Response to Readings
Travis Dalsis
English 530
Eastern Michigan University
Dr. Baker
A Blog Response to “Code-switching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom” and “Analyzing Grammar Rants: An Alternative to Traditional Grammar Instruction”
What is correct and acceptable is subject to change. This main point stands out among both works and the ideas shared on grammar, language discourse, and other socio-cultural complexities. The two works are arguing against a value-based method of judging English and instead proposing a new perspective on English as a fluid language with many dialects.
I will confess that I’m often conflicted on whether or not to respectfully view a form of non-standard English when it’s being used. “Where did they stuff go?” “What is you talkin’ bout?” These two generalized examples of non-standard English were often spoken in the hallways and classrooms of two schools I’ve taught at over the past four years. Both classrooms were full of bright minds and enthusiastic attitudes. But I’m disappointed to say that, as a part realist, I felt that if I didn’t evaluate those kinds of statements, and attempt to remedy them, that I was doing a disservice to my students. My actions were linked, not to a feeling of superiority over my students, but a deep desire to see them successfully master the right way to speak and write English. Both articles relate how bias and prejudice towards other dialects dramatically impacts our acceptance of others’ speech and written communication.
One statement made in the “Code-switching…” article was that English language arts classrooms should move from a “mono-dialectical/cultural” classroom to a “multi-dialectal/cultural” classroom. I have reservations on whether or not we should embrace any and all dialects and call them Standard. The challenge is to hold a cultural dialect up as a way to help students appreciate their own identities and backgrounds, but what about the ever pressing need to actually teach what our society expects? This is still a struggle for me. I cannot in good faith believe that anything goes and yet KNOW that one day will come when a young person will be demeaned because she or he never fully embraced a form of Standard English to the point where he or she can compose “properly.” Overall, this idea of focusing on dialect appreciation should be a separate issue from actually teaching what is normatively called Standard English.
Codeswitching: Tools of Language and
ReplyDeleteCulture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom
When I read this article, my own African American upbringing popped into my head. As I thought about it, I immediately wanted to what the authors had to say about my using a phrase such as “you late” without using a verb. When I searched the article for an answer, I ran across the main focus of this article which reads, “English teachers routinely equate standard English with grammar, as if other language varieties and styles lack grammar, the systematic and rule-governed backbone of language." Although I can somewhat agree with this statement, I still have to say that the people in my family/friend community like using the phrase “you late” simply to express love and to say that we were worried about you. On the flip side, we would not use this phrase in a professional setting or with people whom we do not know very well.
To continue on and to elaborate a little more on the main focus, I also thought about the problem that the author points out. “. . .when an urban teacher tells minority-language students that their language is wrong and error-filled, she creates a seriously deleterious effect in the classroom” (page 471). As for the students, it hampers their learning.
When a student comes from one community and then must interact with another community on a daily basis, we as educators must embrace that students’ home or primary community and expand on by teaching the students the ways of another community. We cannot tell the child that his or her way is wrong. We must simply instruct the student how you want that person to learn in your community. In other words and with a positive attitude toward the student’s dialect and sense of self, let that students know that for the purpose of this class, they need to add a verb to the sentence “you late” which will need to be written as “you are late.”