Delpits first objection to Gee is “There are two aspects of Gee’s argument that I find problematic. First is Gee’s notion that people who have been born into dominant discourses will find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to acquire such a discourse.” A way Delpit objects this is when she tells the story of Marge who wasn’t expected to succeed but ended up becoming the top student in her class and her professors wanted to work with her. She was able to achieve this goal with the help of a woman named Susan. “Susan continued to work with Marge, both in and out of the classroom during the following year. By the end of the year, Marge’s instructors began telling Susan that Marge was a real star, that he had written the best papers in their classes.” This shows that Marge was able to get accustomed to the new discourse and succeed even better than the white students who that environment was built for. Jordan would agree with Delpit on this matter. This is because her students have personally adjusted to that discourse in the classroom to the point where the reject their own discourse in the classroom.
Delpits second objection to Gee is when she argues against “an individual who is born into one discourse with one set of values may experience major conflicts when attempting to acquire another discourse with another set of values.” Delpit gives evidence of this when she talks about E. Franklin Frazier. “He learned lessons so well that his achievements provided what must be the ultimate proof of the ability to acquire a second dominant discourse, no matter what’s one’s beginnings.” Delpit continues to explain Frazier’s accomplishments and how this further proves Gee’s claims to be incorrect. Jordan would once again agree with Gee because as a teacher she has personally seen this happen with her own students.
