“From my students I have learned about the structures and dynamics that deepen inequality. Through their generosity and openness, I have been introduced to alternative accounts of social development, judgment, and capability” (Campano, 2007, p. 27).
In reading this chapter from Campano, I hear Dr. Bogad shouting out…inequality, powerlessness, and “culture of power!” In Campano’s (2007) mentioning of “cultural broker” and “linguistic capital” (p. 27), I cannot prevent myself from turning my attention to Prudence Carter. In excerpts of Keepin’ It Real, Carter (2007) underscores the unique cultural styles and practices that non-white students bring to the classroom. Through her examination of African-American and Latino students and their resistance to ‘acting white,’ Carter includes Bourdieu’s rationalization of cultural capital, or a non-fiscal, social asset which promotes social mobility beyond financial means. In “Pierre Bourdieu on Cultural Capital” (1973/2000), the French sociologist clarifies,
The education system reproduces all the more perfectly the structure of the distribution of cultural capital among classes … in that the culture which it transmits is closer to the dominant culture and that the mode of inculcation practiced by the family … An education system which puts into practice an implicit pedagogic action, requiring initial familiarity with the dominant culture, and which proceeds by imperceptible familiarization, offers information and training which can be received and acquired only by subjects endowed with the system of predispositions that is the condition for the success of the transmission and of the inculcation of the culture … This consists mainly of linguistic and cultural competence and that relationship of familiarity with culture which can only be produced by family upbringing when it transmits the dominant culture. (p.1)
Intrigued by Bourdieu’s notion, as a member of the “culture of power” can I play the role of power broker through my profession as an educator? Idealistically, I could be the ‘in’ for student like Celso. As a member of the “culture of power”, I am privy to “information and training which can be received and acquired only by subjects endowed with the system of predispositions that is the condition for the success of the transmission and of inculcation of the culture.” Thus, I covet the potential to convert my power into empowerment in my classroom, echoing the sentimental intentions of Campano.
In order to begin to emulate Campano (Admittedly, I am envious of his ‘secondary classroom), I need to explore my conceptualized belief of power. I need to keep this minimalistic and cogent—the way my mind works when processing what are deemed to be absolute truths. In order to demystify the idea of empowerment, I challenge my basic assumption about the way things are and can be, a certain reminder of Dr. Bogad’s assertions! Simply stated, at the core of empowerment is power. I immediately recognize empowerment requires that power can change. If power cannot change or if it is inherent in positions or people, empowerment is not possible or conceivable in a meaningful way. Tossing out the belief that power is often related to influence and control, power does not exist in a vacuum; power does not exist in isolation. Power subsists within the context of a relationship between people or things. By implication, since power is created in relationships, power and power relationships can change. Thus, empowerment as a process of change, then, becomes consequential.
Thus, Campano achieves a personal goal of mine. I want this…“We changed school literacy from within, and it became deeply inflected with personal meaning. We planted seeds of memory within the fertile soil of school literacy and watched to see what new meanings would grow” (Campano, 2007, p. 26). In my opinion, Campano epitomizes empowerment. Can I do this too? Through my students, can I be introduced “to alternative accounts of social development, judgment, and capability?”
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