sharing words

Language is a beautiful thing that has the potential to be a unifying factor, in my opinion. It allows people to discuss, relate, express themselves, and learn about others. In the article we read this week by Toohey, however, words seemed to be a source of contention; an "item" only to be borrowed with limitations, if at all; something possessed by only an elect group of people.

The first grade classroom described by Toohey in the article was problematic in many regards, but her quote that interested me most was found on page 20. She writes, "Learners of English in this classroom, as they were discouraged from explicit appropriation of others' words, were taught that words, like things, were individually owned and not community resources". Indeed, many of the actions of Ms. Jones, the teacher, point to this as true. The teacher creates an environment in which education is extremely individualized. The students sit at their own desks, use their own supplies, do their own work, and seem to produce and exchange information only in very structured settings. Ms. Jones operates her classroom in this manner under the explanation, or excuse perhaps, that it is necessary for classroom management. However, her seating-assignment techniques and her conversations and classroom operations seem to suggest that perhaps she has some personal reasons for this as well. She seems to, perhaps unknowingly, discourage inter-cultural interaction. It almost seemed to me as though children began borrowing and sharing things from one another in search of either 1) power/"reflecting social allegiance", 2) social acceptance, or 3) interaction. One student borrowed Luke's ruler and then lied to him and told him he got it from the store. That's power. Another student, Surjeet, repeated the phrase "a million" after another student when asked a question by the teacher. That's searching for social acceptance. Amy allows others to borrow her items freely and roams often to chat with or borrow things from other students. That's a desire for interaction. Unfortunately, Ms. Jones seems to assume that when students borrow things from one another, or use one another's ideas, or learn together, or work collaboratively, that they are only doing so with ulterior motives - with intentions to hurt another student or to "copy" or to decrease his/her own work load. She does not seem to consider the fact that working together and sharing words and ideas can be a valuable educational and language-related skill that she is denying these students by sentencing them to their desks in every regard. The effects of her limited view are realized and expressed best in the short example given about Julie: "Indeed, Julie was very quiet in the classroom that year, although, as in kindergarten, she continued to appear lively, socially active, and verbal on the playground". The children in this first grade classroom are being suppressed by being denied the opportunity to share, exchange, and use language together.

On an unrelated topic, I also found the following quote in the Wong textbook very fascinating: "Adopted children from Korea and China may feel put on the spot if a teacher assumes from their appearance that they are knowledgeable about the countries in which they were born (particularly if assumptions are made that these students can serve as translators for ESL children). Dialogic pedagogy looks at the insider/outsider question in terms of community, recognizing that membership in a community is both forged and fluid. It has more to do with lived experiences, commitment, and involvement than racial appearance."

I know several families have adopted in the recent past, or are currently in the process of adopting, children from Ethiopia. I see this as being a parenting challenge in their future, and it has given me an interesting perspective on education and raising children who are not your own. In an educational environment that needs to be designed, structured, and fulfilled like a community, there is no place for assumptions or personal prejudices. Dialogue is necessary and sharing words is not optional. When we can share words, we can form this community that is so sought-after by current educators.