It’s a funny thing how my mind works. Instead of causing me to reflect on insightful discussions and interactions in my past about language, the readings took me right back to my high school chorus days. I attended a private school that placed great emphasis on the arts and its college preparatory curriculum. I have always loved music and singing so I really enjoyed chorus. Our director had just completed graduate school and was exciting and energetic. One of the things I liked best about Mr. Manning was that he chose pieces reflecting a variety of styles. We performed classical pieces, spirituals and everything in between! But, without a doubt, our favorite pieces were the spirituals. Ain’t-a That Good News was one such piece. We worked hard to master the proper dialect—especially since we rarely heard it—there were no African Americans at my school—that’s right, none. Although I enjoyed singing the piece, I remember feeling guilty about it on several levels. It seemed hypocritical to work so hard on the dialect on top of using the word “ain’t-a” over and over again when we were NEVER even allowed to say ain’t at school under any circumstance. I also struggled with feeling as if I were making fun of someone. Although our director “educated” us about the genre, I never got over my insecurities associated with singing spirituals.
Ain’t-a that good news? No, it’s not. It was not good that I sat for thirteen years in a school not predominantly white but ALL white. I now realize that it was not good that I only heard my language from others with my same southern drawl. Maybe the reason I liked singing spirituals so much was that I experienced what Toni Morrison described when she said that language “is the thing that black people love so much—the saying of words, holding them on the tongue, experimenting with them, playing with them…” (p. 214). Maybe I liked spirituals because the language was fun! I look back and realize the lack of diversity did not serve me or my classmates well. In many ways our educational environment bred feelings of both cultural and linguistic superiority. If Rokeach’s assertion is correct that by fostering language biases we stifle students’ cognitive development (p. 209), then I find it ironic that my parents’ decision to provide what they thought to be the highest quality education available may not have rendered the desired result. While I am extremely thankful for the opportunities I have had educationally, I wonder what I have missed.
When my husband and I discuss some historical event or particular time period, he always reminds me that history is written by the victors. Not only do the spoils go to the victor but so does the language. It was good for me to be reminded by Wynne that “language has an army and a navy” (Dorset, 1997, O’Neil, 1997). I am realizing more and more how political language is and my responsibility to listen to myself—to make sure that I am not being misunderstood and thus rejected because I fail to consider what I truly communicate when I speak. While there is no national public policy on language, there is Barack Obama. He provides a connection for many of our students, a symbol of pride. I have a wonderful opportunity to bridge a gap with students as I value what President Obama brings to the Oval Office. While I may not have as many culturally diverse experiences in my past as I would like, I do have tomorrow. I do have a chance to make a difference in the classroom. Ain’t-a that good news?
Lisa Rasey
Comments (7)
Lisa,
Your analogy of singing spirituals was so fitting for what we've been reading recently. I wonder if the way you felt mirrors how minorities feel when they learn standard English. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a diverse area of the south, but where I teach now is much different. While there can't be forced diversity, we can certainly bring the culture into our classrooms just like your chorus teacher did. That's a baby step in the right direction.
Posted by Christy Rivers | February 6, 2009 2:57 PM
Posted on February 6, 2009 14:57
Hi Lisa. I think its great when we read and we automatically find ourselves traveling back to our own experiences. Your chorus teacher, in my opinion, was doing his/her best to bring to you the cultural experiences that you weren’t able to have at your school. If only we could all remember to do that each day! I also have a story to share. A friend of mine has been trying to use multicultural literature in her classroom. She is working hard to try to bring in literature the represents all cultures and she uses her read aloud time as a means to get to this. A couple of weeks ago she shared a story about a little girl and her family trying to cross the border from Mexico to the US. The little girl keeps a journal about her experiences and tells the story through those entries. One of her Hispanic students absolutely loved this story because he could directly relate to the little girl’s experience. Before reading the story this little boy barely spoke up in class. He would do all that he was asked but rarely shared any personal stories or experiences with the class. The day she read that book he talked for 5 to 10 minutes to her assistant at lunch, sharing with her his family’s journey from Mexico to the US. It was amazing for them to hear this little boy connect with his new school and class and it all came from seeing himself in the literature and seeing his teacher appreciate the culture that he brings with him. While you may not have had diversity within your school, it looks like your teacher tried to bring it to you so that all of you could learn to appreciate the different cultures you would someday meet.
