Issues of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Identity

Blog 3: As teachers, how should we be prepared to deal with issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and identity in our classrooms and in our one-on-one interactions with students? How can we create teaching units that help students explore these issues?

This discussion again emphasized for me that our diverse student population is even broader than I first thought. As composition teachers we have to take into account that we have native speakers of English, generation 1.5 and international students as well as students of different races, ethnicities, genders and dialects. It is a tall order to be prepared and deal with all of these issues, but for me the key factor was communication. It is important for teachers not to label students and establishing report with our students may avoid this. I like how group 1 suggested teachers have as much one-on-one contact with their students as possible. This will enable teachers to realize and understand the issues such as racism, sexism and ageism that many students face.

I think it is important for composition teachers to allow their students to express their identities and the dialects they use in classroom activities. This is another opportunity for instructors to show students that academic English is a different dialect that can be learned like any other and that their own dialects are just as important. I also like the ideas of introducing students to all the different dialects that are in the class. This could be done through readings, discussions and dispelling myths.   

Understanding and Dealing with the Complex Issue of "Standard English."

Blog 2: As composition teachers, how should we understand and deal with the complex issue of “Standard English”? How should we understand and deal with the complex issue of bilingualism? How should we understand deal with the complex issue of “Non-native speakers”?

I definitely saw overlap between what our group read from Ogbu and the article “Dissin’ the Standard: Ebonics as Guerilla Warfare at Capital High” presented by group 2 in regards to resistance of learning Standard English due to the thought of it being a threat to collective identity.  This topic really got my attention because I was perplexed with how I would deal with a student who refused to do their final book report. I think group 2 gave some very beneficial advice for ways we can possibly handle situations where students feel they are being oppressed by Standard English. I like the idea of allowing students to write both formal and informal essays in class. I believe that students should be encouraged to express themselves in their own dialect because composition is about being able to communicate through different means and an individual’s dialect is a unique way for them to express themselves. I think as instructors we should foster our students in maintaining their home dialects and help them also acquire Standard English so they have a chance to be successful in school.  

I like how group 2 said Standard English cannot be defined. As composition teachers we must be mindful of this fact and not hold our students to mastering a dialect that is not clearly defined. One of the key takeaways for me on this topic was to not make assumptions. Do not assume that students are lazy or stupid because they speak another dialect other than Standard English and do not assume that one needs to speak Standard English to be successful. Another important point that brought up was the difference between spoken Standard English and written Standard English. I know that when I was a beginning writer I struggled with writing the way I spoke. I had to learn that academic English was different and that I could not just write essays they way I talked to people. I think it is important for composition teachers to explain to students that academic English is like learning a new language and all students have to learn it to be successful in composition classes.

I believe that as composition instructors we should be educated and prepared to assist the diverse student populations in our classrooms. That means we should first acknowledge that everyone learns language at a different rate and we should not make assumptions that non-native speakers should be just be able to learn a second language within a certain timetable. I also think the best way we can serve the diverse student populations in our classrooms is to understand their different backgrounds and what issues and difficulties they may face.        

 

 

 

 

Making Sense

Blog 1: As composition teachers, how should we make sense of the successes and failures of our dialect speakers, our new immigrants, and our immigrant heritage students? What factors (home, school, community, etc) might promote success and failure? And how as teachers can we foster success?

I think as composition instructors we need to acknowledge the different types of students we have in our classrooms. As Ogbu points out, we may have voluntary as well as involuntary students in class. Voluntary minorities are immigrant minorities that have moved to the United States of their own free will looking for better opportunities. Voluntary minorities may have trouble adjusting to American schools, but do not experience these difficulties long term. On the other hand involuntary minorities are minorities that have been conquered, colonized or enslaved. They are not necessarily in America of their own free will. These minorities feel as though they are forced to assimilate into the United States. Some involuntary minorities are usually less economically successful as voluntary minorities and could experience more cultural and language difficulties. Composition teachers need to understand that involuntary minorities may not perform as well in school due to these factors. Communication between teachers and involuntary minority students and their parents about these incompatible beliefs may give the students a better chance of acquire Standard English.  

Composition instructors also need to be aware that speakers of different dialects other than Standard English may be receiving mixed messages and tension from both their families and communities regarding use of Standard English. Some people within other dialect communities such as African American Vernacular English view school as an assimilating force that tries to civilize speakers of ‘Slang English’ and strip their identity. Composition teachers must also take into consideration that the parents of dialect speakers may not be willing or able to teach their children standard English at home due to the communities view of the dialect.

