RE_5539

Lisa Outland -

The introduction of this book hit home for me in one way. I had never really thought about there being a Standard English (SE), but realized I grew up with parents who made sure I attained it. I am from the mountains of NC, and as many know, we have our own dialect there. Yes, I can talk the talk with the best of them in my country dialect, but being raised by educated parents, they did their best to make sure I learned how to speak “properly.” As an educator, I do my best to make sure I speak in SE when teaching, but my country dialect has been know to slip in unexpectedly and put a whole new spin on just one word in my sentence. My parents raised me with the belief that you were judged on how you spoke. If I were to use my country dialect, I would be judged as stupid. If I used my “proper English”, then I would be judged as smarter more educated. In some ways I do have this engrained in my belief system, but teaching in a culturally diverse school has helped shake this belief somewhat.
Many of the parents in my school speak limited, little, or no English. The ones who attempt the English always have my full attention. I do not judge them as incompetent or dumb if the word flow is not in my SE form, I see them as brave for trying to communicate with me in my language. I often will let a child alone if they rearrange the words from my SE. If a child tells me, “I have shirt red”, I don’t correct them, I always think to myself in awe that they are 5 and can speak two languages.
The same goes for my black students. I accept that their language may contain words that I have to learn the meaning of, and I do my best to make sure I know the meanings,  but I don’t “frown” upon them for using them. I often try to incorporate these words and phrases into my conversations with the children to help build the bond of trust. But, I guess it can be funny to hear a white girl from the mountains put her country spin on “bling bling” any day! However, I will correct a child, regardless of race, if they use a word in the incorrect tense or use ain’t. I have been working with one specific student all year that he is not to ask me “Did you heard me, Mrs. Outland.” I cannot get it to stick with him it’s not heard, but hear. Now I am wondering should I leave this alone? It is very much who he is and I imagine where he is from. Who am I to say SE is the only way, after all, I can slip back into my own dialect and improper use of the King’s English.
When I read the title to chapter one, I immediately knew what it said. I guess Trinidadian isn’t that far off from country where those words are concerned. I felt so sorry for the girl in the chapter once she realized she lost her own dialect if you will, to gain the use of British English. I loved that she was able to slip back into her own register later in life and see that it had an appropriate place, just as her more “formal” English. I wonder how many of my ESL students are ridiculed for learning to pronounce words the way their teachers do? Do they have to go home and be embarrassed they know more English than their parents, or speak it completely differently? Are my students losing their identities while trying to fit in? All these issues came up to me during this chapter. It reassured me that I was right in telling parents that it was okay to speak to their child in their native language at home and don’t let their children lose who they are and where they come from.
The second chapter interested me. How many times this year have I said to myself, this child will be fine when she acquires the language? I guess I need to do more on learning her language and try to meet her at least halfway in this whole process. I cannot imagine being placed in a remedial class because of my country dialect and it seems to me that this is exactly what happened to the author because of his language and he didn’t speak SE. I enjoyed trying to figure out what some of the words meant, although I was not very successful. I just cannot imagine telling a child they will amount to nothing because of their speech. What about our students who have real honest to goodness speech issues and need the assistance of speech therapy? Would these same people tell children in need of speech therapy they will not ever amount to anything because of their issues? I bet not. While I realize speaking something other than non Standard English is not the same as having a speech therapy issue, I can’t help but compare the two. I also thought about my ESL students again. I can almost bet that these same people would tell them they won’t amount to anything because of some of the issues related to translating ideas from one language to another. If one can express ideas so they are understood, then who is someone else to say it isn’t right if you don’t speak the way I speak?

Laura Wollpert- Language and Identity

While reading the introduction and the first two chapters of this book, a couple of experiences came to mind. In the early 1990s, I worked for a public school system in the Bilingual Education Department outside of Detroit. It was a nice community with a diverse student population. There were about fourteen different languages represented with most of them coming from Middle Eastern countries. I felt fortunate to work with such an interesting diverse group of people.

The goal of the department was to teach English as a Second Language while further developing the home language. The school of thought was that if the student was fully educated in the home language, English could be learned more efficiently without deficits developing in either language. This approach sounded perfectly logical and natural, but the program was constantly at risk of being eliminated. The director had to be a politician and fight for funding, validity, and recognition.

I worked mainly with Japanese students at the elementary level. Many of the teachers were caring and understanding, but there were some that insisted that because a student could do a math worksheet he or she could understand everything and would become very angry when a student did not answer a question. These teachers would not listen to anything I had to say either about the culture or the language acquisition process. Some of the teachers were down right mean. I remember an incident when a teacher asked a student if he was dead because he did not respond when I went into his room. The boy was only in first grade. In what culture is it appropriate to talk to anyone in that manner?

If I remember correctly it was also in the 1990s that there was talk of making Ebonics an official language. I remember thinking that it was very natural to do this after all I worked for a very progressive school system that tried to promote bilingualism. I was very naïve to believe this country was progressive enough to embrace the West African culture and recognize Ebonics as a language. If we look at the history of this country we can see that most of the people that settled this land striped themselves of their language and culture to assimilate and that is what we expect people to do today.

The problem is that language lives in culture and culture lives in language. You can not experience one fully without the other. People who are striped of their language are also striped of their culture. The end result will be a person who is left in pieces, and he or she will spend many years trying to put the pieces back together. As in the case of Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, her childhood would have been much different if she could have experienced her own culture in her own language instead of the language of her suppressors.

Another example is when I was tutoring a little Japanese girl. She was happy and completely unaware that both of her languages had deficits. Her mother would speak to her in broken English and sometimes a combination of Japanese and English. Therefore neither her Japanese nor her English was fully developed. If her mother would have spoken to her only in Japanese, the little girl would be better in both languages. I could not convince the mother that this was the appropriate approach to take.

