Running Head: THE POWER OF CONTEXT 1

The Power of Context: Analyzing my Professional Experiences

Amanda Fay

Minnesota State University - Mankato

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The Power of Context: Analyzing my Professional Experiences

This paper critically evaluates the article Who Are the Bright Children? The Cultural

Context of Being and Acting Intelligent by Robert J. Sternberg and Other Peoples Children:

Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit by addressing how these texts relate to my

professional experiences, take aways, and the overall culture of power. We all exist in and

around the context of other people, places, religions, lifestyles, etc. A huge part of who each and

every one of us is revolves around that context in which we were born and raised. The context in

which we were born and raised not only helps to create us the way we are, but it helps to shape

the way we act, the thoughts we have, and even how we learn. Where we decide to settle down in

the world, who we choose to spend our lives with, how we choose to spend our time, and how

we further our knowledge are all driven and influenced by our context. We want to see ourselves,

our past, and our future dreams in everything that we do. In our education is no different.

We want to see a little piece of ourselves reflected in the work that we do. When we take

time to devote to our education, we want to put ourselves, our lives, and our context into that

education. Yet as we see far too often in education and with the culture of power, many of those

leading the education system think that their context is best and right for everyone. The common

core standards are a great example of this. The concept behind having common standards

between all states in the US helps ensure uniformity. No matter where a student comes from or if

they transfer schools, they can pick back up and learn the same basic material. These standards

also boast that they help to ensure all students are ready for college or a career when they

graduate from high school. But what about Jenny, whos already selling her handmade clothes on

Etsy? How about Chauntel who has been planning to take over her moms hair salon since she

started doing hair at the age of 10? As Sternberg defines, successful intelligence is defined as
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what is needed for success in life, according to ones own definition of success, within ones own

sociocultural context (2007, p. 148). The intelligence required for these types of assessments

may be what is needed for survival and success in one cultural context, but entirely off base in

another.

Are these common core standards really what is best for all kids? Can we really find a

standardized protocol of standards that is best for ALL kids all over the United States? Who

created these standards? Apparently teachers were involved in the process of creation, but what

teachers? From what context did they come from? Chances are, its directly from the context

with all the power. As Lisa Delpit says, There is never a guarantee that a particular language or

educational policy will work, but when that policy reflects the goals of the people it is to affect

rather than those of either foreign missionaries or a colonial government, and when it reaffirms

rather than negates a peoples knowledge of its culture and heritage, then there is no better

prospect for its success (2006, p. 90). There was no guarantee that the common core standards

would flop or flourish. But the real question is whether or not students from a variety of contexts

can see themselves, their culture, and their heritage present.

It is vitally important that as Sternberg says, since the acts that constitute intelligent

behavior may vary from one culture to another when students are taught in ways that take into

account their cultural contexts and that are culturally appropriate for them, they can achieve at

higher levels, (2007, p. 148). As educators, we know that students come from different

contexts. They learn in different ways and come from different homes and backgrounds, yet

when it comes to teaching and especially assessing content, we as teachers tend far too often to

teach and assess in one way, typically the way that worked best for us as learners. The common

core and standardized testing is no exception to this. Typically created by a makeup of

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stakeholders that does not resemble the diversity of kids in our schools or the context in which

many of them grew up, it is no surprise that many students struggle and continually are identified

as basic or struggling instead of proficient on standardized tests.

We need to meet students in the middle by as Delpit says, introduc[ing] them to the new

skill and the new concepts in contexts they already [find] familiar(2006, p. 95). When we can

teach children new ideas, such as learning how to read, but within an environment and centered

around information they already understand, they will learn at a much quicker pace. It makes

perfect sense. We learn best in our own environment, in a place where we feel comfortable.

When children are taught in a way that better matches their culturally acquired knowledge, their

school performance improves (Sternberg, 2007, p. 151).

The current problem begins in the fact that most teachers dont understand many of the

different cultures and contexts of their students. This, however, isnt really their fault. Many

teacher education programs lack any sort of diversity or cultural training. And sadly, the result

is a socioeducational system that is self-perpetuating and that wastes talent because it fails to

recognize strengths outside the range of traditional measurements (Sternberg, 2007, p. 152).

This constantly keeps the mainstream with all of the power. As Delpit says, I guess thats one

way for a dominant culture to maintain dominance - not to recognize any of the strengths of

another group (2006, p. 115). I dont mean to imply that most in education work to do this on

purpose, however it has been happening for far too long and we need to see some changes. To

keep this from continuing to be a problem, We therefore need to be hesitant in imposing one

cultures view of intelligence across the board (Sternberg, 2007, p. 152). We need to take a

long, hard look at our current education system and see what changes need to be made. We need

to connect with all stakeholders in the education process and learn more about their context and
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where theyre coming from. What might be the result if we restructure education classes so that

all students are not merely allowed, but encouraged, to bring in their prior knowledge, their past

experience, their own stories (Delpit, 2006, p.124)? When we encourage students to be who

they are, share what they know, and learn from one another, we create a culture where everyone

is intelligent in their own way, everyone has something to offer the group as a whole, and most

importantly, an environment where we all value one another. We need to start by getting to know

our students for who they truly are. Or as a native teacher of two years that Deplit interviewed so

eloquently put it, If theres someone who doesnt understand what Im teaching, I try to

understand who they are (2006, p. 121).

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References

Delpit, L. D. (2006). Other people's children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York:

New Press.

Sternberg, R. J. (2007). Who Are the Bright Children? The Cultural Context of Being and Acting

Intelligent. Educational Researcher, 36(3), 148-155. doi:10.3102/0013189x07299881