Wow! Chapter 3 was a real eye opener for me. I could relate to the stories Ms. Delpit was retelling. For example, her daughter’s feelings of inadequacy made me stop and think about my students. The peer pressure students feel today is far greater than most people imagine. It is so sad to think that one little girl is feeling that she needs to have plastic surgery in order to make herself have more Caucasian features. I do however think her little girl was at an advantage that some of our students may not be. She was able to move to another school and be given the opportunity to relate more to her peers. Many parents cannot afford to send their child to private school and they do not have a charter school option. I know this fear of not fitting in dealt a lot with language, but it appeared to also be a lack of potential friends to socialize with at school.
This chapter also reminded me of a story on the news that I heard recently. It spoke of children today using text messaging and how they used their own language and letters to write to each other. The news seemed to focus on how students carried this lack of Standard English to the classroom when writing. One teenager was interviewed and brought light to the story for me. She stated, I do not text message my mother the same way I text my friends. This is similar to Maya. She knew how to code switch. Maybe all students can do this. Shouldn’t we as teachers at least give each child a chance to “code switch?” We know that Standard English is necessary to be taught and a must in the work force, but does it have to be spoken all the time? Two weeks ago my answer to this question would have been yes. Today, I would have to think about it. If students know when to switch to Standard English, why would we not allow them to speak in the way that they feel most comfortable?
Chapter 4’s discussion of home, formal and professional English were interesting to read about. Dwayne’s tape recorded conversation was a great way to make students aware of their own dialects and language patterns. This would be a good experiment to do with students of many ages. It would also be interesting to tape record conversations with peers to see language patterns found then. I think many students would see patterns like Juanita’s where words have endings left off or the language spoken is switched in the middle of the sentence.
Chapter 7 showed how novice teachers can truly change the way we teach today. I am sure Mr. Forshay’s enthusiasm and creative thinking has changed the lives of many children. The veteran teachers of today (and this includes me) could learn a lot from a teacher like Mr. Forshay. It is awful how our society has just accepted mediocrity as being OK. We have allowed test scores and data to drive our instruction. It would be a wonderful if we could drive our instruction based on our students’ needs and interests rather than how the students do on standardized tests.
Beth Rigsbee
Comments (5)
Lisa Outland-
Beth I loved your comment on text messaging. It is so true, kids text their friends one way and parents another. I think it is so amazing that kids and teens learn to code switch, even if it is through texting, without even thinking about it. If they can see the practicalities of code switching in texting, I bet we could find a way to show them how being able to code switch home language and Standard English between their friends and adults could have the same application in the real world.
I am of the same opinion that novice teachers have so much to offer. They have wonderful ideas and are so full of enthusiasm. The only thing most lack is experience. Novice teachers probably could have an easier time incorporating code switching into their lesson, without even thinking about it, than those of us who have been teaching awhile. We can learn quite a bit from the new kids on the block.
I too wonder what the author would have done if she had not had the option of sending her child to another school. So many of our parents face this and I guess the kids just stay put at the same school. But I wonder, how different some of our children’s lives would be if they had the same opportunities afforded to them if/when they faced similar situations and feelings.
Posted by Lisa Outland | May 29, 2007 6:23 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 18:23
beth
your last statement was a mouth full...if only we could drive our instruction based on student needs and interests!...but those test!
your text messaging comment was also a great twist on what we are discussing. just recently my assistant got a text message from her daughter in the 7th grade. she said, "my daughter cant even spell school!" she spelled it skool. i told my assistant that she was text spelling...had to explain that one further. it is true that text messaging has its own patterns. and our children, including mine, can code switch easily. our children are growing up in such a new day and age. they are exposed to so much more literacy than we ever were. when i grew up in order to look up information, i used the dictionaries and encyclopedias that the man sold door to door. now our children text and email and google... they have so many more ways to communicate. those that dont have email or cell phones can get on the internet at school. our children are amazing! and they can code switch.
another form of literacy that is not in standard english is music...and children code switch from this form of non standard english to english.
i believe that there is a time and place for standard english. when i am at home even my husband does not speak standard english. i would never correct him. home is home...its a place to relax and not worry about formal and professional english. but when my husband is working, he is all business.
our children can already code switch...perhaps they just need someone at school to tell them that their unique culture is what makes them the phenomenal person they are.
donna byrd-wyatt
Posted by donna byrd-wyatt | May 29, 2007 6:52 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 18:52
Kudos to you Beth,
I especially loved your comment on text messaging. My niece does that a lot with her cell phone and I tried to figure it out and was clueless. I often tell her, is she is that good with her test messaging, then I should see several A(s) on her report card.
Also Lisa, you are so right. It would take me some time to learn the language of text messaging.
Beth, your last statement could not have been said any better on how we have allowed test scores and data to drive our instruction. Our instruction should be based on our students’ needs and interests rather than how the students perform on standardized tests. Our students are learning just enough to get by, however, they are not learning anything concrete--the basics.
Posted by Shirley Mathis | May 29, 2007 9:02 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 21:02
Beth, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that if students can effectively code-switch, why would we force them to speak in a way they are not comfortable with, unless the environment/situation necessitates it (such as a job interview or in another formal/professional setting)? I don't speak the same way in a job interview as I do at home, nor do most other people, whether they can effectively communicate in SE or not. Therefore, it just doesn't make much sense to expect our students to use SE at all times. However, then my question is: For an elementary school student, is school not their professional environment? I'm not sure whether I believe it is or not. This is just a question I have been contemplating in response to this section in the text.
Posted by Allison Reese | May 30, 2007 9:00 PM
Posted on May 30, 2007 21:00
Beth,
DITTO! Loved your last comment, "It would be a wonderful if we could drive our instruction based on our students’ needs and interests rather than how the students do on standardized tests". Some of our kids would learn so much more!! I am fortunate that I teach Social Studies in middle school this year, a non tested subject. I have so much more flexibility it what I do and teach. 7th grade is an excellent social studies year, getting to learn about Africa, Asia and Australia. We have read historical fiction this year, made great barrier reefs out of shower curtains, and produced life sized Taj-Mahal's. It is so much fun to teach without stress of testing. I would like to think my kids have learned a lot.
On a different note, if we were able to reach the needs of all our students ability levels, so much growth could be made. At the middle school level, kids are reading on anywhere from 2nd grade level to the collegiate level. I hate the idea of teaching to the test. Many have said test them at hgih levels and they will rise up. This may be true for some. But how can we teach a 7th grader reading at a 2nd grade level, 7th grade reading? I get so extremely frustrated with this. Sadly, I think these stumbling blocks often lead to some teachers giving students permssion to fail.
Posted by Sarah McMillan | May 31, 2007 8:51 AM
Posted on May 31, 2007 08:51