Most of American society views those who speak AAVE as lower-class and at a disadvantage to succeed in life, regardless of age or race of either the speaker or those judging the speaker.
I think I had a large problem with a specific point in the introduction. It is stated that the book’s purpose is in part “to provide teachers insight into the educational dispositions necessary to expand the language repertoires of children , while at the same maintaining their connection to their mother tongue.” I understand learning a language in order to teach another language; I feel that that is important in understanding the students, not only for communication, but in learning a language, one often learns part of a culture. Why, though, do students need to hold onto the mother tongue so much? As Dowdy had mentioned, it creates a feeling of home. But are the languages in questions so different that this feeling of home is ripped away? Do the idioms of Standard English come haltingly to those who speak AAVE? My stepfather was forbidden to learn French in high school because his mother was punished cruelly for speaking the only language she knew when she started school, Cajun French. Although I feel a little sad for my stepfather’s mother, and even my stepfather, because he still wants to learn, I really don’t feel that it has caused that much lingering pain for either party. Mrs. Valia, my stepdad’s mother, may certainly have some bad memories and of course she doesn’t have positive feelings towards those teachers, or maybe even the fact that it was allowed to happen, but again, I think she feels that it was in the past and she got over it.
Would it be so hard for those who speak AAVE to teach their children Standard English? If a parent has learned Standard English well, there’s no reason in my mind to not teach their children Standard English considering the years of the belief that AAVE is an obstacle to learning, or at least being perceived as an intelligent person. Maybe that’s harsh, but isn’t the education (or at least the positive responses from those in authority) of the child more important?
