Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wednesday June 25
Third day has brought me a feeling of routine, which I find wonderful. I am getting comfortable with the excitement of learning. The discussion today was stimulating and brought about all kinds of thoughts I had never considered before. I guess I was most challenged by the discussion about Crowley's essay and Don's presentation regarding SWE. I totally got Don's point of view and can see how the English requirement was used to protect and exclude people based on gender, class and race. I can see his point on how the standardized test still does this. I am still conflicted on some things however. Is it really ok to not prioritize rules of grammar and sentence construction? Is it really ok to ignore my students when they say, "I ain't got no (whatever)"? Shouldn't I WANT to help my students reach above the Hockingese speaking mentality to prepare them to be ABLE to dwell and succeed in another world outside of Hocking County? I know I am not alone in equating AIN'T with poorly educated when I hear it spoken - how can I protect them from future bias in any other way than to persuade them to drop its use? Despite our lengthy discussion, despite Don's convincing argument, I still haven't resolved this. Can someone address this issue and help me out?
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5 comments:
Merrilee, I agree that after the third day we are finally getting into a "routine"....Lord knows I thrive on consistency, and I'm really starting to enjoy being apart of this program. I also simply like coming to Athens to experience the simple diversity of life here. As a teenager, I gravitated from Logan down here all the time, just for that reason...Logan is just so bland.
Merrilee, I think it's OK to remind them that ain't isn't acceptable in certain situations. Teach them context. I struggle with doing the same thing, but ironically, I use ain't in my language at times because I am Hockingese:) I have just learned how to adjust to context or situational speaking. We need to focus our kids thinking on the fact that in some cases, it is OK to use ain't, like with friends and family, but in a job interview for instance it would be inappropriate. I think this will help our kids not feel stupid or dumb just because they use this word, and help them see there are times when standard spoken language is a better choice. Does that make any sense?
what if we began to think in alternative ways, starting with restructuring phrases like "above the Hockingese" dialect . . . if we try to see difference in new ways, instead of vertically, say, "different yet equal" (Audre Lorde), and then teach our students new ways of considering dialects, perhaps in, well, 50 years we'd see a change?
I'll just need to have faith . . .
I understand your issues, and they are not easy to resolve.
The place to start is from right where you already are -- from a deep concern for what's in your students' best interest. (Now, I call this a "focus on rhetoric" but it's not really important to call it anything.)
Notice the difference between these two scenarios:
a) Someone asks your opinion about the best way to dress for an important meeting
b) You telling someone that what they are wearing is inappropriate for an important meeting.
There are times when we might risk telling someone that what they are going to wear to an important meeting might work against them, but think about how demeaning it is to say to someone, "You don't belong at the big meeting because you don't have the right clothes. You're clothes are simply inferior to what I expect you to wear."
I don't know. Just more to think about, I suppose.
remember it is both/and. I personally always correct my kids even in ele school. I just wish they would correct me when I fall back into "Hockingese" Durn it!
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