While reading the introduction and beginning of chapter 9 everything I was reading confirmed what I have been thinking. Many problems in the classroom stem from teachers and students being unaware of what they have heard or understood. The language we use in the classroom is more than the words that we speak. How we say something is just as important as what we say. In a few classes in my school, I see this and it turns into a big issue between a student and teacher or a teacher and his/her class. The distressing thing about it is the child ends up the one being blamed and is punished. Often I want to go in and tell the teacher that the tone they used or what they said caused the situation to escalate, but how do you tell a teacher what she has said it incorrect or misunderstood even when you do it in a friendly way. I find it hard to convey this message to teachers and do not want to be perceived as someone interfering in something that is not my busy, especially if the problem is not with one of my students. It’s unfair how we as adults feel we are correct in our actions or thoughts and children are wrong. I have seen it vice versa many times and the child is right in most cases. Adults misinterpret children words just as much as children do. I myself am guilty of this as well. In classrooms, we do need to listen to what students are saying as well as be mindful of what we say. I like how the author speaks of a teachers need to be topsy-turvy. I know we all need to analyze ourselves every so often because sometimes we think we are right and from someone else perspective we aren’t. This can help make a classroom environment more productive.
I had some difficulty following chapter 10 although I got a general idea of what Smitherman was saying. It seems that long before the Ebonics initiative there were other initiatives to accept everyone’s language and dialect. The author feels very strong about affirming everyone’s right to his or her own language and dialect. I can understand why. When we tell a child he/she is not speaking right, we can affect their whole world. It can have an impact on how the feel about themselves, their family, and cause them feel inferior. I agree that we should help students feel secure and accepted as we try to build their knowledge of Standard English, but I am not sure if I agree with any policies to affirm everyone’s language. One benefit of a language policy I can see is that it would possibly protect people from linguistic imperialism or feeling inferior.
It is awful when children or adults feel inferior to other races because of their oral language that it causes them to become quiet and not share their thoughts and feelings. It is wrong when society makes you feel as though you do not have anything valuable to share because you do not speak in the same manner as most people. The worst part about it is it starts in America classrooms. We have to learn how to affirm children while teaching them how to use grammar correctly. As the author cited on page 209, “by fostering prejudice such as language biases, we stifle all students’ cognitive development” and that is not what we are here to do. In order to help children we have to build them up and be mindful of how communicate our thoughts and ideas about their language.
Comments (6)
Danielle,
I agree that it is awful that in America children are still treated differently based on their language and other forms of prejudice. My comments about chapter 10 were similar to yours. I just disagree with the author's viewpoint on Ebonics. We all need to celebrate each others likes and differences, but SE will probably always be the standard language spoken in America. All children should be given a chance to learn SE and incorporate their language into their learning. Our job is to prepare them for a future. Although, I do feel we need to become more aware of how we can improve their education and afford them the opportunities their peers have in school.
Beth Rigsbee
Posted by Beth Rigsbee | June 1, 2007 10:20 PM
Posted on June 1, 2007 22:20
Danielle,
I am glad that you acknowledge that teachers are not always "right" in matters of communication. I'm not sure where this comes from, but I have watched young teachers act out of their own feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I think there is a lot of pressure on teachers to feel "right" all the time about knowledge, and perhaps this extends into the way they communicate about other things (and resolve conflict). Of course, not all teachers do this, but it is interesting to think about in terms of how you wrote about power, privilege, position, and language.
Alecia
Posted by Prof. Alecia Jackson | June 2, 2007 11:39 AM
Posted on June 2, 2007 11:39
Danielle-
As I read your response all I could think about was a recent incident I witnessed at my school. A teacher brought a child to the office because he had said or written something mean about her. Her response was that she wanted the child out of her classroom. I thought to myself, boy, you have just lost the battle completely. This child now has lost all respect for you and it’s not the last day of school yet. It is going to be a long haul for you two. I am sure she has some idea of how her message came across to the child, but I don’t think she truly will ever realize the damage that she possibly is doing to a child’s ego by simply stated “I don’t want you here.” It seemed to me, the child probably was correct in their comment about her, just based on the whole scene I witnessed, but of course, the child was the one punished.
You mentioned about people feeling inferior because of their oral language, and it is so true. Each year I have at least one ESL kindergartner who does not speak the majority of the year because of their fear of being wrong. I know they understand the language, they can do what is asked of them, but they refuse to speak. When pulled aside for assessment, they almost always whisper. It is so heartbreaking that children are that scared.
Posted by Lisa Outland | June 2, 2007 1:59 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 13:59
Danielle, I think you bring up an interesting point about it often not being what we say that is the issue, but rather how we say it. Body language and tone have just as much to do with communication as the actual words and sounds that come out of our mouths. This is one thing that I always try to be very mindful of as I speak to my students. Usually the words I am using are not the problem, rather it is how I am directing those words towards someone. This concept is true in all contexts of life (friendships, marriages, co-workers, the cashier at the grocery store). We all need to be more mindful, not only of the words we use, but also how they are presented. I think that many of the problems we face in communication could be solved by rectifying this simple aspect of our language and taking the time to stop and think before something comes out of our mouth.
Posted by Allison Reese | June 3, 2007 6:57 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 18:57
Danielle,
I too have witnessed many teachers being wrong with students, and I have been myself. I often think if I had handled the situation differently, not sounded so annoyed in my tone, not raised my voice things could have turned out for the better. That being said, it is so difficult to always watch your tone. At my school this year there has been a lot of student/teacher conflict. I feel students are beginning to backtalk more, and it is becoming a larger issue of blatant disrespect. One teacher said to me, when they were in school the teacher was always "right" because they were the teacher and the adult. I wonder if that was really the case, or if his teacher was just able to build trust and gain that sort of respect from his or her students. That being said it is so very difficult to put aside other frustrations through out the day to keep from changing your language with your students. It is still something that I am challenged with daily.
Posted by Sarah McMillan | June 4, 2007 3:45 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 15:45
Danielle,
You are so right that the language we use in the classroom is more than just what we say, it has to do with tone as well. It is hard to watch a situation with a child esculate because of the tone a teacher uses with the student. The only way I know to keep from stepping on the teachers toes would be to model how you would handle the situation by helping the teacher out. It just might be that the teacher was wanting help, but doesn't know how to ask for it.
I agree that everyone has a right to his or her own language and dialect. It is so important for us as teachers to protect students from feeling inferior due to their language. We lose them as learners if we are not careful. Students do miss out cognitively when they stop answering questions or talking because of their fear of being ridiculed. As teachers we are going to have to find tackful ways to help students without demeaning who they are.
Linda Younts
Posted by Linda Younts | June 4, 2007 10:01 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 22:01