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?
Comments (14)
I too am from the country. I grew up in a small farming community in Michigan. Neither of my parents went to college nor did my two older sisters. My parents promoted education, but I did not grow up with the expectation that I would go to college. It was completely up to me to decide for myself.
When I started college, a friend corrected my speech. I did not know I committed a grammatical error. I thanked my friend and made a conscious effort to not make the mistake again. When I visited my family, they all made the same grammatical error. Out of respect I did not correct them. I think we have to be very careful about whom we correct and the reasons we are correcting. I was aspiring to graduate from college and be a professional, so I valued the correction. My father is a retired farmer and he talks the talk of his community. There is no reason for these people to be corrected. They have lived, worked, raised children, and been involved in their communities their entire lives using their own language.
Another interesting point was they way you value the language of the children in your class. When you work with parents or others in the community, they must be accepted and valued for whom they are and what they have accomplished. While reading your entry another thought came to my mind. My dear neighbors often use improper tenses, and I sometimes wonder if my daughter will pick up this form of dialect. These are wonderful people that have many gifts to share with my daughter. After reading your entry I decided that I need to stop being concerned with the way they talk and be grateful that I have wonderful neighbors that love my little girl so much.
Posted by Laura Wollpert | May 22, 2007 2:41 PM
Posted on May 22, 2007 14:41
Lisa,
I think it is wonderful the way in which you try to make both your students and parents feel comfortable. I get so angry when I hear other teachers degrade parents because of the way in which they speak. I too try to make all of my students and parents feel comfortable when they are speaking with me. During parent teacher conferences, I do my best to speak both professionally and in a way in which my parents will identify and understand. I always think of my great southern dad when I speak with parents regarding special services or things of that nature. My dad will always look at me and tell me to speak "plain english". Sometimes as college graduates I think we get carried away with our extensive vocabularies and do not take into account that others do not know what we are talking about. Then, because they feel that we will percieve them as stupid, they do not ask for clarification. We as teachers definitely need to present information so that it is understood. Our job is to make our parents feel so comfortable that they would not be afraid to ask for an explanation or help. At my school, I am not faced with parents who speak limited or no English, I wonder how you do it. Do you have interpreters that aid you or do you do the best that you can? I COMMEND You!
Just like you, I too try to use some of the "slang words" that my students use when I am speaking with them. I too feel that the students feel a connection with me because I can speak their language. I have to say I also try to keep up on current music so that I can identify in that way with my students. Deep connections can be made with students when you can identify with them through ways outside of school.
Finally, I like the fact that you said that you see the importance of meeting the student half way. I totally agree. How great would that make a child feel to know that you are trying to learn his/her language. By showing an interest in the students language, he/she might try harder to learn SE.
Kelly Mabe
Posted by Anonymous | May 24, 2007 5:52 PM
Posted on May 24, 2007 17:52
Lisa,
Sorry I left off my name and my e-mail. This is my first time using a blog format. Sorry again!
Kelly Mabe
Posted by Kelly Mabe | May 24, 2007 6:26 PM
Posted on May 24, 2007 18:26
Lisa,
I enjoyed your posting. I loved the mental image of your imitating your black students (bling, bling)! I too teach many black students who enjoy chuckling at me when I misuse or "abuse" BE. I think they've relaxed around me this year (my first year at this school) as they've realized that I don't mind making a mistake in front of them AND admitting it; I'm entertained by their responses to my linguistic gaffes when I attempt BE. Hopefully, that builds the trust between us so that I can model SE without seeming imperious. You are so wise in pointing out how brave our students must be to face the challenge of being perceived less than they are due to their speech.
Black, ESL, speech impaired students all need our acceptance as we seek to model strategies for them.
Again, you sound like a caring teacher!
Betsy B
Posted by Betsy Baldwin | May 25, 2007 4:36 PM
Posted on May 25, 2007 16:36
Lisa,
I really enjoyed your post. And I love how you embrace your students' and their parents' way of speaking. I try to do the same in my classroom. I feel it's the best way to build a strong classroom community and engage support from parents. I don't ever want my students or parents to view me as judgemental or think I'm on a "high horse." My dialect is as southern as they come, at times. ;) You sound like a very caring teacher, one who is nurturing to your students and parents, alike.
Posted by Jeanna McIntyre | May 28, 2007 4:26 PM
Posted on May 28, 2007 16:26
Wow Lisa -- I admire how reflective you are and how you are already asking hard questions about your own practices in light of the reading.
One thing you made me think of: you are right in that your Whiteness makes it easier for you to slip in and out of your dialect. It is indeed from a position of power and privilege that you can do that easily, whereas minorities have a different experience!
Alecia
Posted by Prof. Alecia Jackson | May 28, 2007 10:54 PM
Posted on May 28, 2007 22:54
This was the part that was hard for me to relate to. I teach at a school where probably close to 98% of the students are Caucasian and the other 2% is made up of Hispanics, African Americans, and other nationalities. It is very hard for me to understand the barriers that some of you face. Even during my other teaching experiences it was the same. I would hope that if I ever was in that situation I would be prepared to understand their language and not try to force my own on them. I think we need to understand the students and then when we have done something for them; they can in turn give us respect for trying to better understand them instead of trying to change them. Whey should we tell children they are speaking incorrectly when to them we are the ones who are speaking a language they do not understand? I would like to think we are taking steps to better the current situation of language barriers, but I don’t think we are doing enough.
Posted by Kristen Billings | May 29, 2007 4:09 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 16:09
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