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Rose Moore

ED 258
Rincon
March 9th 2018

I’ve felt lucky to have grown up speaking English, since it is referred to so much as the

“cash language”. I felt I had a leg up, being part of the mainstream. Now that I have been

studying a foreign language for some time I see how much English has sheltered me! When I

think of my standard English as a part of my identity now theres no culture attached to it, I see it

now more as something that is mandatory to have.

Lee states that literacy and equitable access to education are strong forms of liberation.

Fostering these values in our schools is what can help us overcome the still practiced oppression

of our cultures that don't “belong to the group that makes the rules” (Christensen, pg 157).

Valuing the different cultures and languages our students bring to the classrooms, as well as

keeping emphasis on celebrating unfamiliar ones is a great practice. “It is one method of helping

students to access opportunities – opportunities to change their world, to speak for themselves, to

build and transform their communities into viable and just places for all, where equality and

dignity are not mere words.” The last phrase in this statement is what changes my work as an

educator. Coming to my school everyday and being able to expect I won't see any issues of

unfairness, discrimination, lack of accommodation, etc. takes initiative from me to support this

type of environment and make my voice heard if I see anything that does not comply.

Christiansen explicitly recommends to pay more attention to what is being said or

written, instead of the way it is said or written. Stop ourselves from basing worth on whether or

not someone “followed the rules”. The merit should come from the ideas one was
communicating. Students are being brought down for the culture that they were born into, but

they have no reason to be ashamed of that. Crawford confirms this with the fact that heritage

languages are going out of style, he even reports a large percentage of youth preferring to speak

English, rather than their maternal language. Heritage language is seen as so “unofficial” that

“...children soon get the message: their native tongue has low prestige in this country and so do

its speakers.” This stigma is internalized and English, the common tongue, is glorified. This is

why I felt lucky to speak English, because I somehow already sensed these negative stigmas.

Christensen says that too often students feel alienated in their schools, alienated by the

accent they may have, the culture they present or their lack of ability to speak like “everybody

else”. Their home languages and dialects are devalued and they are taught to believe their voices

must be replaced or “refined”, in order for them to truly be heard. This reminds me of an aspect

of Piaget's theory of constructivism; that students should not be seen as empty vessels, without

any purpose than to be filled with knowledge. The lessons they have learned at home, the

traditions they may follow, the language they speak, these should all be seen as assets to child,

their peers and their teachers. It is not something to be left at the school door!

Bigelow's use of roleplay give students a chance to experience each side of an issue and

learn from that perspective. Subjects that may have not been engaging a class can be transformed

into something to get excited about, by being personally involved in the story. Assigning roles

that give students a chance to represent their culture, or at least learn about a new one, is a great

way to give them a voice. I enjoyed Christiansen's use of Ianad’s poem to give students an

opportunity to discuss “silencing”; how it makes them feel and share if they have experienced it.

Making a student see that they should never feel inferior for the way they communicate is

important in making the environment supportive and safe.


I work at an immersion school and sometimes get corrected and looked at funny when I

communicate in French, my second language. It feels scary and embarrassing at first but I

remind myself that the only thing I can do is improve! I cannot recall if I have corrected

someones English but I hope that if I did, I wouldn't embarrass or upset them! I am usually very

curious about someone if I can tell English is not their first language, and want to learn

something about the culture they come from. This is not always easy to ask someone but when

the time is right, I usually go for it! After reading these articles I am excited to find ways to

celebrate the different cultures and language backgrounds I will see in my classroom.

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