Posted by Amie Snow | February 7, 2009 9:36 AM
Posted on February 7, 2009 09:36
Lisa,Amy,
I had a similar experience this week in my classroom. We've been celebrating Black History Month. I've been using a Poetry book called Hip Hop Speaks to Chilren, by Nikki Giovanni. One of our parents cooked "Soul" food for our class on Friday. While she was there, I shared the peotry book, and she told me that she performs poetry! So she recited several Langston Hughes poems for my class. She did an incredible job involving the kids and they absolutely loved it.I could visibly see some of my African American students relax and then join in enthusiastically. She was speaking their language! Later, the kids performed one of the poems from the book called "Do the Rosa Parks." It was an awesome teaching day. Reading this book has helped me to look for opportunities to share other cultures. It has also made me more aware of the students' responses to my efforts. It was rewarding to see it play-out in my classroom.
Posted by Jayne Thompson | February 7, 2009 10:11 AM
Posted on February 7, 2009 10:11
Lisa, your post was so well composed and insightful. And the comments are also inspiring. I had to share a moment that I had this week. My seventh grade ELL kids were reading an excerpt from the Obama "race" speech. One sentence talks about racial polarization, not just white and black but brown and black. Florentino heard that and yelled out, "Hey, he's talking about us!! He said brown people." He was so excited and felt included by the President's words. It really is a matter of feeling included, same language, color, something. Just ask members of gangs.
Lisa, it looks like you are making up for the opportunities you say you missed!
Ashley Catlett
Posted by Ashley Catlett | February 7, 2009 9:49 PM
Posted on February 7, 2009 21:49
I really enjoyed your critique. It is good to see other people reflect back over their lives. It seems as if every week, the reading takes me back to a different point in my life. I can definitely also connect with the learning of languages and dialects in chorus. There were several occasions when I did just this.
I think it is also great that you mentioned Barack Obama and his connection with so many average Americans. Whether your views are different or similar to our newly elected president, it is important that you understand what type of impact his election has on our country and our students. So many of my students have little to zero positive role models in their lives. For our entire history, we have watched wealthy, white men control our government and country. I believe that it is truly refreshing to have someone who does not fit that mold in office.
I know several of my students have said, "I want to be President one day like Barack Obama." Before his election, this was probably not heard as often by students who are Hispanic, African American, Asian American, Females, and so on. Now, all minorities feel as though they have a chance to succeed and make a difference in America. I think his presidency can make a lot of difference in our schools if we support him and encourage our children to read his speeches and learn about government. This election definitely brought about a new found interest in government and reading (especially nonfiction) for many of my children.
Posted by Brittany Guy | February 9, 2009 4:14 PM
Posted on February 9, 2009 16:14
Lisa,
I think I say this every week, but I LOVE reading your blog comments! You always dig deep into yourself and bring your own past experiences to make an applicable connection to your own teaching, which inspires me to do the same. And while you are taking advantage of tomorrow, do not discredit your own schooling experience. Every experience is a learning opportunity. Opportunities are meant to be shared.
Posted by Cherrita Hayden-McMillan | February 9, 2009 9:45 PM
Posted on February 9, 2009 21:45
Lisa,
Goodness --- we have the same high school choral experience! I too always felt like an impostor in my white skin trying to use black vernacular when singing those spirituals. And it never really sounded "right" to me. There were Black students in my high school, but they weren't in chorus, so it was even more strange when we would perform for the school and I would see Black students laughing at us.
I still wonder what was going on in our director's mind when he wanted us white kids to sing such an historical and cultural song.....
Thanks for reminding me of this!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 15, 2009 10:24 AM
Posted on February 15, 2009 10:24