RE_5539

I started watching a movie a few weekend ago that I recorded from HBO, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." The movie is about the Sioux Indians and how they were forced to adapt to the culture of whites in their own land. (I never completed the movie, but what I saw was very poignant and pertained alot to what I've been reading in this class.) One of the young Indians was in a school that taught the Indian children how to act "white." They were forced to choose new "Christian" names and abandon their given Indian names. They were also forced to memorize the history of the whites. Something clicked when I was reading these chapters. Who are we to say that traditional English is correct? It is, undoubtedly, what is accepted in our society. (Which is dominated by white, who have the power.) Like the Indians lost their power and were forced to take on the characteristics of white society, could those who have their own traditional languages feel the same way? Are we simply falling prey to those who have been in power the longest? Where and when was it decided that traditional English was correct? Before I would've said "We are a country that was created from England. Our language was brought with us to this new world. Traditional English is what we're always spoken. Therefore traditional English is most correct." This would hold water if we didn't live in a country that boasts to be a "melting pot" of cultures, ethnicities, and races. (This is a HUGE epiphany for me!) I never quite looked at it this way because I viewed the controversy from one viewpoint: mine. How egotistical of me. I am now amending my stance. I still feel that there is a time and place for everything. And, because traditional standard English is what is respected in professional settings, I think we need to teach those who speak with variations of the English language how to properly use traditional standard English, much like we do with ESL learners. HOWEVER, I feel that we should embrace and study the differences between the two in the classroom. I LOVE how Judith Baker (chapter 4) spoke of studying with her students the different "Englishes" they speak. This is a wonderful idea! It respects each students home language, while investigating it's roots and growth through the generations. Isn't that amazing? That piqued my interest tremendously. It also shares the power and lends more of an equal weight to the home language of each student in the classroom, rather than correcting those that aren't standard English.