In Michael Stubbs' chapter, he presents the reader with a text that is like most of the other chapters in this book except that it has a twist; this chapter is about the dialects of British English. He begins by asking the reader if a child’s language can affect his success at school. In some cases, the answer is yes. A speaker’s language largely influences how someone views his or her identity. For example, if someone uses the word ‘ain’t’ then one may assume that this person is lazy. This could be a huge problem if teachers pass judgments on students purely based on the way that a child speaks. This chapter tells the reader about an interview in which one-third of fifty teachers “thought that the school should try to change the way pupils speak.” This is outrageous that teachers do not accept children the way they are. As teachers, they should try to better that language or dialect that a child already speaks instead of changing language, which would in turn change their identity.
If a teacher feels that the way a student speaks is wrong, then they should think to themselves: is this student really speaking incorrectly, or are they speaking language that may not be appropriate at all times. A teacher should make it clear that it is perfectly fine to use whatever language a child prefers with their friends or at home, but their particular language may or may not be appropriate at a formal event or job interview. It is a teacher’s job to make the distinction clear. However, how does a teacher tell a student this without telling him that he is wrong? Is there a way teach the distinction at a young age to possibly avoid prejudices in language at an older age?
Monday, September 28, 2009
Inquiry 3
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I agree with Elaina’s point that as teachers, we need to embrace the home dialects of our students in order to preserve their identities. By embracing the home dialects of our students, I don’t mean that we need to learn their dialects in order to communicate with them; instead, I mean that we need to make them aware that their dialects do not need to be removed from their lives.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter five of The Skin That We Speak by Lisa Delpit, Delpit stresses that the more we embrace our students’ dialects, communities, and interests, the more our students will see that we care about them, their families, and their homes. When we show that we are interested in our students’ lives and what interests them, we will gain their respect. Respect, as Delpit points out, is crucial to building a trusting relationship with our students. When we create a trusting relationship with our students, they will be more open to adopting SE.
Elaina says that we need to make a clear distinction between the home language and school/work language for our students. By embracing our students’ home dialects, our students will learn to understand that SE is appropriate for the classroom and AAVE is appropriate for informal settings. When our students adopt SE and still use AAVE in informal settings, they will be code-switching. Code-switching seems to be part of the solution for the problems teachers face with AAVE in their classrooms. The way to address the SE issues in the classroom is not to remove AAVE. The way to address the SE issues in the classroom is to embrace AAVE and help students to understand that both of their dialects are acceptable, just in different atmospheres.
"If a teacher feels that the way a student speaks is wrong, then they should think to themselves: is this student really speaking incorrectly, or are they speaking language that may not be appropriate at all times."
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to phrase it--and asking yourself this question will take effort at first, but eventually it will become automatic and second-nature. Then you will be able to, as Gabrielle says, show students the respect that's indispensable in the classroom while also preparing them to succeed in some of the harsh realities of our society.