Blog 2

My whole life I have been taught by my teachers, my parents, and older members of my community what the “proper” way to speak was. After I moved to the U.S from Spain I stayed in the same place for most of my life. So all of my teachers and people that I took influence from where generally from the same discourse; so everything that I was learning on what the “proper” way to structure my thoughts were all the same. I was told that this way was the most educated way, the way people from my class spoke. And that anyone else who spoke differently was uneducated and lacked sophistication. Because of this—some may call it brain washing; I disagree however—I found myself making many first assumptions about people’s intelligence, social standing and value based on the way they spoke [here I used the dash to emphasize that this was my own personal opinion. I also used a semicolon because standing alone each sentence was too short but they were related so combined they created the perfect length].

Chapter one from GA and the Christensen article both challenge my view on what it means to teach grammar. I am one of those people that will correct people because in my “standard” English the way they are speaking or writing is wrong. Although it may be wrong according to my dominant discourse; they could be right for their discourse. GA states that our presumptions or prejudices about a language variety may stem from our prejudices about the people. And in order to appreciate language variety I need to deviate from my idea that there is a “standard”. Because “standard” is subjective and differs from different regions; which is something that I was not raised to value. Christensen gives an example about one of her students who integrates the language she uses at home with the language she was taught in school. What some consider a beautiful blend of culture; I see as something that needs to be corrected; because in my discourse you cannot infuse one variety with the “standard” without being judged [use of the double semicolon]. This is something that over my years at school has been challenged, and although I still struggle with the urge to make other language varieties or discourses seem inferior to my dominant discourse. And like stated in GA it isn’t actually the language that is deeming itself inferior to others it is the people within it. So when I am teaching grammar in m English class I need to remember that I am only teaching one way of grammar. I am not teaching the correct way or the better way. But am giving them another tool in their tool box to use when is appropriate. And show them that each language variety has value, not just the one that I am teaching them.

“although vernacular does not carry the same intensely negative connotations that the term dialect does, it often brings out our assumptions, perhaps unconscious ones, about “better” or “worse” language’” (7)

Normally in my writing when I want to insert my own opinion I would use parenthesis. However I want to expand my writing so I have decided that whenever I would normally use a parenthesis I will now replace it with a dash to add emphasis. I also have seen the use of a sentence with double semicolons and I thought that it flowed nicely and look interesting. So I decided I would also try to incorporate that as well, although I am not sure if I am using it correctly. 

Self-assessment

This will be my second attempt at a grammar class for teachers; the first time being a few semesters ago. This semester I have already overcome my issue: staying enrolled in class past the first week! Just kidding, but on a serious note- this semester I would like to make my writing more exciting to read. I have discovered that the type of writing I enjoy the most is very formal and standard English style formatting. My background and upbringing really influence my appreciation and natural ability for this type of writing. But I fear that although I may sound very educated or polite, my writing may lack something to give it life. I tend to use only commas and I introduce quotes the same way every time; the standard “lead in, “quote…quote”. I had no idea that you could use many forms of punctuation to introduce a quote. If I could learn new techniques of sentence structures it could help my writing become less boring and more pleasurable to read. In fact the first three or so sentences of this paragraph I just threw in some of the punctuations we discussed in class. I am still not positive if I am using them correctly but I won’t learn unless I try.

I have now taken two English courses where the first lesson we have had is about Gee’s views on discourses (you may or may not have heard of him). If you haven’t, he states that literacy is the ability to master discourses out of your primary discourse. And that literacy is always plural meaning that you can have multiple literacies in different areas. He also explains that literacy is not a measure of overall intelligence; this still is very hard for me to adjust too because I have always grouped the idea of being literate with being intelligent, and literate meaning a whole: singular not plural. Because of his article I believe that another way to enhance my writing is to start utilizing all of my discourses. My dominant discourse is very present in my writing. And I sometimes find myself thinking that my dominant discourse is inferior to other discourses. If I could incorporate my primary discourse with some of my secondary discourses it could give my writing more depth. I also found that while reading GA, although it does not directly state discourses: it instead uses the phrase “language variety”, that I have a hard time appreciating different speech patterns especially when they largely stray from Standard English. I tend to look down upon them or want to correct and say they are wrong. According to GA there is not wrong grammar, because language and grammar is situational. This can be compared to Gee as well because different discourses are situational as well. If I can unbound myself from my primary discourse and pull from other discourses I hopefully will not necessarily agree, but have a better understanding or respect for different language varieties.