When this country begins to value other cultures, more families will feel comfortable encouraging their children to actively engage in their own culture and language. When this occurs, everyone will benefit from the sharing of cultural traditions and values.

I grew up in a family that stressed Standard English (SE). My mother stressed it to a point where it really got on my nerves. Now, I drive my husband crazy doing the same thing to him that my mother did to me. As an adult, I can appreciate that I can hold a conversation with anyone and know that 99% of the time, I am speaking proper English. As a child, it was annoying to be constantly corrected. I see the advantages now that my mother afforded me by correcting my verb tenses. Our language truly is a way of identifying who we are. The author’s opinions of her mother made it easy for me to relate to her. She too felt her mother’s burden of speaking proper English.

Regardless of what career we choose, our language identifies us from the beginning of every conversation. People establish opinions about us from what we communicate with each other. These opinions are not always correct, but they are established early on. As adults we can take the chance to go back and forth between our home language an pubic language, but society may not be ready for the home language all of the time.

Language today is not a priority in the school system. Students do not conjugate sentences and learn correct speech. There is a more whole language approach that involves the child obtaining correct grammar and speech through talking and writing. I personally hate to see it happen. I do think there are times and a places for Standard English. Children today are expected to gain so much for conversational talking rather than a back to the basics approach to teaching. It is a shame that language is so easily judged, but the fact remains is that often our first impressions come from the first sentence or two that we speak to each other.

The Ebonics issue brings up a rather hot topic for me. I adamantly disagree with the use of the language in the school system by teachers. We cannot change our language to make it more convenient for any child. Standard English needs to be a focus in the early years of a child’s education and continue throughout their learning. I know for the children who speak it at home that it is crucial that we as educators learn how to teach them. No child should be judged by their language, but Standard English should still be taught. The children speaking Ebonics are a lot like our ESOL students that are in most classrooms today. We as teachers need to give all students a chance to learn at their greatest potential and serve as a source of encouragement to further their learning.

Beth Rigsbee

I think that Joanne Dowdey's description of the linguistic tension she experienced as an African American trying to climb the ladder of success in a white world is more common than some may imagine. She speaks about the conflict between her inner language (the Trinidadian that her friends were able to speak freely) and the standard English that her mother and teachers urged and expected her to speak in public due to her status of being someone who was striving to become successful in the society in which she lived. This conflict developed into a form of bondage that sometimes prevented her from expressing her innermost thoughts, desires, and the person who she really was on the inside.

Since the inner language she was trained to suppress and avoid was ingrained in her and part of her identity, I can understand why she felt liberated when she rebelled against the system that enslaved her mind, showed off her African heritage, and began switching her speech patterns from Trinidadian to standard English to blend in with any group of people in her environment. The following quote illustrates the sense of freedom she felt as a result of her acceptance of her own identity: "The chains fell from around my tongue, and my brain began to feel as if it were oiled and moving along without hiccups... I could travel up and down the continental shift, moving from Caribbean to English intonations, without anyone being offended. " (pg. 10).

Personally, I think the ability to code switch, fluently switch from one style of speaking to another, is a gift that should not be suppressed but encouraged. Reading about Joanne Dowdy's agility with code switching reminds me of a conversation I had a few months ago with my 15 year old son who was conversing with me in language that contained a few standard English errors that I knew he knew better than to use. When I brought his error to his attention, his response to me was that he talks standard English when he has to, but doesn't feel the need to say everything proper at home. I have to admit, I don't always speak in standard English at home so I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. For me, Dowdy's chapter has given validity to what my son told me. In other words, if the child has learned standard English, it is OK for him/her to speak the informal language he/she is comfortable with around family and friends; but he/she should always be prepared to switch to standard English when it is appropriate.

In regards to Ernie Smith's chapter, I wondered about a few things as I read it. What form of English did his peers speak at the school in South Central LA? Since the school was predominantly black, how different was Ernie's language from the other children? Did he live in the rural south before coming to LA and sound strange to the other children because he was speaking a form of southern Ebonics that his peers and teachers were not use to hearing? Or did he actually have some kind of childhood/ adolescent speech impediment that truly required some kind of speech therapy? It would have been helpful if he was able to include examples of his childhood speech patterns to illustrate the language that so many people, black and white, labeled as being inadequate.

However, his accomplishments in life are proof that he did not have a mental disorder or low intelligence as some suggested. His story makes me wonder how many other children are experiencing similar negative learning experiences due to their language differences. Like Ernie, there is no telling how many of these children possess hidden genius, but need to feel accepted and receive the right kind of instruction to bring their genius to life.

Victoria Howell

I can honestly say I have never thought so much about the effect of differing dialects/languages between home and community versus school and “formal” society.
Growing up, I had, and still do to some extent, a very strong Southern accent. This never affected me in a truly negative way until adulthood, especially in college and since beginning my teaching career. I can, in some aspects, relate to Ernie Smith (author of chapter 2 in our text). One particular instance I experienced in which my accent was not in synch with “Standard English” was during my student teaching. The school that I interned at was in a fairly wealthy beach community, in which many of the families had moved to North Carolina from up north due to cheaper cost of living down here. I was giving a spelling test to my fourth grade writing class, when I realized that my students were utterly confused. I had given the words “are” and “our” and, while they sounded different to me, my students thought I had said the same word twice (quite a problem on a spelling test, as you can imagine). I tried explaining to them the difference between the two words without giving away the spellings, but eventually had to pull another teacher from the hallway to say the words for me in a way my students could understand. It amazed me that something so seemingly simple had been such a barrier to our communication. In the same way, I found chapter 2 very difficult to read. I constantly found myself flipping to the footnotes in the back of the chapter so I could begin to piece together my vague idea of what the writer was trying to convey. I think the author intended for this to be the case. I believe he hoped the reader would struggle with reading his written expression, much the same way he struggled to understand the necessity of switching between two different “languages”, or dialects, throughout his youth.
I often find this same struggle in my classroom. My students, many of whom do not speak Standard English, sometimes say things that I just quite frankly do not understand. I frequently correct their use of grammar and other elements of Standard English. I still strongly believe that children in the United States should learn to properly use and speak Standard English. However, I am not naïve enough to think that they will always use it when they leave my classroom. I cannot require them to speak the way I do at home or at the mall or anywhere else for that matter. Of course, if they speak like I do they may not pronounce “are” and “our” correctly either, but I suppose that is another issue for another day . I completely agree with the author when they stated that we should teach, and expect, students to successfully use Standard English, while at the same time appreciating and validating their home language, or their “language of intimacy” as Joanne Kilgour Dowdy calls it. The question is: How? I hear so often from Americans who were born here that immigrants from other countries should learn to speak English if they want to live in our country. While I definitely believe that immigrants should be able to appropriately communicate in English, I think we often forget to respect, appreciate, and recognize the culture and languages they bring with them. The United States has often been called a “melting pot” in which citizens of the world freely travel here and share their unique experiences and ways of life. However, I’m afraid we tend to squelch many cultures, often without even realizing it. I hope that through this online discussion and the texts we are reading, I can gain a better understanding of how to accomplish this level of appreciation for other languages and dialects while teaching Standard English in my classroom. ~Allison Reese

As I read the introduction to the book, I found it interesting that the children used in the study shared many of the same ideas as adults in America. The opinions they formed about the voices they heard on the tape is what most America’s think about people in our society. On page xvi, the author stated that very young children have developed attitudes toward African America language and assumptions about its speakers that closely parallel adult American views. These same opinions carried over into school as well. I wondered how this was possible. I wondered if this was due to what they heard their parents say at home or is it something that we feel without anyone telling us? I am not sure, but one thing is for sure. Children and adults share many of the same beliefs presented in the introduction whether we admit to it or not. Sometimes we hear a person speak and if it is not Standard English, we make assumptions about the person and the type of life they have. This may be something we do unintentionally, but we do it and we do it to the students in our classrooms.

In school, many of our children do not speak what is termed “Standard English”. Some people feel it is due to laziness, learning differences and others have their own opinions of why children do not learn it. To understand why children speak the way they do we need to look at their background not just their culture. As humans, we are like sponges from birth to at least five years old. We first learn how to speak by the people we are around as children. Your background and whom you were raised by have an influence on your speech style. If you are around people, who speak a certain way for a long period of time you will began to speak in the same manner. When people come to an English-speaking country from other places and try to learn the language sometimes they mix their language with English and therefore do not speak Standard English. I see this with many children of other nationalities as they try to learn English. This was also the cause during the time of slavery, when many Africans picked up the language wrong and it became the language learned by others in their families for generations and generations. Some children find it difficulty to grasp the concept of Standard English. This in turn causes many of them to be labeled as deficient or uneducated which is not fair to them.

As educators, we cannot judge children who come into our schools with broken English or nonstandard English. When children speak and do not use proper grammar I do not make a point to tear them down and make them feel like they are less than I am because they have not spoken correctly. I model the correct way to say it. For instance, if a child uses “ain’t” or a double negative (no and not) in a sentence I will say the sentence the appropriate way and sometimes explain why you don’t use double negatives or the word “ain’t”. This way I can model the correct way to say what they said and I get clarity on what they are saying to me. Children learn by modeling and eventually they will pick it up and begin to say it the correct way. No, this is not the only way they learn. In our schools, we did children a big disservice by removing the focus on grammar in our schools. Children who come from homes were the English is not spoken correctly need to learn it and where else are they going to learn it besides schools. We need to shift our focus to what is important. If we get back to basics, the more our students will learn to speak correctly and this will in turn help the way they communicate and learn.

It is no mystery that in order to succeed you have to know how to speak a certain way and use language correctly, but what happens when you feel like you lose yourself while trying to confirm to society norms. I have never had to deal with this, but I see it happening. It is difficult for a child who is taught correct grammar to associate with others in their community who may not use grammar correctly. This is what Joanne Dowdy experienced growing up in Trinidad and it is what adolescence deal with in the United States. In some ways, people do feel like if they have to conform to succeed that they are losing themselves. I do not think the author is saying she does not want to speak correct English, but in many cultures if you do speak or act a certain why you are sometimes ostracized and ridicule. As the author states you are rendered voiceless. As time went on Dowdy learned to code-switch or speak a certain why depending on her surroundings. Many of us do it. I admit I do. When I am sitting around with many family laughing and reminiscing, I may not speak the way I would at work or at a conference. Many of our children have not been taught that it may be okay to speak a certain way around your family and friends, but when you go in for an interview or in the classroom; you need to make sure you are expressing yourself clearly and speaking appropriately. If children do not learn this then how will they know? If it is not taught in the home or at school, we cannot place all the blame on the child. Labeling a child because of what he or she has not learned is not fair and many children face prejudice because of this.

Because of the lack of knowledge or understanding where children come from, they are misdiagnosed and many are placed in Special Education because of this. Ernie Smith is a prime example of what happens when educators are misinformed and misjudge people. Because he did grow up in an environment were improper English was spoken he was labeled as deficient as many students of all ethnic groups are today. Many parents also feel inferior because they know they do not speak proper English, but it is our responsibility to make them feel welcome and not try to show them we are better than they are. We are there to help their children learn. It is our tone and our actions that tell parents and children they are less because of their language and when a child feels inferior, it is often difficult to make a positive difference in their life.

