In most schools you will find many books that tell how Americans were colonized, about conversion from one religion to another, our Founders this and our Founders that but, you seldomly see any books on African Americans. Do you ever wonder why? In thee excerpt Black Women/ Black Liteerature Joanne Kilgour Dowdy interviews Christina McVay, a whitee instructor who praises Black Language and thus teaches it as her career. McVay tells how at a young age she was introduced to Black Language. Her interest derived from discovering that Black Language unlike proper English does not have rules but, flows with creativity and self expression. McVay goes on to pose the same question, when will Black Langauage be recognized? As a teacher of Pan African students McVay says it is the lack of motivation given to Black students. Much like educator Paulo Freire feels there is "pedagogy of the opressed" McVay shares the same ideology. McVay feels that teachers teach and never allow the students to reciprocate. I to share this thought with McVay, that if we are never prompted we can not raise our hands in the darkness, our voice can not be heard, we can not teach the teacher as they teach us.
-Jacquelyn D. Patterson
THIS IS SO TRUE ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS NOT BEING RECOGNIZED IN TEXTBOOKS. WE'VE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS FOR SO LONG BUT I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYONE MY AGE TALK ABOUT IT. SOME TEENS JUST BRUSH IT OFF LIKE IT'S NOT REALLY A BOG DEAL; I THINK IT IS. GOOD POINT THOUGH INCLUDING SOME QUOTES FROM ADW.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that blacks have never been recognized in the manner that whites have. When you are in middle and high school you learn about American history and the history from your state, but it is very seldom that there is actually a whole class dedicated to the history of African Americans. I think that if we come together we can have that changed, so that we will be recognized for all our amazing accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteI think this is so true. McVay also said that she has to convince a lot of the students that using "Black English" is okay because so many people have told them that it's not. I think that's the biggest issue. Many Black people don't even believe that Black literature is real literature, but like you said once we adknowledge it then others will too.
ReplyDeleteI believe Black English is okay as long as it is used in the correct context. "Black English" is what seperates the African Diaspora from other Diasporas in a positive way. Although it is sometimes looked upon as negative, it is very much so postive becuase in our own way it - it is OUR form of literacy.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Sims
I love how you related the article with McVay back to the article in ADW. Some teachers always expect to push thier opinions on students about things such as correct English. Black English is not wrong, it is just not the way that the textbooks and traditional educational system intructs us to speak. If teachers are not open to suggestions or new ideas when they teach, then how do they expect to move forward with education? The world is changing everyday, and teachers should be able to keep students up to date on what is going on around them without being opinionated.
ReplyDelete-Chene' Greene