School is often described as a place of opportunity, but these readings and film invite a more complicated question: opportunity for whom, and on whose terms? Through Shalaby’s Troublemakers, the documentary Precious Knowledge, and Delpit’s work on power and pedagogy, I began to see how schooling can both constrain and liberate students depending on how educators interpret behavior, identity, and language. Together, they challenge the idea that there is a single “right” way to learn or behave in school, and instead push us to think about how schools can become more responsive to students’ lived experiences while still preparing them to navigate systems of power.
The three resources that will stick out to me are the following:
Shalaby – Troublemakers
Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School made me rethink how quickly schools label students instead of listening to what their behavior is communicating. The book suggests that “troublemaking” can actually be a form of engagement, agency, or unmet need rather than simple defiance. It raises questions about whether schools are built for compliance or for understanding young people as full human beings with valid perspectives.
Precious Knowledge
Precious Knowledge highlights how deeply students can connect to learning when they see their histories and identities reflected in the curriculum. It also made me think about how education is never neutral—what gets taught (and what is removed) reflects power and politics. The film shows that when students are given culturally relevant learning, school becomes not just academic but personally transformative.
Delpit
Lisa Delpit challenges the idea that being “fair” means treating all students the same, emphasizing instead that equity requires explicitly teaching access to dominant cultural codes while still valuing students’ own languages and identities. Her argument sits in a productive tension between access and affirmation, which made me think about how often schools unintentionally privilege one over the other. It also raises the question of how teachers can make power structures visible without reinforcing them.
Taken together, Shalaby, Precious Knowledge, and Delpit all push me to rethink what school is actually for and who it is designed to serve. Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School and Precious Knowledge both show that students’ voices, identities, and ways of engaging are often misread or constrained by systems that prioritize control and standardization over meaning and belonging. At the same time, Lisa Delpit complicates this by reminding us that access to dominant academic “codes” is also necessary for students to navigate and transform those same systems. What connects all three is the tension between empowerment and access: schools must both affirm who students are and equip them with the tools to move through a world shaped by unequal power.
Hey Sam! I really enjoyed reading your posts week after week. These resources all truly make us think what school is and who its to serve.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam! Thanks for sharing these insights! Your takeaway from Shalaby hits home; the idea that behavior is a form of communication rather than just defiance is a shift that can completely change a classroom's culture. It really makes me wonder, how can we, as educators, ensure we are building spaces for "understanding" rather than just "compliance" when the system so often demands the latter? It reminds me of what we talked about in today's Psych Perspectives class, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, you did a great job with your reflection! I also talked about Delpit in my reflection. I think she points out something very real and concerning, which is that even the most well-intentioned teacher can be perpetuating a bias in education and causing harm without knowing it.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, thanks for sharing your experiences! I also mentioned Delpit and her work as something that will stick with me. We know it all too well that inadvertently teachers can show favoritism to certain students, or privilege can play a role in the classroom. Her concept of the culture of power is so fascinating and important.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam! I loved reading your response! You always wrote such great blog posts this semester and I appreciate all of the experiences you shared with us. I also thought the Troublemakers was such a great reading and really changed my perspective on all of the "behavioral" students I've worked with throughout my time as a substitute teacher.
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ReplyDeleteHi Sam! Amazing writing about your takeaways! I agree with Precious Knowledge sticking with me, what you are teaching matters so much. You are completely right about content students learn being able to transforming. It has the potential to engage student both inside and outside of school.
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