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.