It Ain't Up to Nobody But Me

I really enjoyed Dornan's chapter this week on grammar, which is funny to me since I wasn't planning to enjoy it.

I particularly appreciated her attention, in the beginning of the chapter, to the idea that "Standard English" is simply one dialect among many and that it is only society who determines which dialect is to be accepted at any given time. I am a firm believer in the idea that our human social systems are built to exclude—to set up system after system that creates a hierarchy and excludes others. For me, this applies to religion, race, material possessions, and language, just to name a few. It seems that regardless of the issue, we humans feel the need to always believe things/have things/do things the "right" way and accomplish some sort of superiority by pronouncing others "wrong."

But back to Dornan.

Her main point about distinguishing between dialects seems to focus on the fact that all dialects are valid, but each may not always be appropriate. This brings to mind the concept of appreciating the experiences and gifts that all of our students will bring to our classroom, yet teaching them when, where and how to use these gifts in the most effective ways possible. Language is such a rich, diverse, and ever-changing tool, it seems we should embrace all aspects of it rather than forcing only one interpretation and validating only one group at a time. And, yes, I realize passing standardized tests in standardized English is necessary.

I also really agreed with her point that complex sentence structures are created in a safe environment through continued practice in the same way that oral language is developed. I had not really thought of this before, but it makes perfect sense. I don't really remember being taught how to create a complex sentence, nor do I remember being taught how to form oral language. I listened and created; I got feedback and kept reading. That might seem simple, but I'm guessing that many kids are not given the freedom to experiment and the time to develop without being turned off by the entire process with a bunch of red marks all over their papers.

For my link this week, I have chosen a sort of obvious site but one that I return to constantly--amazon.com. Here is a link to an interesting book on African American English as well as a bunch of other books on the subject listed below it. You know, "customers who bought this book also bought…" I love reading professional reviews of books on amazon as well as the general public reviews -- I find them all very telling and informative and I get a lot out of it even if I don't buy the books.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-English-J-L-Dillard/dp/0394718720