Where I'm From

 Reflection

 After reviewing the research that has been done in the    area of non-standard English it is apparent to me that the methods of instruction that are implemented by our teachers is in need of renovation. There are too many teachers who embody the Cultural Deficit Perspective when it comes to students who speak Appalachian English. These students are then viewed  in a negative light due to the golden standard that Standard English has been made out to be by those who  inhabit positions of power. In a paragraph of ".As soon as she opened her mouth!" Purcell-Gates touches on this topic:

"Again and again we conclude that in developed countries and in third world countries, learners from impoverished  and low-status groups fail to develop as fully and productively literate as compared to learners from sociocultural groups that hold sociopolitical power and favor. Furthermore, this reality continues despite what appears to be clear identification of the problem, and billions of dollars spent by national governments and international agencies. It is the relationship between class and power, language and literacy that I write about here"(Purcell-Gates, 2002). 

Due to the fact that many educators have adopted the Cultural Deficit perception , many students in our education system have developed a sense of determent about school. This is caused by the attempt to make standard English the only acceptable form of the language. This prejudice against non-standard English speakers in employment settings is what caused fed into the belief that these individuals are guaranteed to be sub-par learners. This thought is supported by the text of Rowland and Marrow:


"Using these definitions, we can then see that the negative attitude toward dialect variation in the U.S. involves an underlying belief—the belief that there is one correct version of English—Standard American English (SAE)." (Rowland & Marrow, 2010)

We need educators to approach non-standard English speaking students with an open mind and realize that even though these students may not speak standard English, they still bring a knowledge base into the classroom. These students have what Moll refers to as their Funds of Knowledge. By incorporating these funds into classroom instruction a teacher can observe that these students do not have a deficit but rather a difference in their existing knowledge base. In Luis Moll's research he states:

“When teachers and schools seek out and use these funds of knowledge, Moll expects there will be rewards; They will have a better chance of helping bilingual and minority children achieve authentic literacy; they will foster a sense of community; and they will bestow a much richer education than most working-class kids enjoy” (Gonzalez, Greenberg & Velex, 1994).

One effective strategy for improving the literacy skills of students who speak non-standard English is the use of contrastive analysis. By studying both standard English and the students non-standard dialect and identifying the structural differences and similarities, code switching skills may be more easily obtained and mastered. This allows students to draw from their funds of knowledge to relate and incorporate the structure of standard English to their own dialect. This also avoids the student being faced with the opinion that their dialect as bad or incorrect. In the Honoring Dialect text it is said that: 

"Students who grow up speaking the dialect are at a distinct disadvantage when asked "to make a counterintuitive choice on tests that identify their dialect features as incorrect," (Epstein & Herring-Harris, 2011)

By avoiding forcing the students to identify the language they know as incorrect and instead allowing them to make connection between the two dialects, a much greater understanding and more proficient code switching skills.

The Where I'm From Project is a great culturally responsive teaching aid. By engaging in this activity legitimacy is given to each students cultural heritage as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum. I also believe that this activity is a great way to encourage students to share their varied perspectives and experiences & create supportive environment where this can occur. By fostering this type of environment students learn about and learn to acknowledge the things that are different about each student in a positive way. 

It is my belief that a student who speaks a dialect such as Appalachian English should not be viewed as having a deficit or handicap in their potential as a learner. I plan to view my students with a Cultural Difference perspective because I believe that every student will enter my classroom with some type of personal experience from which they can contribute to the classroom.I believe that not only is implementing a culturally responsive teaching strategy in the classroom important, it can be very beneficial for instruction. My goal is to develop my classroom into a tight knit community of learners.I plan to implement a strategy that gives my students the ability to share their experiences that they bring from outside the classroom. I believe this will help to promote an environment that facilitates cultural awareness and respect. I plan to incorporate these Funds of Knowledge that the students bring from person experiences and use them as tools for instruction. 


Works Cited

Epstein, P & Herring-Harris, L (2011). Honroing Dialect and increasing Students Performance in Standard 

     English. Retrived October 12,2012: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655 

Gonzales, N., Greenberg, J. & Velez, C., (1994). Thanks Funds of

    Knowledge: A Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family

    Resources. CITYSCHOOLS, 1 (1), 19-21

Purcell-Gates, v. (2002). "...As soon as she opend her mouth!" In L.

    Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), The skinf that we speak: An

    anthology of essays on language, culture and power.

Rowland, J & Marrow, D (2010). Dialect Awarness Education: The importance of Watching Our Words. 

    USC Undergraduate Research Journal val 3