Reading this chapter, the most important part to me is the idea that students do not want to be creative or take risks because they don't want to make a mistake. So often we stress the importance of grammar and bleed all over papers just to show the students they have not been correct in their grammar. After reading this chapter I decided to do an experiment. Since my students are learning about the 1920s and writing research papers about different elements, I had them begin the process with a piece of creative writing. I put a picture of a woman in the 20s standing next to a car and told the students they were no longer in 2015, but 1924. I had them write a diary entry for that day. I told them to pick any perspective -- the woman, the man walking in the background, the passersby, anyone they wanted -- and write an entry from that point of view. The only requirements was that they had to write from a perspective, they were in 1924, and it had to be at least six sentences. I also stressed the fact that I wanted them to be as creative as possible and I was not looking at anything other than those three elements. I had students writing me one to three pages! They loved not being boxed in by a topic. When I asked the students as they left if they liked this assignment they enthusiastically said yes and many mentioned that they liked how I was not checking for grammar because it took of a lot of pressure.
This chapter really hit home for me. I love language and pride myself on speaking correctly. I try to teach my students to do the same but in this day and age their language is so different. This chapter made me think of new ways to talk to them about their language. I do not want them to feel it is wrong and try to bring in their different cultures to every unit. I like the idea of writing in their home language so they feel it is still of importance. this would work great in our poetry unit and any journaling they write also.
On the other hand, I also feel a great need to show the students how language can classify them whether they want it to or not. In research papers, essays,and letters for college applications they need to understand the importance of the "cash" language as they put it. It is necessary to teach the students how to use proper English and when it is required they write in proper English. So often they write like they talk and that is not appropriate for certain writings. I want to show them it is not wrong to use their home language but that there is a time and place for it.
I'm so with you, Gloria. Sadly, as open as we might be to our students using their home language, there are "powers that be" out there that think "standard" English is the only way to write/talk. We have to allow the students an opportunity to use their language and teach them there is nothing wrong with it. But they also must understand that not everyone is as embracing. Teaching them to "code switch" with only benefit them more!
I think it is extremely important for us to show our students how powerful language can be... for both positive and negative purposes. One way I would like to show that is a learning exercise in which students are to complete a "quiz" with instructions written in a foreign language. The students will complete the exercise having to take my word when really the "instructions" are something benign like how to cook the perfect omelet. I came up with this idea when creating my first lesson plan on Animal Farm.
As I read this, I wondered about having students write a personal piece in their own language. This piece could be used for their main grade. Then, have them go back and change it to reflect the "cash" language, for extra credit. Would this devalue their "home" language or would it place value on their home language but show the importance of using "cash" language? I recognize Ebonics in many of my students' writings. I don't usually grade against a student for this. However, I cringe. When I am in my own classroom, I want value all efforts made by my students. I want writing to be something they want to pursue. I do feel, though, it is important to be sure students are aware of the rules of grammar.
I think that would be a great exercise. You are teaching them that neither language is better than the other, they are just different. I would maybe have then write in their home language and then rewrite it is "standard" English but for a purpose (ex: to turn in as an article, college essay, something like that). You want to show them there is a time and place for each type.
I really liked the idea of allowing the students to use their home language in the main assessment and still placing some importance on the Standard English that they will need to be familiar with in the professional and academic world following secondary school. I also agree with Anna that you should frame it in a fashion that has some kind of professional purpose.
This section of the book reminded me a lot of what we discussed in our Learner Differences class. It reminded me of code-switching and how important it is for our students to understand that concept. As Christensen writes, "Students need to know where to find help, and they need to understand what changes might be necessary, but they need to learn in a context that doesn't say 'The way you said this is wrong.' (101). Code-switching addresses the differences in what we call African American English and Standard American English in terms of appropriateness and not correctness. It is teaching students which language is appropriate for what setting. I find that while many of my students do speak, they speak in the language they know and feel most comfortable with; that may be SAE or AAE. They may speak slang (which btw is an abbreviation for shortened language COOL). I have no problems with this -- what I find myself having a problem with most is mumbling. I am constantly telling my students to speak up or enunciate. They know me well by now and I have helped one student overcome his mumbling (at least in our classroom). I make sure I allow them to understand their language is unique and important, but they need to remember that they are in an ELA classroom and they must speak "correct" English with correct grammar. I think one thing that helps this lesson with my seniors is looking at how English has evolved throughout history. We are fortunate to read old english and middle english and soon we will be looking at Shakespeare. I try to comment on the language of the time and have them relate some of the terms to what they know today.
