This is going to be a hodge-podge. For my writing and technology seminar, we’ve been discussing the history of reading. As many of the students in the class are in the School of Education, we have many pedagogical perspectives. In an online forum dedicated to our readings, a classmate posted a link to this CNN article:
Behind the Scenes: Poverty, gangs plague some L.A. students
She brought to our attention a particular quotation about students needing to learn English so that they could learn Shakespeare, prompting a flurry of points–is the canon really most important, given all the other educational obstacles? What belongs in the canon? Here is my response.
It is ironic that, while America has one of the most diverse populations (in terms of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds), it is also very difficult to encourage “second language learning” in our schools. I suppose this is the opposite of Marie’s point about students learning English; I’m talking about English-speaking students learning world languages, but the attitudes toward both ESL programs as well as foreign language programs have much overlap.
The hubris behind English-only programs irks me; at the same time, I recognize that America is a very expansive country with only two neighbors, one of which also has a majority of English speakers. The exposure we get to other languages is simply not the same as other parts of the world where a single country has multiple national languages, or smaller countries are bordered by many other smaller countries representing an smorgasbord of languages. Exposure is an issue. We can’t just hop on a train to Oregon to go shopping and flex our Oregonian muscles.
Still, with the diversity of languages spoken within our borders and the globalization afforded by technology, we are lacking excuses to ignore the languages of a) the rest of the world and b) our own land. Research has long since relegated claims that multiple languages “jumble the mind” to a racist past, so the emphasis on English-only is behind the times. I take issue with the CNN article’s point that English isn’t reinforced in the homes. Yes, education is a collective effort in the community, but that does not mean all people have to speak English all the time. What is more important is the attitudes towards education as a whole, which the article does also address. In a community where gang warfare and truancy run rampant, speaking English at home seem to be the least of the problems. It cannot be solved through the principal’s efforts alone. The community as a whole must address their children’s futures.
Their community’s resources differ from those of other communities, which is why it is so important to apply creative, non-traditional, even non-canonical (Shakespeare?) strategies to mine their unique cultural resources and intellectual potential for solutions and improvement.
