Reddit reviews Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

As a faculty member, I disagree with immediately going to a penal system/process/approach--i.e.: seeking counsel from dean or reporting students for plagiarism as a first step. I do not think that this kind of approach supports learning or development, and I think it is part of the break down of public relationships, community and democratic fabric of society that avoids tension, does not address root causes, nor attempt to thoughtfully and critically understanding "other" (meaning those who are different, not just race, but those who might hold different values, have different life experiences, and act differently because of those values and experiences). Engage the student, address the tension--it's tough, but the role of an educator is to help students learn and develop.

This said, could the faculty person (I think it is the responsibility of the faculty, not TA) meet individually with the students who plagiarized, tell them what he/she found about their papers, ask if the student understands that they plagiarized (if not, explain--remember, you don't know how each student grew up--for example, I had an international student who plagiarized from my syllbus--literally copying the introductory paragraphs into a writing assignment. I initially thought, pretty ballsy and stupid, but when I asked him about it he explained--in my words here--that he was taught to regurgitate information, that this is what was of value to professors, not to critically think or come up with his own ideas). Regardless of nationality, in the U.S. this is certainly how K-12 education works, teaching to the test, memorization, and regurgitation. I don't know how we could possible expect students to critically think and create original writing at the collegiate level when they've not been trained to do so in their K-12 preparation, and if we are not going to take the time needed to teach them at college, but rather reprimand them when they don't do what we expect of them. Whether they truly know what plagiarizing means, whether they do it intentionally because they don't have the skills otherwise, or they did it because they want a good grade (as they've been taught is the purpose of education)--this is a systemic issue of our education systems, not just the fault of individual choice. We are setting students up for failure.

Back to addressing it directly with the student and treating him/her as an adult--human being--by having a relational/meaningful conversation (out of genuine care for the student, not out of anger and certainly not a "you're in trouble" conversation). I would get through the initial: here's what I found, could you explain why you chose to do this, make an honest effort to understand the student's perspective (while holding them accountable if they start giving excuses, dig deep, what caused this choice), and based on the actual situation (root cause, if you can get there) decide with the student what next steps should be. Empower the student to be part of the solution, not just part of the problem. For example, could the student have another opportunity to re-write the paper, does the student need additional support (tutoring in research, analysis, writing), etc. Obviously some students may not be honest during this conversation and it may mean the professor needs to communicate that the student has left the faculty person with few options but to report the plagiarism to the powers that be. That the professor was hoping they could have an honest and sincere discussion and come to mutual resolution, but that the student is making a choice to put the faculty person in a position of reporting/punishment. At least you gave the student an opportunity to resolve the issue.

We all make poor choices, helping a student navigate a poor choice towards empowerment, self understanding, learning, development, and future success is the role of the teacher--our role is not policeman, nor punisher. Nor do we always know the circumstances of other's choices--understanding and addressing the context of a poor choice might help prevent a lifetime of plagiarism, rather than simply leveling punishment for one incident in one classroom.

There may also be systemic injustice at play. In U.S. society there is a prevailing ideology--belief not founded on truth--that African-Americans and Latinos are just not "good at school," and that whites and Asians are. While statistically whites and Asians outperform African-Americans and Latinos in high school, it is a giant unfounded leap to imply that the root cause is due to deficiencies because of race and culture (personally I would argue that the cause is around the interplay of systemic racism and poverty in the U.S.). If you are interested, check out Lisa Delpit's book, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Children-Cultural-Classroom/dp/15955807430). Delpit argues that even well-meaning teachers often lower the bar for students of color because of prevailing ideology that these students just can't cannot perform. As a result, students of color are rarely pushed to succeed. She also talks about "codes of power"--and the need to read our students into these codes (ways of communicating and acting), so that they have access to power and the tools necessary (not that they have to communicate/act this way all the time, just that they know how).

Empowering students and challenging them to reach their full potential is not just a way we should specially treat students of color, it is the way we should treat all students. As a white female, I never would have made it on through a PhD if it hadn't been for a small handful of teachers who kicked my ass in school by challenging to reach my full potential. They cared enough about me to call me out on my bullshit (not doing the reading), pushed me to engage in learning (made it relevant), and provided meaningful and critical feedback (on assignments and performance). Every other teacher let me slide. If you care about your students you treat them as human beings, who sometimes make bad choices (and repeatedly so), not delinquents.

Hi there,

When you say 'under privilaged' and mention that you are white - I assume you are about to work with a population that is primarily not white.

If that is the case, you have a very real challenge ahead of you - the challenge of recognizing and addressing your own biases before entering the classroom.

Teachers often unintentionally create classrooms full of bias and environments for negative 'self-fulfilling prophecies' for certain students. It is best to be very intentional about avoiding these common pitfalls from the start.

I'd recommend these books as a good place to start:

Other Peoples Children

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together....

For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood...

Given that you are just starting teacher training, and you want something for Kindle, I would read Other People's Children.

Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit really broadened my perspectives and helped me be more culturally loving.

For you to read, I would recommend, "Other people's children."

https://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Children-Cultural-Classroom/dp/1595580743

For your students I would recommend, "The skin I'm in."

https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Im-Sharon-Flake/dp/1423103858