Other people's children 

Cultural Conflict in the classroom 

Lisa Delpit

Quote one page 35

"When the teacher instead acts as a chum the message sent is that this adult has no authority"

So often, the advice we are given as teachers to fix behavior issues in the classroom is to "make and build relationships" with students. The longer that I teach, I think this advice is misguided. Maybe it works for some, but personally I think this makes some teachers come off as too chumy and not authoritative. From my own experience, I think teachers really need to set boundaries and be consistent with classroom rules.

Quote two page 37

"To clarify, this student was proud of the teacher's meanness."

This example in the text really helps show what the author means when they say that for different groups, authority needs to be earned. There's the advice of... don't let them (the students) see you smile till the spring, and while I think it's a little extreme, I don't think it's bad advice, depending on the group of students you are working with 

Quote three, page 38

Something was wrong with the Native American student, mostly because she had another style of writing.

This reminds me of the linguistics class we took and learned about writing styles from different cultures around the world. Which is a struggle if you are doing academic writing in a language that isn't your own. Not only is the language a barrier, but the style of writing. Some styles might seem inappropriate in one country but fine or acceptable in a different.

Main Argument: Teachers should recognize that students have different cultures and the idea of authority in each of those cultures could be different, so teachers need to adapt styles, communicate, and listen to parents.