I like the idea of having students look at the history of English. I think our language, whatever we are comfortable with, is something we take for granted. We learn it from people we love but we never really think about it. There is a series of videos produced by PBS that looks at the various dialect in our country. It gives the history of them and where and how they are used now. This could be a way to help students look at their own grammar.
I believe it is important to know and understand Standard English. This is the language our students are tested on and the language they are expected to use in the workplace. However, I also believe it is important for our students to know that they are important and the language or dialect that they use at home is as well. It is a part of who they are. One way that we can show our students that they are important is by having them research their heritage or where they come from. We should also provide reading from different points of view. The textbooks we use tend to be biased towards one race.
This chapter brought up a topic I have struggled with since starting the program. Having a mother who is also a ELA teacher, I was raised learning grammar rules and having spelling beat into my head (which never really took, I'm still a phonetic speller). That being said, I don't want my students to feel the stress of the dreaded red pen. I was lucky enough to have a host teacher who believed the same. I like the idea of maybe choosing one aspect of grammar with each student and working with them on that. Besides that, why mark up a paper that contains wonderful ideas and points, just to show the student they misspelled a word?
This also go along with the "standard" English debate. I think we need to teach our students there is a time and place for them to use their home language and when to use the "cash" language. We are doing them a disservice not teaching them how and when to code switch. Like Christensen said, "So I teach the rules. It's the language of power in this country, and I would be cheating [my students] if I pretended otherwise...I teach [my students] that language, like tracking, functions as part of a gate-keeping system in our country." (p. 103). The students need to know how language functions in our society but they also need to be told that their unique language is just as important. "We have daily opportunities to affirm that our students' lives and language are unique and important. We do that in the selections of literature we read, in the history we choose to teach, and we do it by giving legitimacy to our students' lives as a content worthy of study."
The idea of teaching grammar has intimidated me ever since I decided to become a teacher and it caused me agony all throughout my career as a student. Grammar is something that only intimidated me as a student, but it is something that still intimidates me as a teacher. By incorporating social justice into teaching grammar, students explore who decided on which grammar rules we should follow, and who benefits the most from the “cash language” and whom it hinders. Teaching students that the only reason we still correct grammar today is because it is the key to a secret and wealthier society. I want my students to be prepared to enter into that society with the best preparation and chance they have. Grammatically correct Standard English is the language of power in this country. Teaching students to hold their voice sacred means that I can’t butcher a student’s writing every time there is a grammar mistake. Encouraging students to write using their own voice means that the grammar rules they follow may look different from the Standard English grammar we teach in the classroom. By acknowledging all of the different types of grammar systems and explaining that each system has it’s own set of organized rules give each system it’s own value. Having students use their home language while writing can sometimes give their writing more power because it allows the reader to connect with them on a deeper level. “Further, the student of Standard English without critique encourages students to believe that if they fail, it is because they are not smart enough or didn’t work hard enough.” Whenever we ever engage a new text, we should also engage with the social context of that text. By always dealing with the social context of different texts, students learn to question the basic assumptions of our society that legitimate inequality. Language itself is a politically charged vehicle for legitimizing these inequalities. By bringing student’s languages, cultures, and homes into the class, it validates their languages, culture, and history as topics worth studying.
