Lisa Delpit’s introduction to The Skin That We Speak compares our language to our “skin”. It is something that can be used to determine our “status” among peers, superiors, future employers, etc. More particularly, Lisa Delpit focuses her attention upon the African American Language, and its place in the education system. She points out that the educational setting is one of the first experiences where a student’s language will be judged as “right” or “wrong” (xviii). The school is seen by society as the holder of things that are considered “proper, correct, and decent”. Delpit recognizes that the African American Language is considered none of those things (xviii). She also discusses the achievement gap by saying “that it may not be the children’s language that causes educational problems, but the educational bureaucracy’s response to the language” (xxi). Delpit believes that teachers do not know how to respond to the language diversity in the classrooms (xxii), which I do not believe is entirely far from the truth.
As a future educator, I do not know how to respond, at this point in time, to the language diversity that I will face. Hopefully, by the time I graduate I will have an idea of how to respond. But, for now, how do we (as educators) respond to the diversities of language? Obviously, we would never want to make a student feel inferior for the way that they speak because there really is no “inferior” way of speaking. However, we do live in a world where there are those who believe there is a “superior” way of speaking in situations like the workplace and academia. How do we teach students Standard American English, without causing destruction to their own language?
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I believe that there is no great way to incorporate the two languages into our educational system. I don’t think that, as an educator, I will feel the need to correct students’ speech if they use AAVE. I know that black or white, Asian or Hispanic, German or American, we all speak incorrectly at some time or another. Some of us more so than others, no doubt, but I believe that the important thing is for students to show that they can use Standard English in writing. At this moment, I am fully willing to accept speech patterns other than SE in my hypothetical classrooms. As long as SE can be written correctly, the teacher knows that the student has learned the language. Writing is usually formal in school whereas speaking is most often informal. If a student has to worry about how he or she will word something, they may not be able to pay attention to an actual answer they are trying to give in a class discussion.
ReplyDeleteTo use Standard English does not diminish one’s culture. That would be kin to saying that because I am taking Spanish classes, or because my friend’s Indian husband speaks English, we lose some of our own culture. To speak Standard English would be a great sign to let teachers know that students understand and are fluent in SE. It would reassure teachers’ confidence in their students. To say that students who speak SE are less a part of Black culture, however, is an idea that I personally feel is outdated. I do not believe that “Black = Bad,” which is the feeling that I get that the article is trying to convey is the common train of thought.
I do feel that Standard English should be a part of daily education, though, when in a high school classroom. Teachers cannot give up on teaching as standard because of its nature; we must uphold standards for students to follow. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, all hell will break loose.
Good stuff, here.
ReplyDelete"Teachers cannot give up on teaching as standard because of its nature; we must uphold standards for students to follow. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, all hell will break loose." I'm sensing two different uses of the word "standard" here, which might be interesting to consider: 1) that which is typical or usual 2)that which is of a certain, high quality. Is there any conflation of those meanings when we talk about teaching "standard" English--not just instructing students in the grammar and usage of that particular dialect but also "upholding a standard" as in demonstrating that it is also the BEST or even only valid dialect?