Double Entry Journal 2

As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth

Whether we realize it or not, like it or not, want to admit it or not... stereotypes are inevitable. As I read through As Soon as She Opened Her Mouth (Gates 2002) I realized that even I stereotype others when I don't realize it. One quote that really spoke to me spoke about people without experience or exposure to certain things tend to come off as ignorant, not as good as others, or just dumb; however, this quote, and the essay suggests otherwise. 

          "Are we going to interpret this as a flaw, a deficit, in Phil? Or are we going to interpret it as a lack of crucial experience, a difference in the experiential backgrounds between Phil and the other memebers of the drivers education class?" (Gates 2002)

After reading this, I was truly floored; I had my "Ah, ha" moment! Just because someone looks a certain way, or comes from a certain place, doesn't mean they cannot learn, it only means the person has come from a different background with different stimuli and exposures. This brings me to another quote from a professor I had for three semesters in the Education Program; in these three semesters she drilled it into our brains that "ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN". This is just as Miss M understood with her students as I read in the essay. A teacher can't stereotype students. It's a studied problem that teachers don't expect as much from students of a lower socioeconomic standing and as I read through Miss M's situation, the light bulb came on for me. I realized that I would have let that little girl sleep because I felt sorry for her; on the other hand, a different teacher would have reprimanded her for sleeping in class. Not Miss M! She helped the student by having her stand up so she wouldn't fall asleep therefore forcing her to pay attention so she could learn to read. Miss M understands "all children can learn" and gave her students their best chance to do just that. 

To get back to Phil, he wasn't dumb, or uneducated, or even too tired to pay attention to class: the poor guy just had no background with cars. This is a direct relation with students in the classroom and, more specifically, Donny. His parents were illiterate and he had no exposure with written language. SO many teachers would let him fall through the cracks. Many teachers would place blame that he is lazy, his parents won't work with him, he has a learning disability, etc. However, we have established that all children can learn, some just take more time. 

Sometimes, there is a language barrier preventing proper education. This essay discusses dialect and students learning to read in "proper English" rather than, when reading, hearing their own dialect in their head. This is where it gets tricky and difficult for both students and teacher. One can make modifications for an English Language Learner (ELL), but it's not so easy when you both speak the same language, yet it's so different. I have a friend from Boston who walked into a West Virginian Home Depot asking for some cork. The employees gave her crazy looks as though she was asking for something unreasonable. So, she kept asking "I'm looking for some caak"! Unable to understand this, the Home Depot workers kept asking her to repeat herself or ask in a different way. Finally, she spelled it out "I need some caak, C-O-R (pronounced 'ah')-K, CAAK"! They finally got it! Now, put this in a classroom with 20 students, one teacher, and this confusion in a student who speaks a different dialect. Now, I understand the thought of using proper English, but not in this aspect. In my mind, proper English is using complete sentences, and (this is difficult for me) pronouncing the -ing at the end of words. Not trying to sound like you're from a different place. 

I have been stereotyped many times in my life, but I have learned to embrace it. I am proud to say that I am a country girl from wild and wonderful West Virginia. There are some things like the following clip that give me a chuckle. There are plenty people that likely think that ALL West Virginians are like this as you can plainly see the reaction of the audience in the video. 

So, this is the Boone County Ninja. Yes, he is quite the entertainer, but it gives the illusion that this is how ALL people from West Virginia talk and act. This is precisely the stereotype people have for West Virginia. And, as stated in the essay mentioned above, people with that southern dialect (or southern drawl) are typically viewed as uneducated. Which brings me to my next video. This child had just turned three-years-old and is also from West Virginia...

This child blows people away with her memorization of the continents. This is third grade material and she just turned three. Chloe breaks the stereotype mindset people have for people from West Virginia..... And, to quote Forrest Gump: that's all I have to say about that.

On a side note, in case you were wondering... that's my kid in the video  ^_^

Citations

Diemondavedotcom. (2010). Diemon dave on jerry springer first appearance [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPJO-W2Vbw

Gates, V. (2000). As soon as she opened her mouth. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6DFAmexYq7vMGQxMjI1OTEtMjAyZS00NzJmLTg1OTUtODlmMGQ0ZDIxOTVk/edit?hl=en_US

mammab1203. (2011). 3 year old says continents[Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qccpIm_qtVM&feature=plcp

O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia. . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html