I really enjoyed the social justice view of Chapter 4. I have had problems getting students to write and since taking this class I have backed off of marking up their papers and journals. I had not considered the limiting factor of Standard English. I myself, even as an English teacher, do not speak with "correct" English because I feel it alienates the students. I do discuss code-switching but now see how important it is to explain the history and power of language. I have already begun using more reader response type assessments so that students feel more comfortable using their own voice and stating their own opinions, but wasn't sure how to incorporate grammar without teaching it in isolation. I love the statement by Christensen, "I use the text of Fred's writing. . ." to teach Standard English (103). What a wonderful way to show how a personal writing sample can be "spruced up" into professional or academic writing. I love the lessons in this book and can't wait to incorporate them into my curriculum for next year.
This chapter really addresses something that I have had a very complicated relationship with ever since I learned how to read. I have always been a good student especially in the area of writing. All throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, and even some college, I have made sure that each piece of writing I ever turn in had absolute perfect grammar. It even got to the point where I would see incorrect grammar in my friends' text messages and would be put out of ease. Pretty much without knowing why, I found myself obsessed with 'correct' English. However, in a class that I took in college (History of the English language) I learned that English itself is a constantly evolving, ever changing being. Who are we, even as teachers, to determine what is Standard English. Of course, we do have a set of rules to go by now, but what will the rules be 50, 40, or even 10 years from now? We should be teaching students how to follow these certain rules but we must also be teaching them that these rules of speech do not exactly apply to all speech. Class discussion should not be quelled due to fear of speaking incorrectly. Students should not have every phrase out of their mouths picked apart and corrected. They should learn that not only are there rules, but there is a time and a place in which these rules can and should be broken.
This chapter took me back to the mid to late 1990’s. I remember as a child in elementary school hearing a news story on Oakland schools working to acknowledge and celebrate Ebonics in the classroom and the subsequent backlash. Then, I remember thinking how absurd that would be… to teach such “improper” English in the classroom. I am ashamed to admit that at such a young age I viewed Ebonics as a lazy and otherwise uneducated dialect. Now, I realize that is the outlook that the establishment hopes to foster. There is power in controlling the language… by establishing a “standard.” Anything short of this standard or proper dialect can be quickly classified as subpar or less than. It continues to infuriate me to hear individuals degrade or mock Ebonics and other minority dialects, particularly here in the South. Being a Midwesterner, an outsider, I have noticed the almost comical irony in some Southerners being hurt by outsiders judging them based on their slow drawl and yet belittle minorities for their dialect. I have even been picked on for some of my Midwestern or German pronunciations of English words. I pronounce wallet “wool-et” and gummy “goo-me.” The same could be said about Northerners, or anyone for that matter, but I have only been privy to what I have seen in the 15 years I have lived in Georgia. Who decides what is standard and what is acceptable in the classroom? What good are we doing by forcing all our students, regardless of background, to assimilate to Standard English? We are killing the cultural diversity that makes our nation so astounding. Instead of focusing entirely on drilling Standard English, we need to celebrate our cultural differences and teach our students when it is best practice to use Standard English. In doing so, we should not frame Standard English as better or more educated. Instead, we should maybe frame it as a necessary evil of professional America, a skill needed to advance ourselves within the establishment.
In Chapter 4, Christensen lists all of the components of one of her units (page 105). I loved this list because I always wondered where to start if I wanted to teach in culturally responsive way. However, it makes sense to start with "a question which provokes the examination of historical, literary, and social 'texts.'" Then, the next step is to make sure the student's lives are the center of the planning. This is the true way to make sure they are engaged. For example, while teaching Standard English, Christensen also invites students to analyze why Standard English is standard. In addition, she adds value to her students' lives by talking about the language contributions they each make to the class as well. I plan on letting my students "code switch" as well. I don't think English teachers should ever force their students to use only proper English in the classroom. That's how you silence many students.
I think it is very important to examine what is considered Standard English and why. It would do well for our students, minority or not, to understand the power of language to oppress and force assimilation. This could also serve as a great investigative assignment. This may ruffle some feathers along the way but it is certainly important.
