Language of Power
In her article Deborah Dean points out a few positions that teachers
knowingly or unknowingly take about the use of language in their classroom. The
first stance declares that language can be right or wrong. Often teachers believe their job is to correct
their students and correction as Deborah Dean explains is connected to this
concept of right and wrong. The second way to view
language is through the lens of grammar as oppose to content. This choice is
made in a classroom when students are assigned papers and the only red marks on their paper pertain to their grammar usage as oppose to constructive feedback on how to make their writing more meaningful. I have dealt with teachers as colleagues and teachers as instructors that have been disciplinarians on either stances and from my opinion (and Ms.Dean's) it is important for teachers to shift from these ways of teaching language.
I truly appreciate Deans referring to English (a core subject) as language. In English class students write papers, which involves language and students read literature which involve language. And so English class in those terms is really the study of language. I can identify with Deans multiple shifts of perspective for I have gone through many shifts myself. As I’ve
written in many assignments and even in my first blog post, academic writing terrified me.
In middle school during the grammar lessons I obediently complied. I did the worksheets,
I did the assignments and got 100% on every grammar quiz. But once each section
was over, the information just taught left brain.The grammar lessons I was receiving was not being conceptualized in to my everyday writing (and I was an avid writer). The writing on my own, stories,
poems and much more, I deemed separate from the grammar lessons. The two were never
taught together. And so even up until college I thought I was dumb, and I was never going to get this grammar thing right. I told myself " the only reason grammar is so hard for you to understand is because you are not smart".
Ms. Deans shifted her perspective on writing to more of a contextualized base approach as oppose to grammar and even tried to mix both. It was only until last semester with Professor Mayher that I realized that the two could come together and I did not have to buy a grammar text book to make it happen. He explained that writing was like a song. When students read their work there was a rhythm intertwined with the way the words were said. Grammar was the melody that held the song together. Without knowing or realizing it the students are editing their work and fixing their grammatical errors! With the right model text, students could sing the song of their works and see where and how it falls in line with the Beyonces' of literature. Hearing this eased my mind. I had been writing all my life and yet would freeze when the idea of grammar entered the picture. Ms.Deans wants to remind teachers
Ms. Deans shifted her perspective on writing to more of a contextualized base approach as oppose to grammar and even tried to mix both. It was only until last semester with Professor Mayher that I realized that the two could come together and I did not have to buy a grammar text book to make it happen. He explained that writing was like a song. When students read their work there was a rhythm intertwined with the way the words were said. Grammar was the melody that held the song together. Without knowing or realizing it the students are editing their work and fixing their grammatical errors! With the right model text, students could sing the song of their works and see where and how it falls in line with the Beyonces' of literature. Hearing this eased my mind. I had been writing all my life and yet would freeze when the idea of grammar entered the picture. Ms.Deans wants to remind teachers
After reading the article I appreciated the information being
offered but realized the article was referring to "language" but really meant to say "the
language of power". Language is a broad term. In America we have students speaking one, two, three or more languages at home and then being forced to speak another in school. Not only are they being forced to learn this language 1. their home language is not being appreciated or taken into account and 2. they are not explaining WHY they are being forced to learn this language. Academic language or Standard English is not the only way to communicate, yet it is the desired way of communication in many institutions. It is important we let our students in on this little secret. Other wise English class or "Language" class becomes a way to tell our students their home language is inferior and less valuable than standard English. Teachers are outwardly implying "when you write like this and I mark it with an X, that means the way you speak is wrong and the way I speak is correct. Correct means superior and incorrect implies inferiority." Academic language is important for lawyers, teachers and other white collared jobs, but what of those students who want to dance or build houses like their fathers? Why make them feel inferior because of language? I say all of that to say this: it is vital and key to explain to students why we are teaching them "language" or else there will always be a disconnect between what we are teaching them and what they are taking away from it.