Despite how intrinsically motivated our new immigrants may be they can become frustrated when the system does not assist them in their transition into English language schools. As educators we need to strive to make sure we are serving all of our students as best we can by making sure ESL students have opportunities to communicate in the target language and are not segregated from contact with mainstream students.  A way of helping our lower level new immigrant students who are still acquiring English is to make sure we have opportunities for group work and meaningful learning in our classes. Again, teachers must consider the fact that parents may need additional help in communicating with faculty and administrators about the academic needs and abilities of their children. As teachers we can set the bar higher for all of our students regardless of their backgrounds so they have the opportunity to learn rather than just being put in remedial classes. And most of all composition teachers have to be careful that our ESL students do not get stuck in what Veldez calls, “The ESL getto” where they do not have the opportunity for success at both transitioning into our schools and improving their English.   

 

Ethnographic Studies of School Success and Failure

Valdez, G. (1998) The World Outside and Inside Schools: Language and Immigrant Children.     Education Researcher 27, (6) 0-18.

△ This Article is based on an ethnographic study of 2 Spanish speaking middle school immigrants who came to America knowing very little English. It focuses on their difficulty with acquiring English and making the transition into our schools. Valdez studies two female middle school students named Elisa and Lilian.    

△ The audience intended for this article is teachers and high school administrations with the purpose to inform.

△ Valdez wishes to investigate how and why immigrant children struggle when they come to America with little English speaking ability and have to make the transition into mainstream English classes.  

△ Valdez explains how Mission Vista schools had a surge in the number of Spanish/Latino students in the 1980’s due to affordable housing. The schools were not prepared for this new student population. Valdez’s article is important because this is now what is happening all over the country particularly here in the bay area with a very diverse student population.

△ Many mainstream teachers in Valdez’s study were not willing to come out of their comfort zones and assist immigrant students.

△ Although, these students were intrinsically motivated at the start they became frustrated when the school system didn’t foster their transition into learning English to perform well in school.

△ The school that Valdez looked at was divided into 4 levels of ESL for speakers of other languages, but students rarely were allowed to reach the advanced level. We saw this in the case of Elisa.

△ Students were taught in large multi-level classes of varying levels of proficiency by what sounds like the Grammar Translation Method of learning English. The immigrant students didn’t work in groups or do any meaningful learning in their classes. The students were segregated from the mainstream students and had little opportunities communicating in the target language.

△ Elisa became very motivated to learn and Lilian lost interest. Elisa almost had to beg her teachers to help her. Valdez states, “Elisa on the other hand, carefully copied sentences down in her notebook, looked ahead in the textbook, and asked to be allowed to hear the tape that accompanied the textbook”(p.8).   

△ Despite how hard Elisa’s mother tried her English speaking abilities were not strong enough to help her daughter and communicate with teachers at the school.

△ Valdez helped Elisa get out of what she called “The ESL ghetto” by assisting her in enrolling in a school where she could take mainstream courses, but she faced the same issues when she tried to attend college.

• How might you summarize the article in a few sentences? Teacher and schools may not be prepared for the diverse student population that is currently within our schools. There is a misconception that second language acquisition is relatively easy and that all students can learn English the same way and within the same time frame. There are ESL teachers in our schools that may not be trained or not trained well enough to help students who come here knowing zero English. Administrations need to set the bar higher for students so they can learn rather than continue to put them in remedial classes. We need better testing to assess students English speaking abilities.

 

 

Blog 2

Synthesis of the Two Articles

Key Issues:

△ African American children do not do as well as white and other minority children due to dialectal differences between Standard English of the public school and the children’s home dialect or Ebonics.

△ There is a difference between voluntary and involuntary minorities. Voluntary minorities are positive about learning Standard English because they feel it will give them better opportunities. Involuntary minorities are negative about learning Standard English because they see themselves as a lower social/economic status than middle-class white Americans. They also have a negative impression of their schools and relate their inferior education to discrimination. This in turn leads them to distrust teachers and their curriculum.

△ Involuntary minorities like the African American speech community in Lafayette have collective identities that are in opposition to Standard English and feel they would have to give up their home dialect to learn it.

△ There could be misunderstandings between dialects. Slang English may sound harsh or rude to people who use more of a Standard English and the latter may sound too formal and not the type of language that is used in everyday speech to the former.

△ Some speakers of other dialects think that Standard English is the language of white people and that they grew up learning that language.

△ Students may not be getting support for learning Standard English from their parents and the speech communities they are a part of. And using Standard English in their speech communities might be frowned upon.   