Reading this chapter, the most important part to me is the idea that students do not want to be creative or take risks because they don't want to make a mistake. So often we stress the importance of grammar and bleed all over papers just to show the students they have not been correct in their grammar. After reading this chapter I decided to do an experiment. Since my students are learning about the 1920s and writing research papers about different elements, I had them begin the process with a piece of creative writing. I put a picture of a woman in the 20s standing next to a car and told the students they were no longer in 2015, but 1924. I had them write a diary entry for that day. I told them to pick any perspective -- the woman, the man walking in the background, the passersby, anyone they wanted -- and write an entry from that point of view. The only requirements was that they had to write from a perspective, they were in 1924, and it had to be at least six sentences. I also stressed the fact that I wanted them to be as creative as possible and I was not looking at anything other than those three elements. I had students writing me one to three pages! They loved not being boxed in by a topic. When I asked the students as they left if they liked this assignment they enthusiastically said yes and many mentioned that they liked how I was not checking for grammar because it took of a lot of pressure.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter really hit home for me. I love language and pride myself on speaking correctly. I try to teach my students to do the same but in this day and age their language is so different. This chapter made me think of new ways to talk to them about their language. I do not want them to feel it is wrong and try to bring in their different cultures to every unit. I like the idea of writing in their home language so they feel it is still of importance. this would work great in our poetry unit and any journaling they write also.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I also feel a great need to show the students how language can classify them whether they want it to or not. In research papers, essays,and letters for college applications they need to understand the importance of the "cash" language as they put it. It is necessary to teach the students how to use proper English and when it is required they write in proper English. So often they write like they talk and that is not appropriate for certain writings. I want to show them it is not wrong to use their home language but that there is a time and place for it.
I'm so with you, Gloria. Sadly, as open as we might be to our students using their home language, there are "powers that be" out there that think "standard" English is the only way to write/talk. We have to allow the students an opportunity to use their language and teach them there is nothing wrong with it. But they also must understand that not everyone is as embracing. Teaching them to "code switch" with only benefit them more!
DeleteI think it is extremely important for us to show our students how powerful language can be... for both positive and negative purposes. One way I would like to show that is a learning exercise in which students are to complete a "quiz" with instructions written in a foreign language. The students will complete the exercise having to take my word when really the "instructions" are something benign like how to cook the perfect omelet. I came up with this idea when creating my first lesson plan on Animal Farm.
DeleteAs I read this, I wondered about having students write a personal piece in their own language. This piece could be used for their main grade. Then, have them go back and change it to reflect the "cash" language, for extra credit. Would this devalue their "home" language or would it place value on their home language but show the importance of using "cash" language? I recognize Ebonics in many of my students' writings. I don't usually grade against a student for this. However, I cringe. When I am in my own classroom, I want value all efforts made by my students. I want writing to be something they want to pursue. I do feel, though, it is important to be sure students are aware of the rules of grammar.
ReplyDeleteI think that would be a great exercise. You are teaching them that neither language is better than the other, they are just different. I would maybe have then write in their home language and then rewrite it is "standard" English but for a purpose (ex: to turn in as an article, college essay, something like that). You want to show them there is a time and place for each type.
DeleteI really liked the idea of allowing the students to use their home language in the main assessment and still placing some importance on the Standard English that they will need to be familiar with in the professional and academic world following secondary school. I also agree with Anna that you should frame it in a fashion that has some kind of professional purpose.
DeleteThis section of the book reminded me a lot of what we discussed in our Learner Differences class. It reminded me of code-switching and how important it is for our students to understand that concept. As Christensen writes, "Students need to know where to find help, and they need to understand what changes might be necessary, but they need to learn in a context that doesn't say 'The way you said this is wrong.' (101). Code-switching addresses the differences in what we call African American English and Standard American English in terms of appropriateness and not correctness. It is teaching students which language is appropriate for what setting. I find that while many of my students do speak, they speak in the language they know and feel most comfortable with; that may be SAE or AAE. They may speak slang (which btw is an abbreviation for shortened language COOL). I have no problems with this -- what I find myself having a problem with most is mumbling. I am constantly telling my students to speak up or enunciate. They know me well by now and I have helped one student overcome his mumbling (at least in our classroom). I make sure I allow them to understand their language is unique and important, but they need to remember that they are in an ELA classroom and they must speak "correct" English with correct grammar. I think one thing that helps this lesson with my seniors is looking at how English has evolved throughout history. We are fortunate to read old english and middle english and soon we will be looking at Shakespeare. I try to comment on the language of the time and have them relate some of the terms to what they know today.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having students look at the history of English. I think our language, whatever we are comfortable with, is something we take for granted. We learn it from people we love but we never really think about it. There is a series of videos produced by PBS that looks at the various dialect in our country. It gives the history of them and where and how they are used now. This could be a way to help students look at their own grammar.