As I read the introduction, I was somewhat amazed. I know that we form opinions and beliefs at a very young age, however I had no idea that young children would already have developed attitudes and judgments about African American speak, or any speak for that matter. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I began to think how often I pass judgement on someone when I hear their voice on the radio, or tv, on the phone, ect. Haven't you often tried to figure out what your favorite radio commentator looks like? I am sure we all have an image in our minds, based on simply hearing their voice.

I somewhat identify with the Trinidadian author of the first chapter. I instantly knew what the title of her chapter said. I asked my boyfriend whose parents are from Equador, and he had no clue what the title of the chapter was. I have a very southern accent, and it wasn't until college that I really realized it. My first year teaching I taught at a very wealthy public high school in Cary, outside of Raleigh...it also is a very northern school. Many families in this area relocated to Cary from New York and New Jersey. Students would often have a hard time understanding me, which made me very conscious of my speech.

I feel as teachers, it is our job to prepare our students for the world that lies before them to the best of our ability. Therefore, I think we must teach standard english. Our world is a very cruel one, and if we want to best prepare our students for it, we would be doing a diservice to our students not to give them the tool of standard english. I think the ability to switch between two forms of language is an incredible skill. I often think of my ESL middle schoolers, and most recently one of my 7th graders who was going to translate for her father and her elementary school sister's conference. They are little people doing grown up jobs.

The second chapter made me think about one of my students in particular. He is an African American male, and an extremely bright, overachieving student. He speaks well in standard english, has excellent manners, and is involved in many afterschool activities. His parents recently had a conference with his teachers, expressing the concern that the student was not only struggling with his self esteem, but feeling isolated from his African American peers. He was being told that he was acting "white" and speaking "white". In this case, is my student suffering not because he doesn't speak standard english, but because he doesn't speak black english?

Sarah McMillan

Initially while reading about Ms. Dowdy's experience with language as a child I felt empathy for her need to identify herself while trying to please her mother. I must admit that I had never considered it a child's choice to speak standard English or their own dialect. In fact when she wrote that her brother and sister rebelled in order to preserve the identity of their heritage there were faces from my school years that came to mind.
Having attended school during the desegration years in Forsyth County I have witnessed first hand the difficulty of understanding each other through diverse languages. As I read the Ernie Smith chapter I was turning to every footnote to try to understand many of the terms. Never before had I considered the double standard or difficulty non-english speakers and black students must live. To be forced to speak in an uncharacteristic way in school or public and another at home must be a tremendous burden.
For these students to be mislabeled as language disabled due to their heritage is subtle discrimination at its highest whether it is intentional or not. And for those students who are truly at risk does this not put we as eduators farther behind as we try to teach them?
I agree that in today's society our diction, speech and writing often identify us as intelligent or otherwise. But should it not simply identify where we come from and who we are rather than be tied to intelligence? I also feel that standard English should be taught but not at the expense of anyone's heritage or personal identity.
Many parts of our country and state have very different and colorful expressions that are used in that area. For example in the county I live and work in there are residents who use the expression "up yonder" and "feeling pert". Just because we many not understand these terms does not make the people who use them less intelligent. As in the experiences of Ms. Dowdy and Mrs. Smith their lives and educations were quite successful not despite their struggles but rather because of their language decisions.
Shouldn't we as teachers remain open-minded and embrace the cultural differences within the classroom and to celebrate their uniqueness? Shouldn't we educate our students to these differences and work toward squelching cultural bias based on language? I feel that we should strive to preserve these differences and identities while offering our lessons in standard English not because it is more intelligent but because it is currently the most accepted in our world today. Where else but school can these lessons be taught objectively?
Can we help our students feel good about and promote learning of what to them is basically a second language for its rightful purpose?
I admit that I am developing a new perspective already after just two chapters.

As I read the introduction to this book, I became intrigued by the many studies presented by the author. I was shocked that children in the preschool age could recognize and stereotype the BE speaker and the SE speaker. To be honest, I guess I never realized that children could make such distinctions/assumptions at such an early age. I began to wonder who these children picked up these assumptions from. Do we as adults influence our children that early in life? This really made me think about the way in which I respond to other people and the way in which I speak about them. As adults we should appropriately model correct English; however, I do not think we need to degrade/stereotype others because they do not. When thinking about my 4th grade students, I feel that they would probably say the same things that these 3 to 5 year olds said. Just like adults, students equate money, prestige, and power with those people who appear to be "perfect" speakers. It scares me to think that I myself may even be judged intially by the way in which I speak.
As I read further I have to say that I completely agree with the speaker when she states that teachers "do not know what to do about language diversity in their classrooms." As a fourth grade writing teacher I am constantly faced with the incorrect usage of language and grammar. Ultimately, students write the way in which they speak. The students in my classroom who use BE or speak with the "southern dialect" do horribly on the conventions portion of the writing test. As a teacher, I constantly correct and discuss the importance of proper language usage. However, these students are so accustomed to their dialect and way of speaking that it is very hard for them to let it go. My main questions is: How do I teach children to write the opposite of the way in which they speak?
As I read chapter 1, I felt very sorry for Mrs. Dowdy. Her mother and grandmother it seemed were almost to stringent in their desire for her to speak SE. Growing up in rural NC, I myself acquired the wonderful southern dialect of the south. My parents never corrected my language because I spoke the same way that they did. My southern way of speaking did not bother me until I entered college. I remember recieving a lot of flack from my teaching advisor after observing me teach a lesson to a group of Kindergartners. The lesson that I taught involved the poem "Five Little Pumpkins". When I came to the word pumpkin in the rhyme, I said "punkin". After talking to my advisor, I had never been more humiliated in my life. From that moment on I began to pay more attention to the way in which I spoke. After this experience I began to code switch quite often. At home I used my southern dialect and at college I tried my best to speak SE. This was and is still very hard for me. After college, I chose to teach in the county that I had grown up in. I think I did this partly because I new that I would "fit in" and I would not have to worry so much about my SE being absolutely perfect.
As I read chapter 2, I was very disturbed by the labels that were placed upon Mr. Smith. I am ashamed of the fact that these people labeled him deficient just because of his language. If this was truly the case, then 75% of the students in my classroom would be labeled deficient. Mr. Smith goes on in the chapter to discuss the negative effects of being labeled. Mr. Smith ended up living a teenage and young adult life that was to most of us very undesireable. I am very glad however that he had some wonderful influences who allowed him to turn his life around. This chapter truly made me think about how quickly we as teachers can "label" a student. I feel we all need to stick to the old adage "You can't judge a book by its cover." We each need to make sure that we give each child a chance regardless of their language, ethnicity, or socio-economic status.

