Dr. Sinclair,

  Thank you for responding to my questions to Brian with an eloquence and depth not often seen on this listserve. I agree with much that you offered. Certainly it is generally as you say, that an educational system reflects the mores and knowledge of the society it is intended to serve, of the people who prop it up.  And certainly there are teachers who are poor communicators who spend their "contact time" with their backs turned to their students. However, I fail to grasp any degree of unintended and unjust suppression or control in these situations as you have depicted them. 
    For example, you mention that academese can be exclusionary. And I agree if by exclusionary you mean "difficult to comprehend without concerted effort."  I know that when I was in grad school, my only defense against being excluded was by studying harder, learning new vocabulary, comprehending new modes of expressing ones ideas, and working to understand the foreign genre of academic writing. That is, I made the effort to get educated. Yet, I never once felt "excluded," and I certainly did not feel "suppressed" or "controlled" in any negatively connotative way.  If a fellow student had told me that he felt suppressed or controlled by the unfamiliar language and style of an academic essay, I believe I would have laughed. Likewise if I had told my professor that I was being suppressed and controlled by the academic style of a particular reading assignment, I believe the reaction would have been similar. As one of my favorite profs once told me, "The best way to look at
 these books is down." 
   If I had failed to work as hard as I did, I would have understood less. But would this result have been "unjust?" After all, I was carrying significant burdens into my grad school experience. I had the burden of being born to poor Appalachian parents. I grew up in a trailer park. My father was an alcoholic who beat me. I worked as an agricultural laborer for less than minimum wage, and far from any sophisticated academic center. I tried college, but failed miserably and so, in desperation I joined the military where I fought the white rich man's oil wars. I got married. I had children. I got taxed. I got fat. I got divorced and my children were taken from me. My burdens and disadvantages were great. Where is the justice? Yet, I am to understand that big words suppress me? 
   Of course, to the uninitiated, academic writing is often cumbersome, obtuse, abstract, stale,  grandiose, repetitive, esoteric, and difficult.  But to characterize these qualities as indicative of forces of suppression or control that unjustly hamper (unintentionally or not) the poor, a particular sex, or a particular  race strikes me as sillyus to the maximus, and I have yet to read on this listserve evidence to the contrary.

Sincerely,

Kearney Lykins

    


----- Original Message ----
From: Judith Sinclair <j-p-sinclair at worldnet.att.net>
To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 11:33:06 AM
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 55] Re: Relationship, Power, and Communication

    DIV { MARGIN:0<SPAN id="misspell-8" class="mark" ><SPAN id="misspell-5" class="mark" >px</SPAN></SPAN>;}     Hello, all:    
    
  This is such an interesting topic,  and one that has come up frequently in my graduate psychology and education  classes during.  One of the best books on the subject in my opinion is Etta  R. Hollins' "Transforming Curriculum for a Culturally Diverse Society."   While the author's text is often used in curriculum classes, it is my idea that  she covers the concepts of relationship, power, communication, and so on by  looking at the issues inherent in curriculum design and implementation across  the nation.  
    
  I would also like to add very  briefly my own idea about how Brian's concept of control and  suppression as it presents "in our language, curriculum, body language, and  society."  As a college and university professor as well as a cognitive  psychologist in private practice, I have seen over the years many examples of  his concept.  
    
  For example, we academics know in  short time that much of what we teach, read, and write has a heavy exclusionary  aspect to it, that is, it is written in "academese" often, and while there is  now a growing attention to this issue in research, language does prevent a  barrier for many.  Is this an intentional or unintentional force?  It  depends.  Sometimes those who perpetuate the academic system's  communications are aware that the language presents an unjust barrier for many  students, and sometimes those in charge are not "aware" but simply following  "tradition."
   
  As illustration for the idea that  curriculum can be a controlling and suppressive force, as Hollins points out and  as I agree, that is true historically and today, although again now there is  attention to this in the research world.  Curriculum as Hollins defines can  be thought of as "all of the learning, routines, and interactions that occur  among all participants as a function of schooling, whether planned or not, which  inform and shape responses to the environment within and outside of  school."  Surely all of us are familiar with both the explicit and implicit  curricula in our schools today.  What schools and school systems present or  do not present has a direct bearing on students, and affects their ability to  live successful lives.  
    
