Ryan's Discussion Questions for 7/26

Hi all,

Here are my questions for class tomorrow (7/26). There are two from each reading, but feel free to pick and choose from them as you see fit.

1. How do you envision the parent-teacher relationship for your classroom(s)? Are we equals or does one set of qualifications get privileged over another (should they)? How do these roles reinforce or challenge each other across class lines? (taken from Lareau)
2. Lareau pg. 77: "They are not brilliant at all ... A child like that would flounder if you let him." How does this contribute to the underachievement narrative across lines of race and class?
3. How does perception of underachievement affect actual student achievement across lines of gender/sexual orientation? Have you witnessed this in your own classrooms? (taken from Newkirk)
4. How might you recreate the "club" mentality Newkirk references (on the fourth page) in your classrooms? Is this a good technique or not?
5. "To provide schooling for everyone's children that reflects liberal, middle-class values and aspirations is to ensure the maintenance of the status quo, to ensure that power, the culture of power, remains in the hands of those who already have it" (Delpit, 28). Is this true or false? What connections can you draw between this statement and the work of Lareau?
6. What do we think of the idea that "it is impossible to create a model for the good teacher without taking issues of culture and community context into account?" (Delpit, 37).

Cheers, Ryan