certain games that they too must play.” (p.40)

 

“And finally, we must learn to be vulnerable enough to allow our world to turn upside down in order to allow the realities of others to edge themselves into our conversation.” (p.47)

Connections:

The quotes above highlighted some of the ideas I took away from the writing. I appreciate Dulpit’s approach by avoiding the typical “rah rah diversity”.  She acknowledges that this is a tough system to beat and, in the meantime, while we work toward change, we can still help non-dominant students thrive by teaching them how to work a system that is built to favor the dominant culture.  

I asked ChatGPT to help me apply Delpit’s discussion directly to school nursing.  Rather than providing all the examples given, I am including the one that stood out most:

Listening to Marginalized Voices:

Delpit discusses that educators often fail to listen to families from marginalized communities.  This occurs in school nursing when:

               Cultural health beliefs differ from mainstream medical practice

-              Families hesitate to questions school authority

-              Parents’ concerns are dismissed as “noncompliant” rather than misunderstood

Ways to connect to practice:

-              Invite parents to explain their perspective on their child’s health

-              Respect cultural health practices while still maintaining safety

-              Recognize that mistrust of institutions may be rooted in real historical experiences

Below is a link that provides resources for Cultural Responsiveness and Equity by the National Association of School Nurses

NASN Cultural Responsiveness and Equity