The readings show us that both teachers, parents and students need to be better informed of dialectical differences and how their beliefs have an impact on education. Teachers can build trust with their involuntary minority students by showing them that they believe in them academically. Educators need to be culturally sensitive and realize that involuntary minority students feel learning Standard English is a treat to their collective identity. Teachers can debunk the myth that all white people grow up learning Standard English and explain to students that Standard/Academic English needs to be acquired by all speakers of other dialects. Teachers can also show their students that there is a time and place for both dialects of English. Educators need to understand that involuntary minorities feel both parental/peer pressure in regards to learning Standard English. Teachers can open up communication with parents and try to help them recognize the incompatible beliefs about Standard English. How can we as educators bridge the gap between speakers of different dialects to ensure that involuntary minorities have a better chance at acquiring Standard English and being successful in school?

 

 

 

 

 

                     

Blog 1

Ogbu, U. J. (1999) Beyond Language: Ebonics, Proper English, and Identity in a Black-   American Speech Community. American Education Research Journal 36, (2) 147-184.

△ This Article is based on a 2 year ethnographic study of an African American speech community in Lafayette Oakland, California.

△ The audience intended for this article is educators and researchers with the purpose to inform.

△ Ogbu wishes to investigate why African American children do not do as well as white and other minority children due to dialect differences between standard English of the public school and the children’s home dialect or Ebonics.

△ According to Ogbu, “It is not only the degree of differences in dialects per se that counts. What also seems to count is the cultural meanings of those dialect differences. (p. 148).

△ Ogbu argues that sociolinguists in their studies have not examined the historical, societal, and cultural factors outside school that shape the social perceptions and interpretations of students and teachers observed in the classroom.

△ Ogbu calls the focus of his study a type five which he describes as a speech community with both diglossia and bilingualism but the frames of reference of the two languages or two dialects are oppositional. Ogbu is claiming that the African American speech community of Lafayette Oakland is unwilling or apathetic to learning standard English because of the effect it will have on their language community.

△ The author talks about voluntary and involuntary minorities who consider standard English as being a white language. The voluntary minorities he claims have a collective identity that is not oppositional to standard English and they look at it as learning a new dialect. Whereas involuntary minoritie’s (African American students of Lafayette) collective identity is in opposition to standard English and feel they would have to give up their home dialect to learn it.

△ Lafayette people refer to their dialect as ‘slang English’ and standard English as ‘proper English.”

△ The author talks about the misunderstanding of the two languages. The slang English may sound harsh or rude to proper English speakers and the latter may sound too formal and not the type of language that is used in everyday speech.

 

△ Lafayette people believe that slang English is their mother tongue and they grew up leaning that language.  They also think that what they call proper English is also white peoples mother tongue and that they grew up with that language.

△ Lafayette parents cannot and do not teach their children proper English at home. They also admonish their children when they do use it in the community. In other words, using proper English in the community is frowned upon. “Lafayette people are opposed to talking proper in the community because the speaker is suspected of thinking like White people the he or she is superior to or better than other Blacks” (p. 170).

• How might you summarize the article in a few sentences? The African American children of Lafayette do not do as well as white and other minority children due to dialect differences between standard English of the public school and the children’s home dialect or Ebonics.

The African American parents and students have misconceptions about standard English being the mother tongue of white people and that it is another dialect of English that needs to be learned for students to have educational and occupational success. The students and parents of Lafayette feel that standard English is the dialect of their oppressors and they are reluctant to learn it in fear of losing their home dialect/mother tongue. This explains why African American students are not having the same success in school as other minorities. The main purpose of Ogbu’s article is to inform educators of this problem so they can begin to come up with programs to communicate to involuntary minorities and their parents about these incompatible beliefs and enable them to acquire standard English.   

Ogbu, U. J. & Simmons, D. H. (1998) Voluntary and Involuntary Minorities: A Cultural-  Ecology Theory of School Performance with some Implications for Education.             Anthropology & Education Quarterly 29, (2) 155-188.

△ This article is based on Ogbu’s cultural-ecological theory of voluntary vs. involuntary minorities school performance based on their beliefs and behaviors. The article focuses on pedagogy in the last several pages.

△ Voluntary vs. Involuntary minorities.

△Voluntary minorities = Immigrant minorities that have moved to the United States of their own free will looking for better opportunities. Voluntary minorities may have trouble adjusting to American schools, but do not experience these difficulties long term.

