In her book, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Lisa Delpit provides readers with evidence that cultural issues are still very much present in schools today. She discusses hot button issues such as race, gender, social class, and other prejudices with in the educational system.
Lisa Delpit uses first hand evidence to support her claims. In the beginning of the book she explains how she felt when considering the way she spoke compared to how she was expected to speak. She states that upon returning to school an African American boy asked her why she was trying to speak "white." This situation could easily be turned around and a teacher could chastise a student for speaking the way he or she was taught at home, but what is noticeably not correct English. This is obviously still a hot issue today. Should teachers forcefully correct a student's bad grammar, or accept it as part of their culture. Because these lines are so thin it's hard to decide which is the best course of action. This book helps readers explore these type situations and gives them ideas as to better handle them.
Other People's Children is a great tool in the educators arsenal. Lisa Delpit sheds light on what it means to be an educator of diverse learners thus this book should be widely read. It helps show how stereotypes can be hurtful not only to the person stereotyped against, but also to the learning process of that particular person. If more people understood diversity in the classroom perhaps graduation rates would be higher than they are.
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