English isn't Everything
The
very first day I went to my observations this semester, my cooperating teacher
was very excited for her English II class to come in. She had recently found out
that a couple of her EL students had given her English names instead of their
actual names, so she spent all weekend practicing their pronunciations and even
had them taped to her fridge. When they came into class, she called them by
their names and told them that she would be calling them by their names for the
rest of the year. The students were shocked and happy that she was doing this.
They tried to tell the teacher that she did not have to use them because they
were hard, but she told them that they deserve to be called by their given
names.
Stewart
states in chapter one, “we should consider very practical ways of affirming our
students, such as pronouncing their names correctly, even if doing so requires
a lot of practice.” I had thought about this very little before my cooperating
teacher had brought this to my attention. It really is a simple way to make
your students feel accepted and comfortable in your classroom.
Stewart
also goes on to discuss bringing their native language into their readings. I
went to a professional development last semester that discussed providing
translations, as well as attended a lecture where an EL teacher discussed how
students’ native languages can and should be used in the classroom. EL students
might have a strong literacy in their native language and we as teachers should
involve it in our lessons. We want to encourage their bilingualism, not force
them to push down their native tongue and only focus on English.
Standardization
is attempting to require us to teach everyone the same and require the same
goals for all of our students even though they are all different people with
different experiences. We have diverse classrooms with diverse needs, any
improvement and positive literacy practice is great, even if it doesn’t meet
the standard, even if it isn’t in English. Some of our students will be fluent
in English and may speak with an accent, or with a different vernacular or
dialect than us. Martinez’s article reminds us that there are many English
vernaculars and dialects. We have to respect how our students speak and not nit
pick when they don’t talk like us. When we do that, Martinez explains that we
are committing linguistic violence and even if we aren’t trying to, we are
telling them that their culture is wrong and needs to be corrected. Their
culture needs to be respected and we need to accept that there’s more to English
and language than what we know. We should let our students teach us as we teach
them.
Cheyenne, I love your reflection on the readings that you pair with our experience with Aimee. I also admired the fact that she rehearsed her students' names because students deserve to have their names pronounced correctly and have their culture and heritage honored and upheld. Hell, I hate it when people pronounce my name "Walsh" or "Welch;" I can't fathom how some students feel when gringo-ass teachers butcher their names. But if non-white people been primed to think of themselves as inferior to the dominant narrative since birth, then that sort of thing, along with linguistic violence and many other injustices, become normalized. If we as teachers and people are going to be positive influence on youth, we must create a safe space for all where learning and humanism create community, even it if only for one period a day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that learning to pronounce our students' names correctly goes along to show how we as teachers care for our students. I remember my first two weeks of teaching, it was difficult for me to pronounce some of my students names, especially the EL students. I kept on saying it until I was able to pronounce their names correctly, and you need to see how happy they were when I called out their names. They were actually clapping for me. So, I think creating a connection with our students in order to make them feel welcomed and ready to learn in our classrooms, is by knowing who they are starting by their names.
ReplyDeleteI love what you told us about your experiences with your observation! I think that she makes a great point. I also agree with your stance against standards, and how literacy practice is important even when it doesn't meet the standards. The standards should be used as a guideline, but if they don't fit in with a practice that can help diverse learners, than they shouldn't be necessary at all.
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