Kelly Mabe

"language is our first identity." "language is the skin we speak." i found these quotes from the introduction to be eye opening for me...never really thought about it that way. growing up my dad was thirty years older than my mom and he was from sc...my mom was from ny. mom insisted on standard english at home...even though we were from the rural south. ain't was not a word! by the time i started first grade i spoke perfect ny SE. though my parents had such different accents, i've always been proud of were i came from...the yankee accent and the southern bell accent.

having said that, for the last two years and hopefully next year, i have had a cluster of hispanic students in my kindergarten class. i have at least 6 hispanic children from different hispanic countries plus blacks and whites. i love the diversity! i use the book, "the colors of us" at the beginning of the year...i find that it brings us all together. i have noticed that each have their own language identity...and i embrace each. when we are singing "the wheels and the bus rap", my black children help us all sing and dance...including me. when we sing "feliz navidad", my hispanic children teach us the spanish words...the children get so excited. i find that having different races with their own styles and languages and appearances help teach diversity and how to respect all that is the same and different in all people. they teach me. ive never ranked the children according to race or gender or social status. i teach them so that they all can succeed and learn to the best of their ability while we are together. ive never thought of my children as being "verbally crippled."

after reading these chapters i now have more questions than answers about my children and their families. i dont see faults or negatives in these precious five year olds...im wondering what they think of education and SE and the teachers that speak SE?

I have found it interesting that language, slang, dialects, accents and terminology could have such an impact on modern day society yet it certainly does. I wonder; shouldn’t we pride ourselves in being able to simply communicate effectively and embrace the curious differences in the way that we go about it. I think about handwriting. Mine is different than yours, fairly neat too since I teach handwriting in Kindergarten. If you read a person’s handwriting would you be able to tell their sex, age, and race??? In some cases you could make a good guess but if you heard my voice you would be able to tell a little more clearly that I am a white female in my mid 30s with a moderate southern accent. My point is why a society should place such an importance on which is the more ideal way to speak English. I certainly speak a different style or discourse when I am with friends than I do when I am in teaching mode. It’s still English and it’s still me communicating effectively.
Dowdy made a point that stuck in my mind. She said that language can be a mask. I have found myself trying not to sound so “southern” or use the word ya’ll when I visit northern states or the west coast. I usually get some judgmental feedback on my accent. I get the impression that others may not feel I am as intelligent since I am from the Carolinas.
I wonder about how I must sound when I try my hand at speaking Spanish when in Mexico or in front of native Spanish speakers.
As I read Ernie Smith’s chapter I was reminded of a former student. He was a student who had tremendous speech problems and had a difficult time expressing himself in words, either verbally or in print. Some may have felt that he was below average in intelligence. The opposite was true. He was brilliant in math and science. In the realm of multiple intelligences he was not as strong in verbal linguistic or interpersonal communication. Smith reminds us that linguistic competence is necessary for survival and progress. Obviously there is a need to be able to communicate effectively in professional or public settings with colleagues or strangers. However, each of us with different backgrounds including geographic, social, or economic circumstances must realize that these factors will affect our primary language.
Renee Pagoota

Heather Holland

I found myself relating to Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, not as a Trinidadian, but as a daughter who was continuously corrected by her mother. Growing up, my mother always taught me that people judge you by the way you speak. She instilled correct grammar in my sister and me until we wanted to gag. She even corrected my father, a well-educated man. Now that I am an adult, I reflect back and see her purpose, just as Joanne Dowdy did, “What good mother would not marshal all the available supports to help her children access the power structure…?” While her mother was well-intentioned, I find it sad that Ms. Dowdy felt separated from her soul and segregated from her peers. It is true that society does make us feel inferior if we do not speak or write “Standard English”. Why is this so? My only explanation is that people in society are judgmental and jump to assumptions before being fully aware of a person’s education, viewpoint, or integrity. I have often heard others say that first impressions are crucial. Is this because within the first thirty seconds of speaking, the other person forms an opinion of the speaker? I believe that Joanne found this to be true. However, she was very fortunate because she found a way to express her native dialect, as well as her Standard English, when needed. She found a way to capitalize on both and I believe in our society, to be successful, one must be able to achieve both.

Language diversity is apparent everywhere. It is rare that one advances through life without encountering a person of another language background. From my own experience, I had many challenges moving to North Carolina to teach. I had to prove to others that I was not “a damn Yankee,” as people jokingly called me. My speech, according to my colleagues, was extremely proper. I later found out that my accent was somewhat intimidating and annoying to others. On the other hand, I had a difficult time understanding the southern vernacular. The phrase “stomping ground” was totally unknown to me, as well as countless other phrases. Although I was in my own country, I felt like a foreigner, at times, and was even called a foreigner, but I did not hear it as this. I heard, “farner”. I found penetrating another language dialect is challenging, but achievable. I was moving from Standard English to Southern English. In The Skin That We Speak, Ernie Smith had to penetrate Standard English. I am sure that his transition was more difficult than mine because his acquired language had many negative attachments. People viewed his language disapprovingly. He overcame barriers surrounding him to progress to his current status in society. I am inspired by Ernie Smith’s commitment to reach both black and white students in the educational system and inform them of the problems faced by black people in this country. I hope that from his experience and studies that others may understand the boundaries that language differences create. It is important, as educators, that we look past language differences and boundaries to see the whole child, without prejudice.