  In regard to the idea of body  language as Brian writes, perhaps as I have during my experiences as both  student and professor, others have taken notice of the way in which teachers  consciously and unconsciously use their body language to show acceptance or  rejection of students in the classroom and in other educational settings.   I have seen educators teach an entire semester with their back toward students  they did not like or want to teach.  I have seen this same behavior from  administrators and counselors in seminars and meetings.  It has a very  strong effect.  
   
  As an example of societal acts of  control and suppression, we need only consider who sets up the educational  system in the community, and why?  Schools, colleges, and universities as  an educational system in any community are a microcosm of the society in which  they exist, I have learned, and  society constructs its own institutions to meet its own needs (see for example,  Burger and Luckmann's works on this subject).  So it follows that the philosophy and  ideology of that society and its culture are transmitted to the institutions and  dispersed through their products and activities. This includes requisite  information prized by the society, as those in control have determined should be  provided to the learners, along with the bias and prejudice of those in charge,  if these traits are present.
  
 I would like to add that I did not  notice any particular "guilt" in the tone of Brian's response, but simply an  attempt to answer honestly some of the many fine queries regarding the idea of  power, suppression, and control that has been the topic of this string.  At  some universities, there is now a growing momentum to provide students who will  ultimately be teachers, administrators, and counselors in school settings with  the kind of awareness and sensitivity required in today's classrooms.  From  my own experience, when I am teaching teachers, administrators, and  counselors in graduate school, one of the biggest complaints I receive regarding  their perception of the school system is that it does not prepare them for  today's multi-cultural and multi-social classrooms, but instead seems to  reinforce old habits, attitudes, and philosophies that just don't  work.
  
 Thanks for this interesting  exchange.
  
 Sincerely,
  
 Dr. Judith Peyton  Sinclair
 Cognitive Psychologist and  Educator
 j-p-sinclair at worldnet.att.net
 www.sinclairsystem.com
 Office: (202) 364-3893
  
  
  

    ----- Original Message ----- 
   From:    Kearney Lykins 
   To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy    Discussion List Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 8:26    AM
   Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 54] Re:    Relationship, Power, and Communication
   

   Brian,

You    wrote: "Control and suppression is in our language, our curriculum, our body    language, and in our society."

Judging from the tone of guilt that    pervades your last entry, I am assuming that in your claim I quote above that    "our" refers to "white people." And that by "control and suppression" you are    talking an unintentional and unjust act that makes the white communicator an    unwitting "agent of suppression." 

I have never witnessed this    phenomenon in an educational setting.

For the sake of understanding,    can you provide one example each for where language, curriculum, body    language, and society exert themselves as unintentional and unjust forces of    control and suppression in an education environment?     

Sincerely,

  Kearney Lykins

   

   -----    Original Message ----
From: Brian Flanagan    <bcflanagan at gmail.com>
To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy    Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
Sent: Sunday, November    19, 2006 4:39:52 PM
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 51] Re: Possible Spam:    Relationship, Power, and Communication

   Hi Betsy,

My background is a little different, but I have    encountered similar
situations as a teacher. I was a high school English    teacher and later
a Cisco Academy computer teacher for seven years in a    predominately
African American high school. It was very difficult for me to    relate
to my students at the beginning of my career. I am a white male    that
grew up in the suburbs of upstate New York. My exposure to    cultural
diversity was limited, and I found it hard to understand my    new
environment. I later realized I was doing a poor job, and I    wasn't
helping my students. I decided to shut up, observe, and listen to    my
students. They were more than willing to tell me what I was    doing
wrong and what was "really" going on during certain    circumstances.

As the years passed, I learned more from my students and    a trusting
relationship developed. They and I were increasingly able to    talk
frankly about racial issues. Most of the time, I turned into    the
student and learned from my students. They knew I cared and    were
willing to forgive me for stupid mistakes. They also came to trust    me
more when I was willing to admit those mistakes and apologize when    I
did something wrong. My reputation eventually grew, and my race    became
less of a factor in the classroom. A couple of times students forgot    I
was white and made comments in class about "white" people. In the    end,
my students felt that I cared for them deeply, and I was willing    to
listen and learn from them.

