Multiplication is For White People

In the context of contemporary education, policymakers often grapple with the issue of
selecting knowledge and content to be included in the curriculum. Various factors such as culture
and age are considered when determining the knowledge that is valuable to learners. In
Multiplication is for white people, Lisa Delpot addresses the reforms in contemporary education.
She specifically analyzes changes being implemented to close the achievement gap among white
and black people. Delpit eloquently gives anecdotal evidence as she narrates her experiences as a
mother, daughter and scholar and combines it with empirical evidence to demonstrate the harsh
realities of Black children in American learning institutions.
Delpit explores the social, political, and cultural mishaps and difficulties and how they
impact the most vulnerable children who are going through the American education system. In a
four-part book, the author examines the commonplace yet flawed assumptions on what causes
the achievement gap in the country. She looks at concepts and ideas that can be implemented to
successfully teach all children in the country and ways in which instruction can be developed in a
manner that enhances critical thinking among adolescents. She also comments on the visibility
and invisibility of race in the context of education, specifically higher education.

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The country considers political factors when determining the knowledge that is valuable
for children. Although this is the case, it is quite an issue as social and cultural concerns should
play a greater role when it comes to selecting content to be included in the curriculum. It is
unfortunate that the people at the center of the education system, the ones who are most affected,
are least consulted. Delpit notes, in a rather complaining tone, that teachers, children, and parents
are least consulted on what knowledge they think is valuable to them and should thus be included
in the curriculum. Such political interference can be seen in the Reading First Program that was
funded by the federal government. According to Delpit, such is an example of “inappropriate
government interference and fiscal misconduct in education” (61). The program was launched by
the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. States were forced to implement the program, and the
federal government would only send financial aid to the states that implemented these programs.
Teachers, parents and experts expressed grave concerns over the same. The implementation was
hurried, and the change was not supported by scientific evidence.
Students learn best when instruction is done in the context of their culture. In the book,
Delpit illustrates the need to incorporate students culture in the knowledge taught to them in
schools. The danger is that when the “white people” are figuratively the ones charged with
determining and shaping curriculum content, then there is a problem for black learners. When
students and teachers are not consulted on what knowledge should be taught in school, then there
is a grave danger. Delpit notes that the inclusion of cultural aspects in education has a positive
influence on children. It is important to build a curriculum that is socially connected and
meaningful to children. It is important to learn from and believe in students. However, when the
ones tasked with determining school content are not culturally savvy with the culture of the

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students, then a problem arises. The knowledge chosen does not connect with the learners
socially. They are then forced to interpret it from a vacuum.
When the curriculum content is designed without total inclusion of schools and school
systems, students and teachers of color have to adapt to the new demands of interacting with
such content. Teachers are compelled to “teach down” to learners of color. They have to
implement instructional styles and a curriculum that did not factor in their unique needs when it
was designed. One of the underlying assumptions when designing the curriculum, and which has
been widely used to explain differences in the achievement gap, is that black children are born
less capable. Delpit dispels this myth in her book when she writes, “African American children
do not come into this world at a deficit. There is no ‘achievement gap’ at birth- at least not one
that favors the European American children” (5). She asserts that when teaching a classroom full
of black children, the teacher must understand that they are looking at a class that is as brilliant
as one comprised of only white children. It is important to identify such brilliance as it ensures
that the school system and education system at large does not continue with stereotypic views
about black children. When designing a curriculum, the black culture will be included in the
knowledge and black students consulted because they are not less capable, and their culture
matters too.
Students of color hold knowledge, and instructors must be culturally responsive to them
so that they can nurture the abilities they have and help them thrive. Delpit gives an example of a
tutor who was astonished when a black middle scholar told her, “Why are you trying to teach me
to multiply, Ms L? Black people don’t multiply; black people just add and subtract. White people
multiply?” (14). Delpit argues that when students are taught not to believe in themselves, they
respond by trying to become invisible or tey try to underperform so that they minimize instances