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?

"The voice in her head does not match the tone in her throat." Wow. I cannot imagine it. I can't imagine having to mask who i really am and change my dialect and tone completely. Of course, just like everyone else, i change how i speak a little bit depending on the situation. But to grow up feeling like you're hiding your own true self, keeping your soul locked up; it's terrible. I've never thought about a situation like Mrs. Dowdy's before, but now that she's opened my eyes, i can think of about 3 kids in my class of 10 year olds that deal with this everyday. This year I have a Hispanic child in my class whose parents do not speak English. At school she speaks English, and at home, she speaks Spanish. She is forced to translate everything for her parents. Her accent is so thick that i have trouble understanding her sometimes. I imagine that she feels like Mrs. Dowdy. I have noticed that she almost seems embarassed to speak in front of the class. After reading this chapter, i realize that she just wants to fit in. She has realized that in order to succeed in our society, she must conform.

Also, there is a book that I've read before that's called, "My name is Yoon," by Helen Recorvits. It's a small children's book but has a powerful message; much like the one from chapter one. It's about a little girl who moves to a new country and doesn't know how to speak English. At school, her name written in English is not as pretty as her name written in Korean. Everyday, when her teacher asks her to write her name, she writes a different word that she likes (Cat, Cupcake....). Finally, she begins to adapt and the story ends with her writing her name correctly. I find it similar to Mrs. Dowdy's experience in that Yoon feels like she is a different person in the English language. Even though the book ends happily, after reading chapter one, i can only imagine the changes Yoon is going to have to make and the inferiority she will feel, just like Mrs. Dowdy.

My question is: How do we, as educators, help little Yoon's fit in, learn the English language, and leave their cultural background and "souls" intact?

I have to confess that chapter two was a little bit hard for me to read. I found myself wishing that he'd just stop writing in Ebonics and write "normal." And....isn't that just what the article addressed??! It certainly opened my eyes and made me realize that i wasn't as sensitive as i thought to all cultures. When someone grows up in a certain environment, they tend to act like and talk like the people that have raised them. Once they get to school, and have to start speaking correctly, it's hard. I teach 4th grade (writing test year) and i deal with this issue daily. I don't know how many times i've told my kids that they cannot write how they speak. I do think it is important that kids learn that there is a certain type of language for different situations. That's just how this society is. People who have good grammar are seen as smarter. I think it's interesting that Mr. Smith did not learn to "linguistically code switch into proper English" until he was in college. If only a teacher would have taken the time with him and realized he was actually smart, and worked with him. This chapter taught me a great lesson. I'm going to try my best not to judge someone by the way they talk. I think it's important for all educators to work on this goal.

Dawn Thomas

It was unfortunate that Ernie Smith was considered to have a language deficiency and the teachers thought it was related to physical or mental abnormalities. Because of his language, which he refers to as Ebonics, he was destined for failure in the school's eyes. He seemed to have negative experiences from the beginning of his schooling due to his language. He says that urbanized blacks and whites associate language usage with intelligence. We are taught to speak Standard English and when you do you are looked upon as well educated. Language issues seemed to follow Smith throughout his life. Due to his language, he was indicted and had no idea this would happen because of his belief that there was no such thing as a bad word. Fortunately, his life turned around and some good came out of his past experiences. He can help black and white students because he has been through the experience. I believe there is not a better person to help others than one who has walked in the shoes of others. After reading this chapter, it seems to me that Ebonics is a dialect. Different regions of the country have their own dialect. I have personally experienced this by living in different areas. I lived in the mountains of North Carolina where they have their own dialect. I lived in South Boston, VA and their dialect is quite different. I believe that Standard English is the language that should be taught in our schools. People can have their own dialect or language but they should be able to speak SE. It's like a professor of mine once said, "I speak differently at home than I do in the classroom." He said that was alright as long as he knew how to speak SE. I don't believe Ebonics should be taught in schools but I do believe that teachers should be aware of language differences. A teacher should look carefully before saying a child has a language deficiency. I have taught a classroom of children where 89% of the them were black. I knew they had some dialect of their own but I did not label them as deficient and I spoke and taught SE.

I agree with Dr. Bill Cosby that this non-standard English is not acceptable and it will take you nowhere. He said you can't be a doctor or a pilot with that kind of language.

In reading chapter one, I did not realize that language could have such an impact on the way a child feels. This young lady was learning the English language and her peers were laughing at her. I found it interesting when she became an actor that she felt like she was experiencing life in two languages. It seemed to help her with the conflict of language that she experienced earlier in life. I wouldn't have realized that acting would have helped her but it does make sense when you think about it. It's something I haven't thought about because I did not have a language conflict when I was a child and I don't enjoy acting.

