I just recently taught my English
class the definitions of jargon, colloquialism, slang and dialect. We discussed why some stories are written
with specific voice and why some are not.
The students decided that formal language isn’t always used in a text
because the use of slang, etc makes the characters more ‘real’. Culture plays a large role in how we speak,
act, and interpret the texts we encounter.
When reading stories, my class came to the conclusion that it is
necessary for us to understand the character’s background and why they behave
the way they do in order to truly understand the author’s message. These Discourses are really what make the
story come alive. Same can be said for
our cultural classrooms. In Cultural Models, Gee states that “Culture
models can be about “appropriate” (Gee, p. 68).
Certain ways of being (acting, speaking, etc) are deemed appropriate in
certain cultures. This can also be said
in our classrooms, as each class has its own culturally specific
Discourse. When we have students who
fail to fit the “mold”, we try to change their behaviour to better suit the
“norm”. If they refuse to adapt or play
the game, they are sent to a special class.
Several immigrant students are brought up to value education differently
from each other. This effects how they
behave in class and sometimes this causes others to shun them. What people say, and how they say it is
culturally specific. The level of
appropriateness is subjective, but also dependent upon group membership. People who practice similar Discourse will
always have a greater understanding of each other, and an advantage in our
current educational system. I am
constantly struggling with how I can better this predicament.
At
our seminar, we read and discussed risky texts.
I took a look at “Woolvs in the Sitee” (Margaret Wild) and found it to
be a dark book – very artistic. The text
was riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes, which made it difficult to
read. Despite this, the language is
necessary for the context. It aided in
the mood and understanding of the story.
I could see this story meaning different things to different people, based
on their personal viewpoint. The text
also made me think about how un-accepting we are, as educators, of text that is
not correct or written in a straight line (like Margaret Wild’s “Fox”). Why are we so judgemental about text? We teach our students to leave judgements as
best as they can, yet we don’t practice that in its simplest form. Maybe there is a place for bbm and text
language in our classrooms? I guess this
all comes with the learning curve I find myself on. I need to let go of the details (a little)
and focus on the main messages being presented in front of me. I use tech-language in my daily life
constantly, as do my students. Classroom
lessons do not have to be above this, but should include all types of
language. How I incorporate these new
languages is what I struggle with these days... I think they all have their
place.
I
really enjoyed the segment on “Sister Anne’s Hands” by Marybeth Lorbiecki. It’s a great book to begin the discussion on
differences. Some may think that this is
more for the elementary level, but I would definitely use this book in my
secondary school classes. Acceptance
goes far beyond skin colour which can be stressed in the discussion after the
reading. I find that high school
students need more reminders of this. I
prefer taking my students on a journey back to their younger days of reading
children’s books to re-teach them these lessons. I find that when I take them on a journey to
when life was simple (prior to teenage life), and then relate it to present
life with different pressures, sometimes it becomes apparent that those simple
lessons are still valid and can remain simple, yet still important.
I
am really enjoying the novel reading. My
group has read “Alabama Moon” by Watt Key and “Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt” by
Beth Hoffman. Both books deal with
overcoming life-changing obstacles.
Between the two books, I am more interested in getting a class set of
“Alabama Moon” for my Essentials English class.
I can really see them enjoying this novel. The main character is immediately likable and
deals with surviving on his own and his need for companionship and
belonging. I can see them really taking
to this book and also making connections to their own lives.
Through
the readings and seminars, I am becoming aware of how ‘set in our ways’ we are –
as people and individuals. Even though we
are taught different methods, to teach, that we agree with, we are still creatures
of habit. We still, to some degree,
teach the way we were taught. We base
our teaching on how “experts” who have researched in the field of education
have mentored us to teach. Yet, does
anyone ever challenge these thoughts? I
began thinking about this when Jerry critiqued Allen Luke saying that Luke
doesn’t trust the learning process. I
realized that I read educational research or listen to someone of authority in
education and I automatically concur. I
think I’m too opinionated at the best/worst of times, but I need to be more
skeptical and continue to develop my own methodology of teaching. I suppose in some way I already do that only
because I’m “set in my ways” to a certain degree, and have my own beliefs. The awareness of this is causing me to change
my teaching. I think we all have our own
styles because I know that I certainly do.
I enjoy listening to others teach, or lesson ideas and taking lessons
from my experiences. I use them when I
see fit and am trying new things constantly, not always because I think they
will work all the time, but I think that I might find something better than my
current methods or just to have variety.
No one enjoys boring J
I’m
really starting to hope that I remain unsettled in my teaching... It’s keeping
me on the ball!
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