DOWDY---I conducted a Google search to gather more information before posting this blog. “Dr”. Joanne Kilgour Dowdy has an impressive education. She is currently a professor and teaches in the Literacy Studies Program of Teaching at Kent State University, Ohio. She may have “sold her soul” to please her mother but she also graduated from New York’s Juilliard School in theatre and received her PH.D from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill! Even after her mother passed and she found her voice in theatre she continued to pursue an extensive education. Would this education have been possible with out the language training?
OBAMAH---“I remember there were kids around my [Chicago] neighborhood who would say, 'Ooh, you talk funny. You talk like a white girl.' I heard that growing up my whole life. I was like, 'I don't even know what that means but I am still getting my A.'“I love this quote! Michelle had a goal and was working toward that goal, no matter what the neighborhood kids said. I can relate to this because I have worked hard to break away from the stereotypical “white trash now, white trash forever” comments of my youth. We are viewed as traitors when we choose to be different from our roots. I know where my roots are, I just choose to grow toward the sun!
DELPIT---Yes, I agree that we need to be able to “Code switch.” The entire world is a stage and the audience demands to be represented. We all gravitate toward people with qualities that we find desirable, so why not treat teaching “English” like finding a new friend. I love it when my husband opens the door for me and lets me order first at a dinner outing. It makes me feel special and in return I am willing to watch football. This example may help explain how being able to switch our speech can open doors for our students. When we take the time to respect their cultural differences we gain their respect. We can then use this opportunity to teach the difference between casual and formal speech patterns. We also need to provide different social settings for our students to practice these newly acquired skills. Field trips are an invaluable resource and we should consider taking our students to more formal places.
Elizabeth Achor
Comments (2)
That was great information on the author. I would have never thought to look that up before reading it. Thanks for the tip! It was neat to hear about your past personal experiences in Chicago. Being from a big city like that must have had it's challenges. I was not from a big city and have not had those experiences, for I grew up in a small all white community in Wisconsin where race wasn't an issue....even in high school. I didn't have different languages and cultures to learn and interact from. I also liked how you put teaching English like finding a new friend. That was an interesting way to relate the two important concepts. I take for granted sometimes how I interact with people like me, not realizing that's not how everyone acts. I also agree that students need more exposure to the differences and don't get enough experiences in different settings. I have always wanted to set up a formal dining room in my classroom and expose my students to that setting. I might have to try that next year!
Posted by Abby Boughton | June 8, 2010 7:49 PM
Posted on June 8, 2010 19:49
I do believe that we need to teach special occasion behaviors and that we should expose our students to new ideas and settings. All of my students have been to McDonalds, but few have been to a resturant that has cloth napkins. I am going to place this idea on my to do list for 10-11.
Posted by Elizabeth Achor | June 9, 2010 9:37 AM
Posted on June 9, 2010 09:37