It is true that language plays a huge role in who we are and how others perceive us. I was first confronted about my dialect by a Hispanic friend when I was in the sixth grade. She asked me why I said "Monde" instead of Monday. It was then that I started listening to correct Standard English and began correcting my parents when they said "Monde". I was really awakened about my Southern dialect when I got to college. I was often questioned about my country accent and sometimes dialect confusions. I began listening to the dialect of my friends and modeling proper English from them. I began to correct my parents mistakes in their dialect too.
I do want success for my students, so I do find myself correcting their dialect if they are not using Standard English, but I do it in a tackful way so that it doesn't make the child feel as though they have any abnormalities Knowing how I felt when someone mentioned my dialect, has made me sensitive to any bias remarks my students might make.
Even though we are all different and come from different cultures, America is similar in many ways to Trinidad in the mother land of Africa. It is true in America as it is in Trinidad, that people who use Standard English do climb the ladder of success. However it is sad that people like Dowdy are ridiculed for the dialect they were taught to speak. It is a lot for a child to have to go through when they have to choose between pleasing their parents or fitting in with their peers.
Smith's article was also heartbreaking when I learned that he was placed in remedial classes for using the "Ebonic" language he was exposed to from his family and the neighborhood he lives in. As teachers we have to be so careful not to dampen the spirits of our students so that dropout rates do not increase. I do feel that proper English is importrant, but I don't think that anyone should be judged based on their dialect. Labeling a child verbally cripple based on their language is a terrible injustice to our students.
As educators we do need to teach Standard English to our students since it is a means of survival in todays world. So what is the best way to teach Standard English to a child without tearing their heart apart and risking their self concept of themselves? When is correcting a student's dialect not a good idea?
Linda Younts

Wow! I learned something just by reading the introduction. I know that SE were the acronyms for Standard English. However, I did not know that BE were the acronyms for Black English. I equated BE with the acronyms as Broken English but never Black English. Although the introduction clearly states that BE is the acronym for Black English. What I found interesting in the research study by Marilyn Rosenthal (1974) is that the children were able to distinguish the difference between Standard English (SE) being labeled as White and Black English (BE) being African American. I found it very interesting the students assumed that Steve (SE speaker) would have nicer presents and Kenneth (BE speaker) needed the crayons more. According to the researcher, the children had already developed attitudes toward African Americans and it is very obvious in this study.

Now, let me speak from experience and not from any research or opinions. I have conversed with people of different religion and ethnic backgrounds. Through my experiences regardless of the color of anyone’s skin, people speak both, the language of their environment and the language of their culture. We have a mixture of ethnic communities, whereas African-Americans and Caucasians live side-by-side, African-Americans and Hispanics live in the same community, Asians, African-Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics just so happen to reside in the same community will bring differences of language and culture into the community. For some innate ability, out of respect of their cultural diversity, we conform to those differences. I have lived and still reside in a community that is comprised of these diverse backgrounds. I can understand the labeling of Black English as Ebonics. Ebonics was originated within the African community during slavery. In 1973, Dr. Robert Williams, an African-American social psychologist, coined the term Ebonics, in which he stated, “we know that ebony means black and that phonics refers to speech sounds or the science of sounds. Thus, we are really talking about the science of black speech sounds or language (Williams, 1997). This is why I am amazed at the acronyms of BE being associated or termed, “Black English” and not “Broken English” in the research study by Rosenthal.

As I mentioned in my Introduction to this on-line forum, I am a second grade teacher at a Title 1 Equity Plus School. As I observe my children writings and their spoken language, the English Language Learners (ELLs) and the American students (being that the English Language is the only language that they speak) are experiencing difficulties with the English language. Every morning during Daily Oral Language (DOL), I implement the writings of simple, compound, and complex sentences. My children must compose two sentences that are compound and complex sentences after reading and writing the example of a simple sentence displayed on the bulletin board. By doing this, I feel that my students will be able to develop an understanding of how language works. We must model for them, how to write and speak grammatically correct language. Hopefully, by modeling and with practice, they will eventually begin to write it and speak it. I must admit, there are times I do not speak Standard English. When I visit my hometown, that is a transformation in itself. Little by little, you hear yourself sounding like a Southerner, you begin to shorten your sentences, and the broken language you began to speak again because you have lived in this environment that cause you to conform to this culture.

As I read Chapter 1 of Joanne Dowdy’s ability to shift from one language to another, I thought of my English Language Learners (ELLs) and some adults that speak another language. I feel that being able to communicate with others in another language other than the English language is a blessing, which should be commended and not ridiculed. In the classroom, I noticed the difference in my English Language Learners (ELLs) when the ELL teacher comes into the room and would speak to them in their native language. It is like a relief to them to hear and speak their language. At work, I have several friends that are Greek. When they are working professionally, they speak fluent English. When we work together on the weekend, mostly Saturdays, in our relaxed and comfortable environment, they will begin to speak their native language. It is not out of respect, or they probably do not want me to hear what they are saying, but the need to communicate to each other in their language. Momentarily, they felt at ease just as Joanne Dowdy did in her definitive quote, “The chains fell from around my tongue, and my brain began to feel as if it were oiled and moving along without hiccups... I could travel up and down the continental shift, moving from Caribbean to English intonations, without anyone being offended. " Doesn’t that sound so eloquent? Basically, having the ability to shift fluently from one language to another is incredible to me.

After reading Chapter 2 about Ernie Smith’s experiences and accomplishments. I wonder how many students have been labeled under the umbrella of Exceptional Children (EC) and are placed in Special Education classes due to the lack of knowledge or understanding of that child’s culture and language he acquired from his environment in which he reside. Ernie Smith is an excellent example of what happens to children when they are judged by the way “that” they speak. Students are viewed as deficient and are immediately stereotyped as “ghetto” and are treated as such until that student develops negative behavioral issues and are classified as anti-social. A lot of our parents feel inferior because of their spoken language that does not coincide with the Standard English (SE). Consequently, communication and parental involvement is limited when it comes to their child’s educational experiences at school. In our efforts to bridge the gap and encourage positive involvement in their child’s education, we must brace and accept their differences just as they as entrust us with their precious gem (their child).

