Chapter 6

Chapter 6 was fast becoming one of my least favorite chapters that we've read so far, until I stumbled across the section titled "Student's Rights to Their Own Language (p. 200). I think that this section pulled the entire chapter together for me. As teachers, there are going to be those students who don't talk in the standard dialect we consider appropriate and corrector. This does not mean that their intelligence level is lower than those students around them. I am one that will cringe when I hear the use of poor grammar, and will immediately feel like all eyes are on me if I let a sentence or phrase slip through my lips that is grammatically wrong. I think that the ideas in chapter 6 as a whole are good reminders not only that we have to take in the cultures that our students come from, but also that we need to check some of our own stereotypes at the door and be open to the differences of our students and the learning they can provide us. (This idea can span much larger than just in terms of different dialects of English.)

I really liked the exercise at the end of the chapter. I think that having students write about their own language acquisitions and possibly a linguistic autobiography are ways in which students can find out more about themselves and we can learn more about them as well.