Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Turning Point

(Continued from Tuesday . . . )
The way the inner-city students spoke and used English stood out from the day we met. For the poor white students I simply thought “southern dialect.” For the black students, “bad English.”
            Weeks passed before my thoughts righted themselves. I moved from “They speak bad English” to “They don’t speak good English” to “They don’t speak as I do” to “That means there’s only one way to speak English.”
            That became the turning point: There’s only one way to speak English—Dee Ready’s way. She knows all the rules. The grammar. The usage. The syntax. She’s the standard by which to measure good English. Ah! Ha! And double Ah! Ha!


            I began to listen closely to the language of the students—both white and black. The idioms used by those white children amazed me. They had colorful ways of describing everything. They used words I hadn’t heard before.
            I don’t mean four-letter words. I mean what they called the step that led to a front door—the one on which a person could sit. What they called an ice-cream drink from a soda fountain. How they pronounced roof. So many terms and pronunciations different from those with which I was familiar. This to me was a southern dialect.
            Then I began to truly listen to the language of the black students. The language I’d labeled “bad English.” Slowly, I became aware that all the black students used a similar syntax. Their usage was the same. Intrigued, I listened carefully when they spoke. In a notebook, I wrote down their sentences. Their response to questions. The way they asked questions.


            The set of rules that emerged excited me. It seemed as ingrained as mine. Perhaps what I was hearing was Black English. Why shouldn’t people who could trace their background to the South and to Africa speak English differently from me?
            When I’m puzzled, I research. I started reading dictionary definitions and etymologies, encyclopedias, and books on linguistics. There I encountered the words standard and nonstandard English—or substandard.
            This riled me. These students weren’t “nonstandard” or “substandard.” Their language did not, as some sociologists suggested, prove they were not as inherently smart as “white” people. Daily I taught these students. I’d come to know their capabilities.            
           Some sociologists proposed that the way blacks spoke proved they were innately inferior. No, their language showed only that they spoke differently from those sociologists. Not worse. Not better. Just differently.
            These ruminations led me to apply to the University of Minnesota to obtain a Master’s Degree in American Studies. I wanted to understand the poverty of these inner-city students and its implications, the politics that lead to poverty, the history and literature of the South, the culture of a country that embraced racism, the reasons the students’ families had come north. I wanted to discover if there truly was something called “Black English.” To be an effective teacher, I needed to know more.
            My mind teemed with questions. Perhaps professors, books, and experiences at the university held some answers for me.
                                                                    (Continued on Saturday . . . )
           
Afterword:
This series, in which I’ve shared my quiet activism, began with “Call Me Stubborn” in January. On Saturday, I’ll take you with me to the University of Minnesota for the next adventure.

Photo of haze by Dan on freedigitalphotos.net
Photo of rainbow by Dr. Joseph Valks on freedigitalphotos.net
            

38 comments:

  1. Dear Dee, I sit here, speechless and amazed and with tears in my eyes. I want your words to shine all over this land. It needs them. Badly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Inger,
      Thank you for your kind thoughts. You know right now in our country and throughout the world there are people actively standing up and speaking out for social justice. We see it in Egypt and Syria. And we see it here when people choose to march to the tune of their own drummer and not to the sound bites they hear from demagogues and politicians.

      Peace.

      Delete
  2. All I can do today is to second Inger's comment. I have such great respect & admiration for what you have done & continue to do with your life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Fishducky,
      You are kind. Please see what I said in responding to Inger.

      Peace.

      Delete
  3. You are one woman who puts her money where her mouth is, as they say. ;) Isn't it amazing how these experiences propelled your life in this direction and that? I admire your convictions and dedication--and can hardly wait to hear what the UofM held for you. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rita,
      I suspect you also "put your money where your mouth is." That you too, walk the walk and speak the speech. But thank you for your kind words. I can't tell you how much I admire you and the way you live your life.

      Peace.

      Delete
  4. One of my dearest friends is a professor of English language. He has travelled all over the world assessing Ph.d's in his field and has written many books. He does not believe that there is a correct way of speaking English and is fascinated by the development of language in different cultures and believes fervently that they are all important and relevant to understanding better the English speaking world. The trouble is that there is too much snobbery in the world of English speakers -- speaking the 'kings English' has become yet another way of separating and segregating each other when it could be a way of reaching better understanding. Excellent post, Dee -- you are more and more amazing each time I read you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Broad,
      Thank you so very much for sharing the story of your friend and his findings. He makes so much sense. You do, too, when you say that the "'kings English' has become yet another way of separating and segregating each other when it could be a way of reaching better understanding."

