Shannon Hardtke

Reading Response
Peers, Power and Privilege by Laura Mednick
While reading the article Peers, Power and Privilege by Laura
Mednick, I couldnt help but make connections with content and discussions I
had while in my diversity class. The idea that students lives outside the
classroom follow them into their classrooms, is not a new thought. Students
at home experiences and expectations play a strong role in how they view
and actively engage in their school environment. Teachers then do their best
to create learning environments where all students are appreciated and feel
acknowledged, but there is more to the issue. The challenge to this idea, that
the article focuses on, is the ways in which children themselves reinforce the
differences that they bring to school and how teachers address them. I found
many of the examples given in the article to be situations that are very
realistic and I could experience in any grade level. Students discussing their
family vacations or commenting on how another student is not done with
work yet while the class has moved on are very plausible. Whether it be
intentional or not, these comments and conversations reinforce labels and
stereotypes that are often associated with the differences between students,
whether it be based on language barriers, socio-economic, etc.
I enjoyed this article because it directly addresses that teachers may
also be encouraging this gap in classroom equality, but taking the easy
route and assigning leadership roles to students who they know will get the
job done. This approach only grants the already capable students more
power, and the struggling students with less opportunity to engage and
grow. The article challenges readers to think about regrouping and making a
classroom that is color-conscious. By doing this, teachers can create
opportunities for children of different groups to work together in a
cooperative situation where power can be shared. While these are ideas that
I have talked about before, I enjoyed how the article pushed for a deeper
level of involvement from teachers, rather than the lazy, easy way out that
permits these behaviors to continue.