△ Involuntary minorities = Minorities that have been conquered, colonized or enslaved. They are not necessarily in America of their own free will. These minorities feel as though they are forced to assimilate into the United States. Some involuntary minorities are usually less economically successful as voluntary minorities and could experience more cultural and language difficulties. This group may not perform as well in school.

△ According to Ogbu & Simmons, “Ogbu’s research suggests that some beliefs and behaviors apply to enough members of a minority group or a type of minority group to form a visible pattern. Not all members of a minority group believe the same thing or behave the same way” (p. 168). So the authors are looking at a pattern of beliefs of the involuntary minority group.

△ The authors talk about how some Mexican immigrants have been able to pass into white society through intermarriage whereas this is more difficult for African Americans because physical features would prevent it.

△ Status Frame of Reference:

Voluntary minorities have a positive frame of reference because they see more opportunities for success in the United States as opposed to their home countries. Ogbu argues that voluntary minorities are more willing to accept not being treated equally for possible economic success.

Involuntary minorities have a negative frame of reference compared to voluntary minorities. They see themselves as having a lower social and economic status than middle-class white Americans. Involuntary minorities do not see America as a land of opportunity like voluntary minorities. Involuntary minorities also have a negative impression of their schools and relate their inferior education to discrimination. This in turn leads them to not trust their curriculum and teachers.

△ Instrumental Responses (relates to folk theory or beliefs):

Voluntary minorities believe that they can be successful through hard work, a good education and following the rules.

Involuntary minorities believe job and wage discrimination is institutionalized. They believe that hard work and good education is important, but not enough to overcome racism and discrimination. The students may also adopt these beliefs from their parents and from what they have seen through other members of the involuntary minorities experiences.

△ Voluntary minorities trust white institutions where as involuntary minorities due not due to a long history of discrimination, racism and conflict.

△ Voluntary minorities do not see learning standard English as a treat to their collective identity whereas involuntary minorities do. As we have seen in the earlier article voluntary minorities think of learning standard English as learning a new dialect that does not take away from their home dialect. Involuntary minorities on the other hand feel their home dialects are in opposition to standard English and a treat to their collective identity.  

△ Voluntary minorities have a positive attitude about school and the students are encouraged by their parents to do well. If the student does not do well the parents blame their children rather than the institution. Involuntary minority students get mixed messages from their parents about the importance of education. And when their children don’t do well the parents blame the institution rather than their children.

△ The theory is not a pedagogy, but a way to inform educators about the differences between voluntary and involuntary minorities in regards to success in school.

△The theory will give educators an understanding why involuntary minorities perform and act the way they do both inside and outside of the classroom.

△ Teachers can build trust with their involuntary minority students by showing them that they believe in them academically. Educators need to be culturally sensitive and realize that involuntary minority students feel learning standard English is a treat to their collective identity. Teachers can also show their students that there is a time and place for both dialects of English. The hope is that involuntary minorities will begin to trust their teachers and start seeming them as an ally rather than an enemy. Teachers can also make positive contacts with parents about what their children are doing well rather than just when they are failing. And I guess most importantly educators need to understand that involuntary minorities feel both parental/peer pressure in regards to learning standard English.

• How might you summarize the article in a few sentences? There is a difference between voluntary and involuntary minorities in regards to their beliefs/behaviors about education and it influences their success. The authors claim voluntary minorities see more opportunities for success in the United States than in their home countries and are willing to accept not being treated equally for possible economic success. On the other hand, involuntary minorities see themselves as having a lower social and economic status than middle-class white Americans. Involuntary minorities feel their home dialects are in opposition to standard English and a treat to their collective identity. Teachers can help involuntary minorities adjust and do better in school by creating trust, being culturally sensitive and communicating with parents.  

 

 

 

                     

Analyze Spoken Language Interference

Pot Legal –

 Phonology – In the first sentence the author uses an apostrophe on children’s when it should not have an apostrophe. The word marijuana is misspelled as mariguana. In the last sentence of the third paragraph the author uses these instead of this. Using these instead of this in the last sentence of the third paragraph could be homophonic confusion.  

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics

Weird Friday –    

 Phonology - the author uses gonna for going to as well as contractions such as couldn’t instead of could not. This student also uses an instead of and.   

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics

Spelling –

Phonology - – the author used the contraction I’m instead of I am as well as don’t for do not. The spelling of my self as separate words could be a homophonic confusion when the spelling should be myself. Spelling of faith as fait.

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics

Introductions –

Phonology – Again we see contractions I’m for I am and I’ve for I have. Student #3 uses the word no for know.

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics