The first question of this reflection deals with the relationship between language, literacy, and power. To answer this question, I think you first need to identify the context in which the relationship will be defined. That is to say from the context of the “elite,” where status was established at birth the answer would be different from that of someone born into “poverty.” From the elite viewpoint there is no real disparity because this class has determined what language, SAE (Standard American English) and what is considered proficiency in literacy. This can and has led to stereotyping solely based on the way you speak, "I knew she was ignorant as soon as she opened her mouth!" (Purcell-Gates, 2002) For further evidence of this View this Link an ongoing study being done by Professor John Baugh of Stanford University. What I learned was more about judgment and the necessity to remain judgment free when you encounter people that have a different cultural or ethnic background than you. I also found it very intriguing the subtle yet distinct differences between language and dialect.
Question two, Cultural Difference or Deficit? When teaching I will try to embrace the cultural difference and empower students to find their voice, translate their voice to words, and then offer them choices to better articulate their voice to a variety of audiences. Once I learned how to perform a "readability study" on text, I began performing a "readability" on everything I write, to ensure the writing meets the target audience. This works both ways (higher or lower grade level) and is a simple tool to employ. By first allowing students to understand a need to alter their word choices depending on setting (code switching) instead of constant correcting and negativity toward their "home" language (cultural deficit) increases their achievement in both verbal and written skills.
Question three, overcoming a cultural deficit attitude can be difficult, since our behavior is largely based on experiences from our own cultural socialization. A teacher can overcome their deficit attitude (if they have one, I do not) by doing an "ethnographic study" of the the area they are teaching. This study will give you greater insight into the community and the culture of those that live there; enabling you to devise learning goals based the data collected. In the case of Moll's study in an Arizona community he remarked, " We believe that a meaning-centered model ... allows bilingual students to take full advantage of their first language abilities, and to surpass the limits set by their more limited knowledge of their second language." (Gonzales, Greenberg & Velex, 1994). This points to shift from cultural deficit (English only) to cultural difference (embracing native language) to lead student learning and achievement.
Question four, strategies for increasing verbal and written skills. 1. Practice: students need to practice writing down the words they speak, exactly the way they speak, (a visual cue) instead of the words in their "head" 2. Preparing to give oral reports / speech: writing down the report / speech information...reading aloud to small groups, revising, word choice, natural vs. SAE, identifying desired outcomes and target audience (NCTE,2008). 3. Building vocabulary: "code switching" at its essence is really just increased vocabulary and word choice combined depending on target audience (Epstein & Herring-Harris, 2011)
The Fifth question asks how creating a digital story relates to the overall understanding of culturally responsive teaching. This is very simple on many levels and complex and abstract on others, first the simple, everyone has a learning history that is rooted in their culture, I will call this their primary lens. The complex, as we mature and grow in our learning our lens becomes more refined, hopefully we will have learned along the way that its okay to have more than one lens, so we add, wide-angle, long-range, micro-range, various light filters... this process of viewing things from different perspectives can be life altering. The digital story making process incorporates many different learning styles and also is presented in such a way that different learners can understand and learn. In the development stage the author can manipulate the text, the picture, animation on text and slides, sequence, color, speed, and most important music. There is evidence to support that listening to music and learning to play a musical instrument increases cognitive pathways exponentially (Piro, 2012). This connection to visual and auditory senses creates a greater chance for Long Term Memory permanence (McDevitt, 2010)
Resources:
Epstein, P. & Herring-Harris, L (2011).Honoring Dialect and
increasing Student Performance in Standard English.
Retrieved October 12, 2012: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655
Gonzalez, N., Greenberg, J. & Velez, C. Thanks Funds
of Knowledge: A Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources.
CITYSCHOOLS, 1 (1), 19-21, 1994.
Piro, J. (August 1,
2010 ). The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal
development of children and young people. International Journal of Music
Education , 269-289.
National Council of
Teachers of English (2008). National Council of Beliefs About Writing.
Retrieved October 12, 2012: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/writingbeliefs
Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we
speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.
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