DeleteThere is a really powerful slam poetry piece on language titled "3 Ways to Speak English" by Jamila Lyiscott if anyone is interested in viewing it!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english?language=en#t-1538
I believe it is important to know and understand Standard English. This is the language our students are tested on and the language they are expected to use in the workplace. However, I also believe it is important for our students to know that they are important and the language or dialect that they use at home is as well. It is a part of who they are. One way that we can show our students that they are important is by having them research their heritage or where they come from. We should also provide reading from different points of view. The textbooks we use tend to be biased towards one race.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter brought up a topic I have struggled with since starting the program. Having a mother who is also a ELA teacher, I was raised learning grammar rules and having spelling beat into my head (which never really took, I'm still a phonetic speller). That being said, I don't want my students to feel the stress of the dreaded red pen. I was lucky enough to have a host teacher who believed the same. I like the idea of maybe choosing one aspect of grammar with each student and working with them on that. Besides that, why mark up a paper that contains wonderful ideas and points, just to show the student they misspelled a word?
ReplyDeleteThis also go along with the "standard" English debate. I think we need to teach our students there is a time and place for them to use their home language and when to use the "cash" language. We are doing them a disservice not teaching them how and when to code switch. Like Christensen said, "So I teach the rules. It's the language of power in this country, and I would be cheating [my students] if I pretended otherwise...I teach [my students] that language, like tracking, functions as part of a gate-keeping system in our country." (p. 103). The students need to know how language functions in our society but they also need to be told that their unique language is just as important. "We have daily opportunities to affirm that our students' lives and language are unique and important. We do that in the selections of literature we read, in the history we choose to teach, and we do it by giving legitimacy to our students' lives as a content worthy of study."
The idea of teaching grammar has intimidated me ever since I decided to become a teacher and it caused me agony all throughout my career as a student. Grammar is something that only intimidated me as a student, but it is something that still intimidates me as a teacher. By incorporating social justice into teaching grammar, students explore who decided on which grammar rules we should follow, and who benefits the most from the “cash language” and whom it hinders. Teaching students that the only reason we still correct grammar today is because it is the key to a secret and wealthier society. I want my students to be prepared to enter into that society with the best preparation and chance they have. Grammatically correct Standard English is the language of power in this country.
ReplyDeleteTeaching students to hold their voice sacred means that I can’t butcher a student’s writing every time there is a grammar mistake. Encouraging students to write using their own voice means that the grammar rules they follow may look different from the Standard English grammar we teach in the classroom. By acknowledging all of the different types of grammar systems and explaining that each system has it’s own set of organized rules give each system it’s own value. Having students use their home language while writing can sometimes give their writing more power because it allows the reader to connect with them on a deeper level. “Further, the student of Standard English without critique encourages students to believe that if they fail, it is because they are not smart enough or didn’t work hard enough.”
Whenever we ever engage a new text, we should also engage with the social context of that text. By always dealing with the social context of different texts, students learn to question the basic assumptions of our society that legitimate inequality. Language itself is a politically charged vehicle for legitimizing these inequalities. By bringing student’s languages, cultures, and homes into the class, it validates their languages, culture, and history as topics worth studying.
