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I just finished Deplit last night (well during a fit of A.M insomnia) and have many questions to go along with what I learned.
First of all, "Is speaking properly in front of my students good for them or does it seperate me from them?" What do you all think? I try to speak properly, but find I am closer to them when I speak my normal way Vermontish way.
Do you think that if we were in another country we would want to be directed more and not left to try and figure out local customs? This question is very pertinent to me as I am heading overseas in December.
I have a friend who was pushed out of teaching because her learning disability inhibted her from keeping up the reading and writing requirements. Is this right? Should she have been accomadated and helped? WOuld she be a better teacher having overcome adversity?
Finally, this is partly kidding, "Did anyon see Gayles style in their?"

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Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:33 am
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Craig, I think it is fine to speak Vermontish or any other way in the classroom in general. Teachers many times act informal with their class when they have a little time to spare. However, I believe that they need to speak clearly or directly to the class when it comes to teaching the subject matter. I am against process communication because it is so misleading to many students from varying cultures or backgrounds.


Sat Nov 29, 2003 3:15 pm
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I see your quandary, Craig. I imagine I will have the same dillemma in my classroom. Perhaps it might be profitable to attempt to speak "correctly" when teaching the subject matter, as John suggested. Then save the more informal speaking for "shooting the breeze", to build rapport with the students. Also, I can forsee a need to shift into more informal speech when you realize the students don't understand, as an almost "2nd Language" attempt at communication.

Although I am not originally from the South (I'm from northwest Indiana, near Chicago), I have lived here a long time - 25 years. Some people think I have not picked up a Southern accent, but, in some ways I know that I have changed my speech and verbal expressions in a sincere but sometimes unconscious attempt at being understood. (I have even said "all of y'all"!) :)

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Joyce Jarrard


Sun Nov 30, 2003 3:30 pm
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Location: Newton-Conover Middle School- Newton, NC
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I think being able to communicate with your students in their lingo not only helps them accept what you have to share with them, but also opens you up to learning something from them. Sharing your dialect with them only helps strengthen that instructural bond, and exposes them to yet another dialect. I am from south-west Virginia, and have quite the southern "twang", but I know when and where to speak freely and when and where to speak standard English. It is almost like being fluent in two different languages!

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Amy E. Wilson


Mon Dec 01, 2003 1:21 pm
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Location: Newton-Conover Middle School- Newton, NC
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I thought I had submitted a reply, but it must not have gone through. Okay in a nutshell, I was simply saying that I think it is appropriate to speak to students in your own dialect (Craig's Vermontish??; My southern "twang") as well as learning the students dialect during instruction or informal conversation. Teaching standard English via the dialect you and the students know best makes the lesson more meaningful. Teaching students the right times and places to use standard English is extremely important as well.

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Amy E. Wilson


Mon Dec 01, 2003 1:26 pm
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Oh Amy! I so understand what you are saying when you refer to having to transition from natural dialect to more standard English. I find it so much easier to write than to speak, especially with people I do not know well. I have forced myself into situations that require me to speak publicly, however, it is NEVER easy. The part that is easy is establishing a very real relationship with mountain children and their parents, because I do speak their language. Hopefully, I can teach them how to navigate the "code".


Mon Dec 01, 2003 8:48 pm
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Cindy, I understand where you and Amy are both coming from. I feel as though I speak two languages. I find it very easy to relate to the children and parents I work with because we speak the same language. When speaking publicly or with the faculty I use a more proper version. I think speaking in these two forms help relate myself more closely to the groups inwhich I am with.


Tue Dec 02, 2003 11:47 am
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What advice from a mountain culture perspective would you explicitly give to us transplants who want to teach here?


Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:58 pm
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I'm also interested in any answers to Patty's question.

We talked in class about the different rules for different dialects. I am interested in what the rules are for the Appalachian dialect. I subs. and tutored reading in Avery County for one year before my son was born. Quite possibly I wasn't being observant, but I did not learn many "rules" and I'm very interested in learning them. The only rule I learned was that everyone said "you-ins" instead of "ya'll" or "you guys."


Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:43 pm
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