As I read the first part of The Skin That We Speak, I truly began to reflect on my life experiences and how they have impacted me. Although moving a lot had many disadvantages it also at many advantages. I have always accepted people for who they are and never understood why there is so much racism in the world. So unlike Dowdy and Smith there never was another language that completely dominated over English where I lived/grew up and I did not feel the prejudice that they did or have to 'fight' to fit in. English was the language that made it possible for us to communicate in a community full of people from different places.
My mom married my step dad when I was seven. He was in the Navy so because of that and some other circumstances we moved often. Everywhere that we lived we always had a sense of community no matter what your race or identity. However, we all had two common threads, we were military and we spoke English. We might have different accents or even said a few words differently but overall we spoke English. This book makes me wonder how hard it might have been, for us as military children, if we didn’t have that common thread of language and none of us understood each other.
Maybe I am being devils advocate because I think about military communities and schools like South Fork Elementary and wonder how could or would you teach the children at that school, in which over 26 different languages are spoken, if you didn’t pull them together with a common language. How would they communicate with each other? I also think of Middle Fork, a school I taught at for two years, and the families there. A large portion of the population was Hispanic. However, they spoke many different forms/dialects of Spanish. Our teachers that could translate for families in meetings ran into the difficulty of not knowing the correct dialect of Spanish to communicate with certain families.
Now don’t get me wrong I feel that an individual’s native language and culture is extremely important and it helps make each and every one of us unique. I also feel that children should not feel ashamed to speak in their native language and when they are doing things such as journal writing that they should not be burdened by the stress of translating to English. However, when they are writing papers for “publication” or to share with the class or public I feel that it is necessary to be able to write/speak in English.
I also believe that the ability to speak multiple languages is an advantage not a disorder. So I guess my question is how do we maintain a common language in our country while equaling respecting and embracing the many languages that are spoken in our country?
Amy Spade
Comments (5)
Amy, I guess I see a difference between spoken and written language. If I can understand someone, their English grammar doesn't need to be perfect. I think one thing we could do in this country is to admit there are millions of Spanish speakers and provide more services in that language. Like the inauguration today, couldn't it have Spanish subtitles at the bottom on cnn??
You are right that language can unite us. I just think right now in politics, people use it to divide us.
Ashley Catlett
Posted by Ashley Catlett | January 20, 2009 1:02 PM
Posted on January 20, 2009 13:02
Amy, your question is a good one, and one that deserves a lot of thought in our society today. It seems that many people don't even think about the fact that there are other languages out there, that it's not "their problem" to deal with the differences. Meanwhile, students from other cultures are struggling to get by and find their identity. I thought about this while reading too...that, as a whole, many English speakers seem to be somewhat snobby with their language. Just like in the example with the lady in the waiting room in the prologue, many feel that if someone comes to this country, they should immediately learn the language. Language does unite us, but so do many other things that can transcend language, but there is no easy answer to how to accommodate everyone.
Posted by Christy Rivers | January 23, 2009 5:20 PM
Posted on January 23, 2009 17:20
Amy,
What a great question. Although there are no easy answers, I think that schools play a huge role in the solution. School is one place and experience that all kids share. So in our classrooms, we have the opportunity to both teach a common language and embrace each child's unique language background. I realize that that sounds a bit idealistic, but teachers really do have an influence on both language and tolerance. It's a start anyway.
Jayne Thompson
Posted by Jayne Thompson | January 24, 2009 10:28 AM
Posted on January 24, 2009 10:28
Amy,
I too have thought a lot about your concluding question, and it's a BIG one. I have to agree with Jayne that school seems the most sensible and logical place for this to happen. I wish our schools could find ways to do better.
Secondly, I want to comment on your idea of sharing writing in English. You also mention it's important that students not feel shame about their language. In my experience, their uniqueness comes out when students are allowed to "live" their culture in schools and not share it in contrived ways with "taco days" or "cinco de mayo." Your post just led me to wonder how immigrant children, or ESL children, might experience school differently if their culture were at the fore rather than the background. This is not to say they shouldn't speak English, but what if they could write/present/publish in Spanish in formal situations to "showcase" their culture as White students do? Just a thought.....
Posted by Alecia Jackson | January 29, 2009 9:18 AM
Posted on January 29, 2009 09:18
One more thought....
I suppose it wouldn't matter to me if others couldn't "understand" them. Of course Hispanic students would need to somehow translate. But giving equal footing to their authenticity might make a big difference for them psychologically and emotionally. And it might break down negative stereotypes that other children have about other cultures and languages.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | January 29, 2009 9:19 AM
Posted on January 29, 2009 09:19