      And thank you for your kind words. You're a sweetheart. And if you look deep down within yourself I bet you'll find an amazing woman!

      Peace.

      Delete
  5. Your students were fortunate to have a teacher such as you Dee.. who tried to understand how and why they spoke the way they did without criticism.
    You are an amazing person Dee.
    hugs,
    Pam :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Pam,
      Thanks so much for seeing me in this way. As I said to "Broad" in the comment above yours,"if you look deep down within yourself I bet you'll find an amazing woman!" Aren't we all?

      Peace.

      Delete
  6. I love that you were open minded and wanted to learn more about your students' dialects. I love that you valued these children and saw their genius.

    I'm sorry you had to use the paddle to gain respect. And I LOVE that you were assigned the obedience of taking a long nap every afternoon. We should all have such an assignment!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Michelle,
      Oh, that nap each summer day was so delicious! In the past year--since celebrating my 75th birthday--I've assigned myself the same obedience: a nap every afternoon. It certainly lightens my spirits and even helps me sleep better at night.

      I hope you can pull this off every so often!

      Peace.

      Delete
  7. Do you have any examples of speech patterns and the phrases your students used? I would find that enormously interesting.

    I love the study of language; it is a hobby I pursue with great pleasure.

    This series is totally enthralling; I hope you have a lot more to tell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Friko,
      Unfortunately, I don't have any examples. This all happened back in 1968-69. My memory no longer holds those exact details.

      But I can give you a web site where you can find examples. On Saturday, I will link my post to several other sites that provide background on William Labov. He is the linguist I learned about at the University of Minnesota. His work back in the late 1960s influenced teachers and textbooks in the '70s.

      Here's the link on vernacular Black English, which has some examples of what you asked about.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English

      Peace.

      Delete
  8. One black student I had was a fluent writer, and the syntax was very much as you described. I wrestled with the question: should I cover her writing with corrections? should I let her write in her own fluent way? No easy answer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Susan,
      Thank you for sharing your story. Like you I had fluent writers also. And it's so true that there's no easy answer. At least I never came up with one. Later in this series I'll write about a Drop-Out Center where I worked and how I told the students they knew two languages: "Standard English" and "Black English." Together, we discussed when to use each.

      Of course, today you probably wouldn't use the term "Standard English." We know so much more now. Please look at the comment above that Broad made.

      Peace.

      Delete
  9. I remember reading somewhere that English is a living language, and it changes in context. I certainly have seen that over the years. I look forward to hearing what you learned and what you have to teach me. You are indeed an amazing researcher.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear DJan,
      When I think of how many new words and terms have entered the English language just since personal computers entered our lives and how many since the "social media" phenomenon--one of those terms being "social media"! Isn't it wonderful to speak a language that welcomes new idioms and words and terms? A living growing language!

      Peace.

      Delete
  10. 'To be an effective teacher, I needed to know more.' It seems to me that you were being hard on yourself in that sentence. I would be very suprised if those students you had been teaching and learning from believed you to be an ineffective teacher. I have reworked that sentence of yours to a place where it sits better with what I have been learning from you and about you on the incredible journey.

    To be a MORE effective teacher, I needed to know more.

    Thank you for another incredible post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear EC,
      Thank you for your rewording suggestion! The reason I gave for leaving the convent in 1966 was that I felt I wasn't an effective, a good, teacher. It took me years, way beyond this inner-city teaching, to finally admit to myself that I could teach.

      Peace.

      Delete
  11. One of my first encounters as a college student coming from the suburbs of Chicago to Illinois State University in central Illinois was a girl on my dorm floor who said hello, to which I responded and said the sort of nicetues one says. She immediately said "oh, your from Chicago". "How do you know?" "Oh, you have a Chicago accent." I was astounded. My Greek immigrant grandmother had an accent, not me!

    As I think I mentioned before, Dee, you are an example of what being a good teacher is. You also show us what it means to be a humanitarian.

