Not too many weeks ago, our school hosted a well respected, and successful, black speaker who interacted with our third, fourth and fifth graders. In one of his literacy demonstrations, he first employed Standard English and then a form of Ebonics; afterwards, he asked the students what kind of speech he first employed. They predictably responded that the speech "sounded white," at which the speaker replied, "No, it is green. That speech is the speech of money. That speech is what you must learn to employ to be successful." As I read the first two chapters of THE SKIN WE SPEAK, I wondered if Ernie Smith or Joanne Kilgour Dowdy would agree with our guest speaker. I'm sure they would agree that the speech "sounded white" and that it is practiced by many people who have achieved worldly success. Would they also support the statement that it is THE way to earn respectability or success? Though I was taught SE at home and at school and do not entirely understand or identify with Ebonics, I was chilled by the speaker's blanket statement presented as truth to an entirely black and impoverished student body. Even I heard the statement as a condemnation of the students' intimate language, their "comfort" language. Yes, these students must learn to be practical, to employ Standard English when necessary to be taken seriously for jobs, for educational opportunities, but how do we enable/support these students to adapt to the practicalities of the world without sacrificing their identities? Joanne Kilgour Dowdy alluded to this in her chapter; I loved her statement that "soul and reality occupy separate linguistic spaces" for these students. How true to oneself is the student who must constantly reinvent his language in order to be accepted/valued? How does the student achieve the ultimate goal of being genuine when the "voice in her head does not match the tone in her throat"?
Though I can not truly relate to the language issue, I can relate to the identity issue on another level because I am a female, old enough to have experienced bias based solely on gender;I can identify with the disappointment and frustration associated with being unfairly denied equal opportunity! How perplexing it must be to be "judged inferior" by the words that automatically slip from one's lips! I know how angry I became when I was "judged inferior" simply because I was female!
The question for me is how do we as educators validate the individual (student) and yet enable that same individual to compete in the real world, the world that does value Standard English? How do we go about establishing open communication between the worlds of intimate language and public language? How do we support our students emotionally, morally and realistically so that they can achieve success?
Comments (4)
Betsy,
When reading about your school’s recent guest speaker I, too, was shocked about his “blanket” statements. The more I think about this, the more my opinion changes. I sense his that his “blanket statements” may have resonated with the children at your school. I am assuming that this African American man was once sitting in the children’s position--facing a bias world. He lived through this. He learned and discovered that SE was “green”. To him, he found that speaking his comfort language (BE) was not profitable in the business world so he adapted to the world around him. Is adaptation a negative phenomenon? Depending on the circumstance, I think of ‘adaptation’ as beneficial. The person who has adapted becomes more well-rounded and diverse because of the language modification. Just because someone speaks SE in public settings and BE at home, does not rip out his/her identity. I am undecided about my views regarding your presenter’s antics. I will need to hear others’ thoughts, too.
Heather
Holland
Posted by Heather Holland | May 25, 2007 9:15 PM
Posted on May 25, 2007 21:15
Betsy,
The speaker that came to talk to your students sounds very interesting. I can see how SE can be referred to as "green". I agree that Dowdy and Smith would agree that SE is the language used when you think about high ranking jobs such as doctorys, lawyers, politicians, ect. since that is where the money is. You raise a good question when you ask if they would support the statement, "It is the way to earn respectability or success". I think times are changing and there are some jobs where individuals can be successful and still have their idenity in tack. One example I can think of is famous rap singers. In the on-line forum post by Shirley Mathis, she mentions that "People can have their own dialect or language, but they should be able to speak SE". Shirley mentions that she speaks differently at home than she does in the classroom. I agree with Shirley that it is alright to speak your own language, but I do feel that everyone also needs to know how to speak SE. So to support students emotionally, when we teach SE to a child we must do it in a way that doesn't take away who they are. When one of my students speaks incorrectly, I repeat their question in SE. Modeling this way doesn't hurt feelings, and after continious modeling they begin to pick up on the correct way to speak.
Linda Younts
Posted by Linda Younts | May 26, 2007 8:08 AM
Posted on May 26, 2007 08:08
Betsy,
I LOVE how the speaker said the color of the language was green. Isn't that true? And the speaker, I feel, is right. In order to achieve success, speech and language do need to follow "proper English."
When you said "The question for me is how do we as educators validate the individual (student) and yet enable that same individual to compete in the real world, the world that does value Standard English? How do we go about establishing open communication between the worlds of intimate language and public language? How do we support our students... to achive success?" I really tried to come up with some beginning of an idea of where to start. Unfortunately I don't have any idea where to begin or what answer is right. If only we knew where to begin...
Posted by Jeanna McIntyre | May 28, 2007 4:42 PM
Posted on May 28, 2007 16:42
Hm.
I suppose that I have mixed feelings about the guest speaker. While I applaud his critical stance to raise attention to the power embedded in the use of SE, I'm not sure I agree that it is necessary for success. First, I question what he means by success, because I do not equate success with money and would hate for young children to do so as well! Also, SE can be appropriate in other settings that do not have the prerequisite of success (such as a visit to the doctor's office, etc.).
Thanks for such a provocative post.
Alecia
Posted by Prof. Alecia Jackson | May 28, 2007 10:39 PM
Posted on May 28, 2007 22:39