Last week , we talked and read about how sometimes well-meaning white teachers who want to value the culture of Black students end up not teaching their Black students academic English skills. They don’t mean to be doing a disservice to these students, but that’s what ends up happening because the students don’t learn how to write or speak in a more academic context. However, the flipside of this is when teachers enforce academic English all the time, even in casual conversations. We talked about a few different ways that teachers could do this, and they all had pros and cons. For example, the teachers could use roleplaying to practice formal English skills, but this is potentially problematic because students might see it as not accessible or part of themselves.
What do you think teachers can do to get the right balance of valuing language diversity while still teaching students important English skills? Is there something that is key to deciding when it’s time to enforce formal English?
I believe a teacher should always use Standard English while in front of their students, not only because it is professional, but also because it exposes students to the language as much as possible. With this said, there is definitely a line to which how much a teacher should make a student use Standard English. Like in Delpit’s example, when a teacher asks a student “how are you doing?” the student should be able to answer however he or she wants, with a few inappropriate examples, of course. Like we said in class, when it comes to informal conversation a student should not feel like they are being pressured to be academic. “I be’s fine” and “Can I go to the bathroom?” are not Standard, or what some might consider correct, English, but that does not mean that they are unacceptable responses or questions.
These moments could be teaching moments in which a teacher would take time to say something along the lines of “Good to hear, but you know in Standard English you might say I am well.” Not drawing too much attention to the remark, or telling the student they are incorrect, but allowing them to pay as much mind to it as they choose. Maybe other people have better ideas, but for me personally I do not think I would be able to let “I be’s fine” go with out some sort of learning taking place.
I think finding a proper balance is a tricky question. I think that it is very situational. It depends on the student composition of a teacher’s classroom and the repertoire that the teacher has with the class. For example a newer teacher might have to avoid using as much standard english if he/she is noticing a disconnect in the classroom or if it is causing some kind of resentment among the class.
However saying this, I think that the importance of standard english needs to be emphasized to all students. If it is possible, standard english should be enforced all the time. Standard english the most common form of dialect in the modern working world and people who do not understand this form of english are placed at a disadvantage.
As has been mentioned before, it all really seems like a “balancing act” to me, in which the teacher has to not just enforce academic english all the time or never at all out of respect/tolerance but instead to know the RIGHT times to do this and to seek the middle ground between the two. Thought experiments can be particularly useful, in my opinion, when seeking outlines of potential answers to complex questions like these.
Suppose there was a child who, as a direct result of his teachers methods, only ever spoke in rigid, academic language. At first his family and friends may look at him and say “wow, that kid is really well-spoken”, but after a while it would isolate him a bit assuming he lives in a more diverse household. However, the counter to this is supposing a situation in which another child only ever speaks in the dialect she is accustomed to, clearly she is not better of either, for while she is not really “outcasted”, it will create barriers for her later in life when interacting with those and dealing with materials based in more formal english language/dialects.
So, to answer your question, this individual who is not necessarily raised in environments which “talk white” (to use the original language of the article) almost has to become bilingual in a sense. To be able to speak/write proficiently in formal english style without forsaking his/her cultural identity/dialect as “bad” when its merely “different”.
I feel teachers can best achieve this less so by draconian measures such as correcting so and so when he says “I be’s fine” and more so by preventing an alternative when it COUNTS i.e. when it is appropriate for him so speak with stricter adherence to the rules of the English language (papers, reading, etc). Perhaps by teaching without forcing, so to speak, a balance between the two can be preserved and respected while promoting a more ideal outcome as far as literacy is directly concerned.
I think that the teacher just needs to make it clear when it is appropriate to use dialect and when it is necessary to use academic English. For example, in the mornings when the kids first get there let them talk in whatever way they want as they greet each other and the teacher but when class starts tell them that it is time to use their “school language” or something similar. That way during the lesson they will know that they should be in school language mode. The teacher can correct them during this time. If there is a moment when they are allowed to relax and socialize, let them know that they can use casual language and won’t be corrected for the way they speak. It should teach them that their language is perfectly acceptable in some settings but there are different expectations for other settings.