I really enjoyed the social justice view of Chapter 4. I have had problems getting students to write and since taking this class I have backed off of marking up their papers and journals. I had not considered the limiting factor of Standard English. I myself, even as an English teacher, do not speak with "correct" English because I feel it alienates the students. I do discuss code-switching but now see how important it is to explain the history and power of language. I have already begun using more reader response type assessments so that students feel more comfortable using their own voice and stating their own opinions, but wasn't sure how to incorporate grammar without teaching it in isolation. I love the statement by Christensen, "I use the text of Fred's writing. . ." to teach Standard English (103). What a wonderful way to show how a personal writing sample can be "spruced up" into professional or academic writing. I love the lessons in this book and can't wait to incorporate them into my curriculum for next year.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter really addresses something that I have had a very complicated relationship with ever since I learned how to read. I have always been a good student especially in the area of writing. All throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, and even some college, I have made sure that each piece of writing I ever turn in had absolute perfect grammar. It even got to the point where I would see incorrect grammar in my friends' text messages and would be put out of ease. Pretty much without knowing why, I found myself obsessed with 'correct' English. However, in a class that I took in college (History of the English language) I learned that English itself is a constantly evolving, ever changing being. Who are we, even as teachers, to determine what is Standard English. Of course, we do have a set of rules to go by now, but what will the rules be 50, 40, or even 10 years from now?
ReplyDeleteWe should be teaching students how to follow these certain rules but we must also be teaching them that these rules of speech do not exactly apply to all speech. Class discussion should not be quelled due to fear of speaking incorrectly. Students should not have every phrase out of their mouths picked apart and corrected. They should learn that not only are there rules, but there is a time and a place in which these rules can and should be broken.
Sorry:
DeleteI have made sure that each piece of writing I have ever *turned* in had absolute perfect grammar.
How about that for a dose of irony?
This chapter took me back to the mid to late 1990’s. I remember as a child in elementary school hearing a news story on Oakland schools working to acknowledge and celebrate Ebonics in the classroom and the subsequent backlash. Then, I remember thinking how absurd that would be… to teach such “improper” English in the classroom. I am ashamed to admit that at such a young age I viewed Ebonics as a lazy and otherwise uneducated dialect.
ReplyDeleteNow, I realize that is the outlook that the establishment hopes to foster. There is power in controlling the language… by establishing a “standard.” Anything short of this standard or proper dialect can be quickly classified as subpar or less than. It continues to infuriate me to hear individuals degrade or mock Ebonics and other minority dialects, particularly here in the South. Being a Midwesterner, an outsider, I have noticed the almost comical irony in some Southerners being hurt by outsiders judging them based on their slow drawl and yet belittle minorities for their dialect. I have even been picked on for some of my Midwestern or German pronunciations of English words. I pronounce wallet “wool-et” and gummy “goo-me.” The same could be said about Northerners, or anyone for that matter, but I have only been privy to what I have seen in the 15 years I have lived in Georgia. Who decides what is standard and what is acceptable in the classroom? What good are we doing by forcing all our students, regardless of background, to assimilate to Standard English? We are killing the cultural diversity that makes our nation so astounding.
Instead of focusing entirely on drilling Standard English, we need to celebrate our cultural differences and teach our students when it is best practice to use Standard English. In doing so, we should not frame Standard English as better or more educated. Instead, we should maybe frame it as a necessary evil of professional America, a skill needed to advance ourselves within the establishment.
In Chapter 4, Christensen lists all of the components of one of her units (page 105). I loved this list because I always wondered where to start if I wanted to teach in culturally responsive way. However, it makes sense to start with "a question which provokes the examination of historical, literary, and social 'texts.'" Then, the next step is to make sure the student's lives are the center of the planning. This is the true way to make sure they are engaged. For example, while teaching Standard English, Christensen also invites students to analyze why Standard English is standard. In addition, she adds value to her students' lives by talking about the language contributions they each make to the class as well. I plan on letting my students "code switch" as well. I don't think English teachers should ever force their students to use only proper English in the classroom. That's how you silence many students.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important to examine what is considered Standard English and why. It would do well for our students, minority or not, to understand the power of language to oppress and force assimilation. This could also serve as a great investigative assignment. This may ruffle some feathers along the way but it is certainly important.
Delete