Alex LaForest

Through reading The Skin That We Speak, by Lisa Delpit and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy I

have been able to reflect on my teachings, both good and bad. As a student focusing on their M.

Ed. in Educational Technology I have been able to increase my technological aptitude for student

access, but have realized how I have neglected the classroom culture. I strive to make my

classroom a safe space for my students, where they can discuss the hard issues. Reading the

various excerpts from Delpit and Dowdy’s book I have noticed some of the pros within my

teaching, but also my short-comings. As we have discussed in past weeks about helping students

feel more included in the classroom in order to help close the achievement gap, I need to work

on challenging my students more. Trying to provide the students with scaffolded supports is not

enough. When too much scaffolding is done, no learning can occur. As I continue my teaching I

will seek out more supports for students that also provide rigorous academic growth.