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when they are referred to as “incapable”. (14). The internalization of beliefs of incapability is
dangerous. However, back students are not to blame for holding such beliefs towards themselves.
They have been socialized o believe so, and such beliefs have been adopted at the national level
and even been used to explain the achievement gap.
The relationship between the stakeholders in a school system can be a complicated one.
This is particularly the case when there are racial differences—Delpit talks of a complicated
relationship that occurs when the teacher, text and student converge. The interaction can be more
complex if the teacher does not take time to learn about the culture of the students. Delpit gives
her personal experience at a charter school. Students found the teachers good and ‘real’ despite
being white. Teachers, however, did not take time to understand the culture of their students, and
this somehow created a disconnect during instruction. She notes, “there is no ‘vaccination’ that
can help the poor children, who do not have access to the culture of power to be successful in
later school years. Only a consciously devised, continuous program that develops vocabulary in
the context of real experiences provides rigorous instruction, connects new information to the
cultural frameworks can manage that” (33). Meaningful learning takes place when the student’s
lived experiences are incorporated into instruction. Learning does not occur in isolation, and thus
a student’s culture is as important as the content being taught.
The disidentification and invisibility among black students in institutions of higher
learning are alarming. Delpit notes that racism with higher institutions of learning affects the
way in which black students interact with others and with knowledge. She comes on the disparity
in retention rates at the college level, delayed graduation and graduation gaps among white and
black students. Delpit refers to a study conducted by Claude Steele, a psychologist and
researcher. Steele remarks, “given any level of school preparation (as measured by both tests and

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earlier grades), blacks somehow achieve less in subsequent schooling than whites—they have
poorer grades and lower graduation rates and take longer to graduate—no matter how strong
their preparation is” (178). Steele argues that these gaps are not affected by preparation rates. No
matter how well prepared black students are, they still drop out, graduate rate, and less than their
white counterparts. It is thus neither preparation level nor financial capabilities but rather other
underlying issues within the system. These issues are identified as “invisibility, devaluing,
stigma, and stereotyping” (179). Such are microaggressions that are based on unconscious
racism. Black students report negative experiences at college, and these could highly affect their
success rates.
Students at the college level tend to disidentify because they are underrepresented as the
university curricula conspicuously leave out contributions by black people. Contributions by
black scholars are widely underrepresented in the content learnt at American universities. The
exception is mainly in courses dealing with African American studies. As a result, the system of
higher education tends to marginalize not only the black student but also any information related
to them. In an indirect way, this is like linking black faces to academic problems. Black students
tend to have the misconception that what they do and how they act is wrong, and maybe this is
why their information is underrepresented. They thus tend to give up identifying their wit their
cultural norms as they think that this is the only way to succeed in the academic world.
It is time for students of color to be made to know that they are valued. The author
suggests that these issues can be solved if students are made to know that multiplication is for
everyone and not just white students. She writes, “If what is meaningful and important to a
teacher is to become meaningful and important to a student, the student must feel valued by
teachers for his or her potential as a person (183). Students must feel valued not because their

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inclusion into a university will make it enhance their diversity but because of the unique value
and contribution that they will make to the universities. Students of color need not be treated as
weaknesses to be strengthened or people whose capabilities need to be enhanced. They need to
feel valued.
When students of color make complaints about racism, and they are minimized, the
problem of disidentification is exacerbated. Microaggressions are common among black
students; when some complaints may look minor, it is important to help address them as this
ensures that students of color feel valued and heard. The act of making a complaint is a step in
the right direction as it demonstrates that students of color have a belief in the system. They
know that it is fair to them, and their concerns will be addressed with no bias. It narrows down to
the issue of fairness and trust. If the students trust the system, then they will be able to live and
own their cultural experiences without feeling the need to disassociate or devalue their culture
and uphold white cultural norms. Besides, it helps facilitate the inclusion of the black culture. If
the people own their culture, policymakers will see the need to create a social environment that is
welcoming to all cultures. This might start with first introducing positive elements of the black
culture in the school curricula as well as the contributions of black scholars.
Overall, Delpit presents a powerful and poignant collection of anecdotal and empirical
research. In the book, she truly and honestly responds to the issue of what knowledge is most
valuable and worth knowing. She also weighs in on the question of who should be consulted
when determining the kind of knowledge to be taught in schools. Throughout the book, she
continuously makes it clear that a student’s race, lived experiences, sexual identities, history as
well as culture are most worth knowing. Thus, these elements should be incorporated in the
delivery of instruction. They should also be embedded in the curriculum to ensure that students

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get to learn and relate to what is being taught. In running this course, it is important to know that
the voices of students, white and of color, parents, and teachers must be heard. They are the
people ost affected by education and should thus be allowed to weigh in on such matters as they
are intricate to them. The invisible needs to be visible, the silenced heard, and the process of
education should be owned fully by its drivers; teachers, parents, and students.

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Work Cited

Delpit, Lisa D. ” Multiplication is for white people”: Raising expectations for other people’s
children. the new press, 2012.