As I was reading the chapters for this blog entry, my mind was racing. I found myself shouting "YES!" in my mind, as each person's language experience unfolded. Everything ties together with one line of Joanne Kilgour Dowdy's experience when she said "...The issue is about having enough opportunity to practice that language (the home language) in "legitimate" communications... having the freedom to go back and forth from the home language to the public language without feeling a sense of inferiority." I didn't realize it, but I relate to the plight of Dowdy and Ernie Smith and their struggle to be accepted with language - but I NEVER quite realized it until now.

I was born in the poorest county in West Virginia: McDowell County. I lived there until I was nine years old. My family then moved to another WV county in an area that was incredibly rural. I never thought much about where I was from until I grew into my teens. We had family that lived in Missouri and Michigan who came to visit each summer. When I was fifteen years old, my cousins made a comment about how "funny" I sounded when I talked. They teased me about adding extra syllables to words (ie: saying "precious" like "pray-shuuuus") and dropping the "g" from words ending in "ing." (ie: saying puu-ddin' for "pudding") I never thought I sounded different because I spoke in the same manner of those around me. I remember feeling very embarrassed and ignorant. For the first time I felt like a hillbilly. I never thought of myself like that. For the first time I felt ashamed of where I came from.

From that point, I began to consciously try to lost my southern WV dialect. I was very deliberate in my speech. I wanted to sound as intelligent as I really was, so this became a strong goal I set for myself. My dialect is something that, even today, I find to be embarrassing. I am very aware of it when I'm speaking to someone from another region of the country. Strangely enough, I didn't quite realize how long this bothered me or that it affected me so negatively. After reading these chapters, I'm a bit ashamed of myself. I love my home state and my hometown, but if I wouldn't have taken the steps I've taken to lose the majority of my dialect I don't think I would be respected as a professional. I don't think others would view me as having high intelligence. The stereotype that follows southern dialects dictates that idea. I know that when I hear someone with a deep southern dialect speak, I wonder about their intellect. I automatically assume they're not well-educated. This is crazy because I have the same dialect and am the antithesis of an uneducted "hillbilly." Society, unfortunately, views those with southern dialects in the same manner.

As a first grade teacher, I embrace my students' dialects. When we're writing and spelling, I say "Boys and girls, I know that when we say the word ^running^ that we actually say ^runnin'^ without a 'g' on the end. There really is a 'g' on the end, so when we spell the word it looks like this... " and then I write it on the board. Unfortunately, I don't do the same with ebonics. If a student says "mines," then I correct him or her and tell them that the term is "mine." Now I wonder, is that wrong? Through my own experience it would be corrected because I would be taught to say the word correctly. With ebonics does that mean that I should let it pass?

When Dowdy said "...I could travel up and down the continental shift, moving from Caribbean to English intonations, without anyone being offended... " she was speaking of moving from her home language to the public language. Don't we each do that everyday? We live in a society that, in order to be respected, we must speak in a certain manner. We don't use slang in a professional setting. Would you go to an interview and say "I ain't been here before."? Or would you trust a surgeon who was about to perform an operation on your brain who said "Your brain has a tumor. Mines don't."? Of course not. We choose the language "game face" we want to wear for the setting. If I'm around family and friends from my hometown, my dialect flows freely. If I'm standing in front of a classroom of students, it does not. There isn't one person who doesn't modify their language to fit certain settings. I liken it to a social cue. And while I say that we should embrace our differences, I also say that to pretend that each of us doesn't use certain "intonations" when communicating would be simply a way to lie to ourselves.

Kristen Billings

During the introduction and chapter one I found myself thinking that I can’t understand where this person is coming from. I speak English and with that I speak the language that most people in the world find acceptable. I personally would want to learn different languages especially if I lived in another country where English wasn’t spoken as the primary language. However, I know that Joanne Dowdy wasn’t in that situation. She was being forced to speak a different language from her native tongue because it was thought that her native tongue wasn’t proper enough even in her own native country. I see this as being like American’s taking over Mexico and making them all learn Proper English. Like I said though, I can not relate to her because I am not nor will I probably ever be in that situation. I speak the language that most people find “appropriate.” I congratulate Joanne on showing her true self when she became the “good girl” of her school. I applaud her on keeping her roots close and knowing that she is who she is and we can accept that or we can’t because she isn’t going to change who she is just because people think it isn’t proper. It is a lot like the persecution of different religions in a way. If you don’t believe the way I believe then you are different and you are wrong. Why we as a society think that anything different than the norm is wrong I will never understand.

Then in Chapter two I found a similar story to the first. Ernie was also born and raised into a family that spoke Ebonics and so then found himself in the same situation as Joanne. He spoke a language that was considered to be wrong because it wasn’t the norm. One thing that struck my attention was that his teachers would go so far as to suggest that Ernie had lower mental capabilities than other students because of the way he spoke. It made me wonder if I ever did that unconsciously to any of my students. I am a special education teacher and I do find myself sometimes listening to students and seeing how that work in order to identify who might need help or who doesn’t. I can only hope that I have never judged a student based on his language alone.

I don’t know what Ernie felt was more difficult; learning the language itself, or knowing that this language was the key to any success that he would ever have. All of his college success and all of his job success were direct results of his knowledge of the “Proper English” language. I was shocked to learn that he was arrested for using his native language. To say that he was vulgar or indecent was just an excuse to shut him up. And here it is again, the theme of the first two chapters; when you are different than the norm, you are wrong not matter what your message is.

Overall I think that chapter two had more of an impact on me. I can see where he was oppressed and thought of as unintelligent whereas in Chapter one, Joanne was brought up by her mother and grandmother to speak a certain way was to be smart and accepted and if she spoke her native “dialect” then she was wrong. I hope that as a teacher I never judge a book by its cover or a child by their language.