    One of the issues in the book I recently read, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", was that the Lacks family didn't understand what the researchers were telling them. Especially those that were immigrants from Europe and Asia. Everyone was speaking a different English and no one was trying to figure out what was really being said. The author's sensitivity to this was amazing to me - you are amazing to me. Your discipline and thirst for knowledge and to do what is right for your students and in your quest to make things right is remarkable. Once again, I thank you Dee and look forward to the next chapter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Penny,
      Thank you for your belief in me. I do have a real thirst for knowledge. I want to branch my dendrites until the day I die. I suspect you are the same way. Learning is a delight for both of us. What I see in your blog is your ability to observe nature and writing and life so gently and compassionately.

      Peace.

      Delete
  12. I've taken the time to read all the previous comments and others have stated my thoughts better than I could write them down! You have a listening heart and because you love people, you hear what they say and learn from them as individuals. Too many people judge another person so quickly by whatever standards mirror themselves, and if someone is somehow different they stop listening. Your experiences remind us to beware of that faulty thinking. Thank you for the ongoing work you do to advance respect for others. You are a special woman, Dee. Debra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Debra,
      Thank you for reading the previous comments. It's so wonderful when a dialogue among the comments gets started. You know that "faulty thinking" idea is so true. I've learned to examine my feelings and my thoughts. When I do that I can begin to figure out what's prompting a feeling and what it portends if I entertain it. My thoughts are the same. If we let negativity lodge within us and root, like a seed, it can hurt both others and ourselves.

      Peace.

      Delete
  13. What an exciting post! As a teacher this fires me up to listen to my own students with as much attention to detail as you did. Thank, Dee, I always learn something when I come here...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Kate,
      Quite frankly and truthfully, Kate, I can't imagine you learning anything from my writing. Your blog is so erudite. So replete with your knowledge--far and wee--of every topic under the sun. And I'm sure you share that thirst for knowledge with your students, who are indeed blessed to work with you.

      Peace.

      Delete
  14. WOW, someone who looks for communication not perfection to a single standard. dialects are just that, dialects - local understandable by the locals.

    Then you can help them identify where they may not be understood outside the dialect, and how to communicate outside of it.

    words and phses from dialects make their way into mainstream english and we all benefit from new ways of expressing ourselves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello and thank you for stopping by. I'll click on your site sometime today. Please see my comment above to DJan about those "words and phrases from dialect" coming into mainstream English. (That's a lovely way of getting away from "standard English"!!!!)

      Peace.

      Delete
  15. I have been following your post and am amazed, Truly wonderful reading. Thank you.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Yvonne,

      I'm so glad you are enjoying the blog. Make some poetry out of it!!!

      Peace.

      Delete
  16. So true that if people have different backgrounds, they'll most likely talk and act differently. You were a blessing to those students. You're a blessing to us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Elisa,
      Yes. I agree. We have different backgrounds and we're influenced in our speech by what we hear as we grow up and by the influences of the culture that surrounds us.

      Thank you for your kind words. You certainly are a blessing in my life.

      Peace.

      Delete
  17. Absolutely fascinating, Dee. I studied modern languages (French and German) at university, having become interested in language from an early age. My grandparents spoke two languages, their northern dialect and what we understand as standard English, and could slip between the two with ease. I saw the same in Germany, with people who could move between Low and High German. I think for some situations, being able to speak a reasonably standardised English is helpful, but that does not negate the validity and expressiveness of other forms of English. I too love the fact that your discovery propelled you into learning more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Perpetua,
      As "Susan" noted above, teachers must decide how to best help students for the wider world they may encounter. That realization influenced me when I returned to Ohio and taught again. I'll reflect on that in a later posting in this series.

      Thanks so much for sharing your linguistic background. As to my learning more, I suspect that you, too, do a lot of exploring of new ideas!

      Peace.

      Delete
  18. Great to observe that the students were also teachers. That makes the process the best!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your thirst for knowledge is inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love how your work with the students became a partnership, each learning from the other. I wonder what happened to all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Your capacity to let something sit with you for a while until you're ready to examine it is nothing short of amazing. I love that you didn't pronounce "bad English" and then shut the door on your mind, but instead opened it more to allow the information to work its way in. Would that the world had more people with that inclination, Dee. You are truly a wonder!

    ReplyDelete