RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2009)

These two articles give good examples of how African Americans using or not using Standard english can cause differernt judgements. In the Delpit article the mother was dealing with why her daughter had such a hard time at her private school versus going to a mostly African American school. When I first read this article I had a hard time understanding why also. The daughter did not have anyone that she felt she could relate to and be herself around in the first school. In the second school however students welcomed her with open arms. I found when I was reading the article that I tend to correct my students language in my classroom so that they talk with correct words and language. I found myself wondering if this will influence their language later on in a negative way? I had never thought about this until I read the article. I guess I have always corrected my students because in school we were always corrected.

This article brought to my attention that language is part of culture and heritage and when we start to try to change students way of talking to make it correct or so that it fits with Standard English we might be taking away from where they come from or how they communicate with their family and friends. This issue is a hard one because you know students need to be taught to speak correctly when going on interviews or doing things in the real world with jobs and organizations, but how do you go about doing this without taking away their background and culture? I thought that the Delpit article addressed this very well. She went out and researched different ways to engage the students using their interests. She found many ways to incorporate all the subject areas including grammar and Standard English into hair or hairdressing. I thought that her ideas were great and would really engage students if teachers used them. I think that if we as teachers try hard to figure out what our students interests are and find lessons that will target those interests and the skills they need to learn at the same time, we will be able to provide the students with everything they need includeing using Standard English at the correct time. But Delpit is right. We can't expect students to learn the Standard English if we just force them to , we need to be willing to show them when and where to use it by giving them these experiences through their interests.

I thought that theDowdy article was very interesting also, because it took the same issue and showed how changing your lanuage to fit into a different class or group can affect a persons culture and heritage. The woman speaking seemed to be upset about how her mother made her speak in the Queens tongue. Her mother had her best interest at heart but the child was the one that took all the bullying from her friends. She felt different and out of place because she was not able to speak like everyone else.

This article really helps to show why allowing students to be themselves and use their home language in the class is important. The Delpit article showed it and now so does this one. Students want to be able to interact with other students and fit in. They want to be able to use their language not the language that society says is correct-standard english. I had never thought about how we look at the way people talk until I read these articles. Yes I have corrected children's language in my classroom but I had never really thought about how most of their language comes from their customs and culture and that it is important for them to be able to use that language and also Standard English.

Both of these articles show how important language is in society and in schools. Students can pick up language easily but we have to decide if it more important that they be socially correct, that they be able to maintain their heritage and culture, or both by teaching them through their own interests when it is important to use Standard English. I say both, students deserve to be who they are.

Megan Machuga