After reading Judith Baker’s chapter, I found myself wondering how educated my English teachers had been on this subject of speaking different “Englishes.” I wish that my teachers had had a more open mind about these things. I wonder then if this was the case, my classmates and I wouldn’t have such linguistic insecurity, and we would be able to spit out what we are trying to say in a clear and forthright manner.
Judith Baker’s ideas build upon Lisa Delpit’s that we read in chapter three. They both have the same notion that “When formal English no longer threatens to demean them, students are more willing to master it.” However, she brings us insider her classroom to show us her teaching techniques and strategies to make students feel less insecure about their own language and more willing to learn “standard” English. I found her projects and studies interesting as she delves and further questions the influence of standard English on dialect speakers. She shows us how important this is in the students’ making the decision for them to learn Standard English. As teachers of English, we will constantly have to remind ourselves of these facts. How can we keep these ideas in the forefront of our minds and remain open to the different dialects of our students while teaching them the rules of grammar and the “correct” way to speak and write?
She pinpoints the three main “forms” of English of which we’ve been speaking in class, her “trilingualism”; which is home, formal, and professional English. We learn to code switch between these three forms and become more aware of them as we get older. Is this a natural instinctive learning? I have observed a few instances where there are those who are less aware of code switching. Is it something also taught?
To me the key lesson from Chapter 7 was that teachers should never give up on their students and that we should set our expectations for them high. We need to do what we can to connect with them, engage them, and help them understand that we aren’t trying to take away their identity. Apparently, teachers have a problem with students not feeling comfortable in the classroom. Whether it’s from being discouraged because of a previous failure or discouraged because they don’t feel comfortable learning something that they aren’t even familiar with, we need to make sure that our students can feel accepted in our classrooms. Ladson-Billings brings up a great point, and we need to build upon that. A very important key to being a successful teacher is setting your expectations high for your students. They need to know that you believe in them.
ReplyDeleteLadson-Billing has a great idea of teaching by using music. Music is something that his students easily connected with. There are other ways to connect with our students and we should be determined to figure out those techniques. One way to make sure that we keep our expectations high is to make sure that we accept everyone’s different “home language”. By accepting this, we will be showing our students respect, and thus getting respect – and willingness to learn – in return.