Although I am only somewhat familiar with issues in the medical field, from my perception it is almost unheard of for a researcher in the medical field to have to justify his/her existence by answering the question “Why does your research matter?” If this question is ever asked, there is a preconceived understanding that the researcher has a viable answer that shows how his/her work is having or will have a positive impact on society. Individuals doing work in English and Communication Studies do not have this type of luxury. In fact, there is an increasing amount of scrutiny on their work and professor and researches in English and Communication Studies are being put into positions where they have to justify their academic existence. However, the current challenges should not be thought of as burdensome or indicative of a particular bias; rather, they need to be thought of as a way to positively contribute to society. When challenges arise, they must be met with enthusiasm and a new, innovative approach.
The approach I have alluded to is from Linda Adler-Kassner’s The Activist WPA: Changing Stories about Writing and Writers. Adler-Kassner writes about her approach to combating the dominant paradigm about writing courses in academia. She discusses the necessity of writing instructors taking advantage of opportunities to teach courses outside of their discipline, presenting their work to the public, and in general, taking more initiative to have a voice in the public sphere. To have positive results from these actions, she suggests this process: identifying issues and goals, conducting a knowledge assessment, and identifying audiences and shaping messages (Adler-Kassner 131-5). If Adler-Kassner’s approach were put into practice ...
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...hey can provide expertise and perspective on a debate which has pretty high stakes. After all, language, as every author I have cited discusses, plays a critical role in individual, cultural, and societal identity.
Works Cited
Adler-Kassner, Lisa. “Taking Action to Change Stories.” The Activist WPA: Changing Stories about Writing and Writers. Logan, UT: Utah State, 2008.
Anzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Borderlands La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 1999.
Delpit, Lisa. “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children.” Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflicts in the Classroom. New York: The New Press, 1995.
Royster, Jacqueline Jones. “When the First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own.” CCC 47.1(Feb 1996): 29-40.
Spolsky, Bernard. Language Policy: Key Topics in Sociolinguistics. New York: Cambridge, 2004.
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd Ed. Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 2nd ed. Studio City: Michael Weise Productions, 1998.
“The Road Not Taken.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. 8th ed.
3. Delpit, Lisa D. Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New, 1995. Print.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy Oppressed: Ch 2. Trans. Ramos, Myra Bergman. New York: The Seabury Press, 1970. 57-74. Print.
Vygotsky’s believed that the purpose of education is to introduce children to the various range of cultural tools and demonstrate how to use them to analyse reality quickly and successfully (Dolya 2009). Within past years, it is undoubted that teachers have been challenged with numerous alterations contained by educational policies, one being the inclusion of multiple diverse cultures within one classroom. While there is currently much emphasis on differentiation in schools, there is no clear consensus about what the term implies. It is li...
DeSalvo L. (1999). Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives. San Francisco, CA.
How to tame a wild tongue is an essay by Gloria Anzaldua. This essay focuses on the different types of Spanish people spoke, and in this case, Anzaldua focuses on losing an accent to adjust to the environment she was living in. The issue that was applied in this essay was that the Spanish she spoke wasn’t exactly considered “Spanish”. The essay was divided into different sections as where the author tries to let people know, her Spanish speaking language should be considered valid just like every other Spanish speaking language out there.
Orenstein, Peggy. “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” The New York Times Magazine. 4 Dec. 2006. Rpt. in Writing Communities and Identities. Ed. Cynthia Debes et al. 6th ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil Publishing, 2009. 50-54.
These cultural differences often can complicate different functions of society, including education. When individuals from one setting interact with individuals from another, information may be misunderstood and some difficulties can arise from these complicated interactions. Thus, various researchers discuss that educators who
Lundsford, Andrea A, Paul Matsuda, and Christine Tardy. The Everyday Writer. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
In her TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story”, Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, unpacks a convicting truth; people make conclusions based on only half of a story, or the part of the story they know. Adichie tells about her experience in Mexico, expecting to see what the media portrays of Mexicans; job stealing, illegal immigrants, but being ashamed when she realized that they were completely different, and just like her; she “reject[ed] the single story,” and realized that there can never be “a single story about any place” (“Danger of a Single Story”). Through this experience, the novelist uncovered a revelation, that stories matter, and they are powerful, they can be used to destroy people, but can also be used to empower people. Ken Robinson, author of “Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative”, challenges the standardized school system, in claiming that it stifles children’s ability to have creative freedom, in his 2009 TED Talk, titled, “Do Schools Kill
I have been singled out in front of my entire class while being nowhere near prepared for the discussion. This led to my everlasting anxiety about speaking out loud; and this is indeed nerve racking. Now imagine that feeling if you did not even speak the dominant spoken language. After several years of teaching, John Holt comes to the conclusion that schools are places filled with danger and silence. Schools are initially known to be refuges but are not always that sort of a place. Throughout the essay, “How Teachers Make Students Hate Reading,” educator and writer John Holt uses several examples from his prior teaching experiences and explains his acquired knowledge. Based on the different assignments he gives his students, he shows his readers why school can be a place of danger and silence. Holt’s ideas concerning students staying silent at school and their feeling of endangerment are echoed in Richard Rodriguez’s personal narrative essay, “Aria”. Rodriguez is silent at school because he lacks the confidence to
Sinor, Jennifer. “Crafting Voice.” The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction: Advice and Essential Exercises from Respected Writers, Editors, and Teachers. Ed. Dinty W. Moore. Brookline: Rose Metal Press, 2012. 57-63. Print.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for