Language is also important. As Purcell-Gates (2002, p. 133) states "the language one speaks is the clearest and most stable marker of class membership". This means that language often functions as a instantaneous label maker for many. If you speak like the power elite do then you must be in that group, or at least be like them.
This is also true for minorities. If you speak like a gang banger then you must be one, or if you drop your “G’s” and say y’all like a hick then you must be one. This becomes especially troublesome in Appalachia. The media, for over 100 years, has been perpetuating that idea that people from Appalachia are uneducated, violent, uncultured, and ignorant. The connection between the media’s portrayal of Appalachians and their dialect that now, nothing more than a few seconds of speech can get you labeled as a lost cause. This is what happened in “…As soon as she opened her mouth!”
It is vital that teachers in Appalachia see the effects that this can have on students. Students know that these stereotypes exist and some have internalized the negative. Some now believe that they can’t go to college or graduate high school because they are nothing more than a back-woods, West Virginia hick. If teachers know that these attitudes are there then they can work to eradicate them and replace them with a pride in where they are from.
Additionally teachers need to be careful to cultivate a cultural difference perspective instead of a culture deficit. “This [perspective] justified the belief that certain groups were intelligently inferior to others, particularly to the group in charge.” (Bolima , D. (n.d.)) Teachers need to realize that differences in other cultures do not imply a deficiency in those groups.
One way to overcome this cultural deficit perspective is to tap into each student’s unique funds of knowledge. Students in Appalachia have a different set of background knowledge than students from New York City. One set of backgrounds is not better than another. As teachers, it is our job to realize that and to embrace every student and the cultural capital that they bring to the table.
This can be done by selecting activities, lessons, and projects that relate to their backgrounds. This will also give them a chance to make connections between the classroom and home. This is facilitated by the fact that “Many families had abundant knowledge that the schools did not know about”. (Additionally it will give the classroom activities a greater meaning. This will help students to do better in the class room.
Another way to help students, especially in the area of reading is to help them see that their dialect isn’t wrong, just non-standard. You can do this by allowing students to linguistically study their dialect. This study will not only give students a better appreciation of their dialect and culture but also a wealth of information about code switching and linguistic code. “"By using their own words to describe these patterns, students move from what they intuitively know about language to an understanding of language variation and how it works in different settings and with different audiences." (Epstein P., 2011)
The photostory project helps students to realize the value of their culture and where they are from. It allows them to make connections between the classroom and their home and family. It also shows students that their culture is worthy of classroom study, just like the culture of any other place. By watching other students’ photostories, students can gain a better appreciation of the heritages of others and to know each other.
In my classroom, I would like to use this photostory idea as a jumping off point. It would be a good opportunity to get to know my students and also for them to use novice level Spanish to talk about themselves and where they come from.
I also plan to help students see more clearly the approaches to reading and writing in a second language. In the second language classroom every student has low literacy, and therefore every student will need support when it comes to reading and writing.
Bolima , D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm
Epstein P., H. (2011, September 15). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655
Funds of knowledge: A look at luis moll's research into hidden family resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B38BSV_Zo7aHSGVoMWEtOFRGMVE
Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power. (Print: Anthology)
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