I am reading the article for class today and this quote caught my attention:
"Mrs. ___ always be interrupting to make you 'talk correct' and stuff. She be butting into your conversations when you not even talking to her! She need to mind her own business."

Ebonics is a part of some childrens culture just like our southern dialect is a part of ours. I know it is important to speak proper English but corecting these children could hurt their feelings and make them feel negatively about themselves and their cultures.
Imagine if we grew up in school having people tell us that the way we said our words were wrong.
I know that my boyfriend is constantly corecting the way I say "library" I say like "liberry." He grew up in Pennsylvania and points out to me how I say this word wrong every time I say it. I did not even realize that I said it wrong untill he first pointed it out to me. It hurts my feelings when he does this to me because I know that I do not say this because I am ignorant or uneducated but because I am southern and that how the word comes out of my mouth with my accent but it makes me feel dumb.

What do we do about correcting them to speak proper English with out making them feel like they are dumb or wrong?

I do not think it is a question of how to correct the improper English, but rather a question of how to bring an awareness of the different forms of English. The form of English you use is, like you said, a product of how you grew up. To you, the right way to say things is different then what other people may think.

So I do not feel that it is right to say that we need to correct, but it is more of a question of how we bring an awareness of the different ways people talk. If we can promote this awareness, then it becomes unnecessary to say that one form is “correctâ€

one possible solution could be for the administration to hire a diverse group of teachers. This will help the students to observe different cultures interacting with one another. The students would benefit by seeing different races as well as different ways of talking. This might be difficult in certain regions. If so, the curriculum should teach different cultural characteristics.

I feel it is a question on what is the best approach to having students realize that in certain situations it is alright to talk how they were raised, but there is many situations that proper english is required. As a teacher, I would say please use proper english and correct the student. It would be great if we could allow students to use their local vernacular, but in modern society proper english is used and the students have to be able to communicate with the society we are releasing them into. We would be doing them a disservice if we did not correct them and explain why it is "incorrect" to use in the situation.

I agree with Zach when he said that it is about advising students when it is best to use certain dialects. Code Switching is something we should encourage our students to participate in so that they realize that it is a ok to use their traditional dialect in family or local situation but in the classroom and in profession settings it is best to use Standard English. A great example of this could be seen in the Delpit article, The Silenced Dialogue. The Native Alaskan students experienced a formal dinner where they had to use Standard English and then a picnic where they could use their Heritage English. I thought this was a great way to get students to understand that they can hold onto their Heritage English roots but that Standard English holds a great deal of power for them in the future.

Zach, I agree.

I think it hurts students more than helps them if we don't teach students correct English in some capacity. Just as most of us with a southern accent have realized, people don't take you seriously in the real world if you don't speak with clear, standard english with good grammar. This doesn't just occur with ebonics or with a southern accent. I think it's also important to correct and improve the english of the girls who use "like" every other word, etc. After all, we as teachers are supposed to not only teach school subjects, but also how to be successful in life.

Whitney, I completely agree with what you are saying.

I used to be guilty of thinking that because I plan to teach math, that speaking in standard English and using proper grammar was not as important. Besides, I will be teaching my students how to do math, not write essays, right? Well, I have since changed my mind because I now realize that I am not only teaching my students math, but I am preparing my students for success in life. If I am able to teach my students all this wonderful math, and when the time comes to present some mathematical research to their colleagues, my students are not taken seriously because of their speech, what good did my teaching accomplish?

I don't know that I care how my students speak in my class as long as I can understand them. However, I do think it is important to teach students that Standard English (SE) is necessary in certain situations, say, a job interview. I personally don't know that I think that speaking in SE is important in a classroom. In fact, when people speak in the dialogue they grew up with it is usually because they are comfortable in that setting and I do like the idea of students feeling comfortable in my classroom. Even though I know that at some point in their lives, the students will have to use SE to be successful, whether that is a good or bad thing I don't know.

I am almost torn on this issue. I feel that it is so important for students to be comfortable and speak in their dialect. I do not ever want to make a student feel that their culture is not important or "wrong". But I also feel that students should be well prepared for those specific situations in the world outside the classroom when they will be required to use Standard English. I feel that by having them practice it they will know how to write papers that will be acceptable to other teachers and in college. They will be prepared for interviews for jobs. By using Standard English in our society you are more likely to be looked at as, at least, semi-intelligent. It is sad that other dialects can not be seen as intelligent as well. However, since this is the case, I feel that it is important for students to be prepared for those instances when they will need to code-switch and use Standard English.

I would never want a student to think that his cultural dialect is "wrong" and I hope you didn't feel I said that in my post. I just think that it is important in the classroom to have the student speak in SAE, so they have practice using it in a professional environment and practice switching.

Abby, I understand what you are saying about wanting the students to feel comfortable in your classroom and I think if students speak in their cultural dialect then they are showing that they are comfortable. If we ask them to use proper English in our classrooms, then we are giving them a chance to become efficient at it. Most likely they do not get any practice at home, so it is important that we require this.

I think finding a way to balance language in your classroom is essential. Personally I think if students are speaking/talking amongst themselves in converstaions that do not involve me it is NOT my business. Pointing out the importance of using SAE in written assesments is key but what role does dialect play in their day to day lives? When have you ever been stopped in a classroom and assessed on your spoken language for a grade that weighs the same as the PRAXIS? Obviously most of us write differently than we speak because we passed the PRAXIS....

This topic was actually brought up in one of my other classes the week before. My teacher really expressed concern about letting the children speak in their dialect. Now when is it the appropriate time like yall have mentioned is the key question. She felt, and i think i am going to agree with her, is that we make the students aware of all the different dialects. Once the students understand that they are not wrong but just a different approach they will be more willingly to speak the Standard English language. We also need to point out the benefits of know how to speak Standard English and that we can code switch. The hard part is that the students need to learn about dialects when they are younger so they do not think they are speaking improper. But i think this might be a little hard for the youngsters to grasp. I could be completely wrong because when they are young is when you can mold them the most. Overall what i am trying to say is we need to explain dialect but show them that in a classroom setting we need to speak Standard English but with friends, recess, and home are times when they can speak in their dialect.

I agree with Ashley. I am a secondary ed major, and I think that in the classroom SE should be the preferred vernacular (both spoken and written). I think that the classroom is an environment that should require SE for practice (like Zach pointed out) and to bring an air of professionalism to the classroom. By the time students reach high school, they should be able to understand the difference between the appropriate uses and settings for ebonics and other dialects. You simply do not speak to your teachers and principal about your education in the same manner that you speak to your friends about what happened last weekend. I feel that the line between friend and teacher is a delicate one and that perhaps something as small as the type of language that you use when speaking to one another can help to let the child know that you do care and respect them, but it still keeps the professionalism in the conversation.