Something I have learned about the relationship between language, literacy and power is that they all share a direct relationship. If you speak Standard English and are literate, you will be more powerful. Uneducated or/and illiterate people are typically at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak. This is why it is so important to teach students in the Appalachian region this relationship. Many of the students in my future classes will be from a lower socioeconomic status and therefore not necessarily understand why they need school. If they understand this relationship, they will be more likely to break the cycle of living at a low income status. We don't want our future students going to job interviews and having to worry about someone saying "I knew she was ignorant as soon as she opened her mouth", as was the instance in Purcel-Gates's article "As soon as she opened her mouth". Even if these students, who grow into well rounded adults, still speak with their Appalachian dialect, others will realize these West Virginians can carry on an intelligent conversation and are worth being given a job. When a teacher understands this and follows through for the sake of their students, they, in turn, overcome the cultural deficit perspectives of their students. When realizing the cultural capitol in your students, a whole world of benefits are opened to you as a teacher. This reminds me of Louis Moll's article "Hidden Family Resources"; a teacher realized her Latino students all grew up around construction workers, so she built her lesson around that and included family participation. Here is what was said:
"Ina called the experience "a total success." She pointed out that her students learned "the vocabulary of construction, names of tools, economic concerns, and the importance of knowing mathematics in construction." Hilda also commented that "it was interesting to see how each student learned something different." Moll asserts that the project"created new instructional routines... that helped the teacher and students exceed the curriculum, stretch the limits of writing, and expand the knowledge that formed lessons." (Moll 1992)
I wasn't surprised at the success! The teacher overcame the cultural deficits and, rather, celebrated where the students came from and what they knew.
Too often, classroom instruction is teacher centered, meaning the teacher talks and students listen. This is part of the reason teachers contribute to poor literacy in students. Another reason, is that some teachers have a cultural deficit perspective and think that some kids just can't learn because of where they are from and their home life. However, I have stated many times before that "ALL children CAN learn"! Teachers need to tap into their students knowledge base and use these funds of knowledge to enhance, enrich, and better the learning environment; besides, if students are reading about and learning about things they have an interest in, or that is relevant to them, they are more willing to make the connections between school and home and life in general.
Doing the "Where I am from" project was a great way to support culturally responsive teaching. It builds a bridge between home and school because I have realized that others in my class have much in common with me and the instructor can better understand where we are from so she can relate to us and our experiences. It has brought importance to our heritages and we have learned that everyone has a story and it SHOULD fit into the curriculum and will help rid of prejudices in the classroom. Because we watched each others videos and made comments, we were able to get to know our classmates better and understand the varied perspectives each of us have. I'd love to do something like this in my future classroom. Elementary school students could make a couple scrapbook pages, or a video like these with the help of an adult. I will always celebrate the cultural capitol that my students have and encourage them to share what they know and their stories; I will, in turn, do my best to gear curriculum towards things these students know as to help guide their connections between home, school, and life beyond elementary school.
Resources:
Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.
Resources:
Moll, L. (1992). Funds of Knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to
connect homes and classrooms. (1992). Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-
41.
Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.
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