It is important for educators who plan on teaching in the Appalachian region to understand that the language we speak here is a part of who we are. We are all different and we should not be judgmental of difference, but we should try to understand the difference. “ Can we look at differences among children in the amount and type of written language experiences they have had before schooling in the same way, without assigning inherent deficit, or inability to learn, to children who do not have as much literacy knowledge as other children?” (Purcell Gates, 2002). Students’ culture can be a power in the classroom instead of a hindrance. If teachers will accept and incorporate students’ culture and utilize it in the classroom to assist learning, they will be amazed at their students’ learning success.

            Teachers can overcome their cultural deficits perspectives of their students by involving their students’ culture and community into the classroom. By teaching through themes and topics that your students are familiar with, your students will have a better chance of learning content. “Moll described the potential of these networks as “truly formidable.” He noted that once they are uncovered and mobilized for learning, they can become a social and intellectual resource for a school.”(Moll, 1992).  By doing this, students can begin with knowledge that they already have and either apply it or attach more information to what they already know. Cultural deficit in the classroom is now just a cultural difference, which strives to understand and respect differences in culture not reject the culture because of difference.

            To improve literacy instruction for speakers of non-Standard English, teachers can use speaking to writing exercises to encourage students to potentially use code switching. “In early writing, we can expect lots of talk to surround writing, since what children are doing is figuring out how to get speech onto paper.  Early teaching in composition should also attend to helping children get used to producing language orally, through telling stories, explaining how things work, predicting what will happen, and guessing about why things and people are the way they are.  Early writing experiences will include students explaining orally what is in a text, whether it is printed or drawn”(NCTE, 2008). By speaking Business English, students can overcome or enrich the cultural capital that they were raised in and excel in life.

            The Where I Am From project supported culturally responsive teaching by building bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences.  By showing students that their home life is meaningful to the classroom, students can sense that they are more than just a grade in a class, but that they matter as a person. When the classroom acknowledges the legitimacy of cultural heritages as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum, students can experience a safe environment to be themselves and also learn to respect other cultures. This activity could create a more “family” class atmosphere and new friendships could possibly develop because classmates can connect with experiences, values, characteristics, etc that they share with other students.

            I do not believe that speakers of non-standard English should be taught varieties of a language when they are first learning a language. Non-standard English speakers should first learn basic English, then once they have accomplished that, and then they can expand their learning to varieties of the English language. I plan on implementing culturally responsive teaching practices into my future classroom by using the knowledge that my students’ bring to my classroom. I will try to plan units, lessons, and activities around topics and themes that my students are familiar with. Beginning in the first weeks of school and throughout the year, I will have my class participate in getting to know each other activities and teamwork games. My classroom will bubble with students’ various cultural backgrounds and those cultures will be utilized in my classroom to enable my students’ learning.

Reference Page

1.     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.

2.     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.

3.     National Council of Teachers of English (2008). National Council of Beliefs About Writing. Retrieved October 12, 2012: http:/www. Ncte.org/positions/statements/writingbeliefs