In Victoria Purcell-Gates chapter, she follows a young, illiterate boy—Donny—and his illiterate mother; she documents the stereotype of their “hillbilly” accent at school. It is such a shame that a teacher gave permission to fail to a student. The teacher heard Donny’s mother speak and right away, she dismissed Donny as a child who is unable to learn how to read or write. Donny did not make any progress in school, and the teacher did not even seem to notice Donny’s lack of knowledge. Jenny, Donny’s mother, constantly went to the teacher begging to help give Donny a better life than she had growing up, and it was as if the teacher simply ignored her request. Why is it that no one listened to Donny’s mother? It is because she had the same hillbilly accent that a close-minded individual would view as ignorant. I am completely floored to read about a teacher who did not care about a student because of his dialect. A teacher’s job is to teach, and nowhere in the definition does it say only to students who have previous knowledge of reading and writing. How can a teacher really not care about the success of her student?
So what can we do as future teacher to change this? We must not let stereotypes haze our view of teaching. Every student is unique and has different learning styles. I want to be sure that I can cater to children’s different learning styles so that I can give them a full education. We must take a stand and help all students even those who seem like they cannot be taught.
Alaina asked the question pertaining to chapter eight of The Skin That We Speak – Why is it that no one listened to Donny’s mother? Author Joan Wynne answers this question in chapter 12 by saying that the language of the dominant culture is what politics has accepted (211). In other words, society expects Americans like Donny’s mother to speak in Standard English. When people fail to speak in Standard English, many of their ideas and opinions are not be heard. Donny’s mother spoke “hillbilly,” it was unfamiliar and unacceptable speech to Donny’s teacher.
ReplyDeletePeople like Donny’s teacher, specifically children, can benefit from being exposed to other dialects. Wynne explains that, “By neglecting to teach about the beauty and richness of the language of Black America [or any other dialect], we also damage White children” (208). The consequences for White children, or any children for that matter, not being exposed to dialects other than their own include: the unchanging thought that their language is superior, the lack of knowledge pertaining to Ebonics (or any other dialect) and its history in America, and the lack of ability to, “Work collaboratively across cultures to build those bridges of understanding that will allow people to cross the racial divide that separates us a nation, a world, and a species,” (209). It is important to expose our children to other dialects in order to make them aware that a world outside their own does exist.