I have noticed that when I interact    with adults, my race is sometimes
more of an issue. I remember going to a    function on minorities in
education at a conference a few years ago. One    member of the group
took me aside after the meeting and asked me why I was    there. The
question surprised me, but I later understood it. It was strange    that
I was there, and I had the potential of doing harm to the    cohesiveness
of the group despite my best intentions. Control and    suppression is in
our language, our curriculum, our body language, and in    our society.
It can also be in the form of a person's presence. The    most
frustrating thing for me is understanding that I can be an agent    of
suppression despite a strong desire not to be.

I guess in the end    it is all about being human. I have come to
understand the importance of    empathy, listening to others, compassion,
humility, and looking for the    specific qualities that make us all
unique and    beautiful.

Sincerely,
Brian

Brian Flanagan

On    11/15/06, Betsy Boggs <BBoggs at umchousegr.org> wrote:

> Hi, I will    introduce myself and step out of the lurker mode to answer

> some of    Daphne's questions.

> I work as a literacy coach at an urban based    community outreach center.

> I am working to build literacy into all of    our programming from the

> childcare classrooms to the senior citizen    day programming.

> Statistically most of our clients have relatively low    literacy levels. I

> just started in October, so our program is just    getting off the ground;

> however I have been working as a literacy    coach for about 3 years. Most

> of our clients are African American,    however, I am Caucasian.  I have

> really become aware of    issues of perceived power and culture,

> particularly with the seniors    in our program.  The way I am initially

> treated is very    different than the way AA staff members are treated. It

> is very clear    that they perceive me to have more power than they do.

> How much of    this is economic, race or even educational, I don't know.

> But I do    know that I feel that "white privilege" granting of power to me

> when I    initially begin working with staff and clients. However, since I

> work    from a "coaching" perspective I think it is helpful in mitigating

> some    of that.  I work as a partner with both the staff and the    clients.

> I think this is extremely valuable in getting past issues of    perceived

> power differences in relationships.  I don't tell,    I question.  I let

> them identify goals based on information    sharing and respect. As a

> coach, as opposed to a "teacher" I try to    communicate in ways that are

> empowering.  For, me this takes    a lot of listening, conscious thought

> and examination of my role and    communication patterns. However, it is so

> rewarding when someone I am    working with discovers their own voice and

> power.  My    experience has been that this ultimately will lead them to

>    accomplishing their goals much more successfully and sooner.

> So    although coaching isn't really a curriculum, it is a process by which

>    power and race issues can be addressed.

> If anyone else out there is    doing something similar, I would really like

> to hear about it, since    it is more about process than content.

> Peace,

> Betsy    Boggs

> -----Original Message-----

> From:    povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov

>    [mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Daphne    Greenberg

> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 9:59 AM

> To: Race    Women and Literacy Discussion List The Poverty

> Subject: Possible    Spam:[PovertyRaceWomen 34] Relationship, Power, and

>    Communication

>

> There has been a very interesting discussion    going on various issues

> related to power and communication in    relationships. So far the

> discussion has focused primarily on gender    issues. Here are my

> questions/wonders as we move forward in our    discussion:

> 1.Does anyone know of any curricula that can be used in    adult literacy

> classrooms that focus on issues around power and    communication?

> 2. Has anyone discussed these types of issues in the    adult literacy

> classroom?

> 3. How do cultural, racial and    economic factors interact with all of

> these issues?

> 4. Has    anyone given any thought to the way power and communication play

> roles    in the adult literacy classroom-either between teacher and

> student, or    between teachers, or between students?

> Any thoughts?

>    Daphne

>

> Daphne Greenberg

> Assistant Professor

>    Educational Psych. & Special Ed.

> Georgia State University

>    P.O. Box 3979

> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979

> phone:    404-651-0127

> fax:404-651-4901

>    dgreenberg at gsu.edu

>

> Daphne Greenberg

> Associate    Director

> Center for the Study of Adult Literacy

> Georgia State    University

> P.O. Box 3977

> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977

>    phone: 404-651-0127

> fax:404-651-4901

>    dgreenberg at gsu.edu

>    ----------------------------------------------------

> National    Institute for Literacy

> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing    list

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> To unsubscribe or change your    subscription settings, please go to

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>

>

>    ----------------------------------------------------

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