Project Proposal

Dialect Unit

Question: How do we, as teachers, educate our students about other dialects and the fact that there is more than one "correct" version of English while also teaching them that Standard English is the only socially accepted form.

Project: As you know, I was originally considering interviewing teachers about ways in which they handle the use of various dialects in their classrooms.  However, upon reflection I realized most of my teachers never addressed this issue.  This is partially because my classrooms lacked diversity and the issue of dialects was never prevalent in the classroom.  As a result, I decided that conducting interviews would not be the most profitable project for me as a future teacher.  Instead I will format a unit plan to teach my own students about these issues.  The unit plan will include reading assignments and perhaps some research for my students to learn about other dialects.  These will likely be similar to what we did in class this semester.  I imagine doing this unit after reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so that we could discuss the slave (his name escapes me at the moment) and his language use related to his intelligence.  The unit would end in a discussion and paper addressing the reasons why society only accepts Standard English as the "correct" form.

After starting our Engl 338 class, I was astonished none of my other teachers had ever addressed the concept of dialects before.  I feel the subject is interesting and important in accepting all peoples and cultures.  I would like to teach this unit to expose my students to a new topic and force them to re-examine the standards society demands of our language use.  With any luck, I will help them open their minds to look at languages in a new way and to explore their own beliefs about what makes language "correct" or not.

I have no major questions at this point but any input would be greatly appreciated!

Standard close readings

"As specified by CCSSO and NGA, the Standards are (1) research and evidence
based, (2) aligned with college and work expectations, (3) rigorous, and
(4) internationally benchmarked. A particular standard was included in the
document only when the best available evidence indicated that its mastery was
essential for college and career readiness in a twenty-first-century, globally
competitive society. The Standards are intended to be a living work: as new and
better evidence emerges, the Standards will be revised accordingly."

The first thing I notice in this section is the designation of significance.  For the numbered items, the statements are placed in order of perceived importance.  This also serves to establish validity for these standards.  Listing these items is an effort to prove why they should be accepted as the best and therefore incorporated in all schools.  Secondly, "standard" is almost always the subject of the sentence.  Repeating this subject establishes the importance and focus on the topic.  Thirdly, the writers of this document establish an authoritative identity as the experts on the matter, dictating that they fully researched each standard and only included those which "indicated that its mastery was essential for college and career readiness."  This statement also establishes the significance of college and career readiness since every standard must meet this criteria.  Additionally, this creates a connection between the standards (what we teach in our classroom) and college and career readiness.  In other words, we should be preparing our students for their future with everything we teach.