Power in the Classroom

After reading Lisa Delpit's article "The Silenced Dialogue" I have been contemplating the way I will deal with power in the classroom. The focus of the article is the "culture of power" that exists in classrooms. It is clear that there is very real power in the classroom. Over the summer I have been grappling with the question of how to fairly distribute this power. At the current time I am still a bit of an idealist without any substantial teaching experience. I have told myself that it is important to let students control their own learning and empower students, by letting them control the classroom. As the summer has progressed I've realized the naivity of my ideas.

Delpit's article has led me to question many of the thoughts I've previously held about power in the classroom. In "The Silenced Dialogue" she states,
"Issues of power are enacted in the classroom. There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a culture of power. The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the culture of those who have power. If you are not already a participant in the culture of power being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier."
She goes on to discuss many teachers inability or unwillingness to acknowledge there power in the classroom.

One of my goals as a new teacher is that the experiences that students have in my classroom will empower them to continue on with their education. Delpit makes a fairly convincing argument that the best way I could empower my students is to inform them of the rules for participating in the "culture of power". Ideally I would like to destroy this power, or at least change it substantially so that classrooms become more democratic, but this ideal will likely not be reached in my first year as an Algebra teacher in Baltimore City. I will however do my best to make it clear to my students that their are certain things they need to be able to do to participate fully in our (the school's and society's) "culture of power". My ideas are continually shifting as to how I can best empower my students. As the school year rapidly approaches I hope I can prepare myself adequately to deal with the power I will have.