Abstract U.S. high school reading and writing course materials most - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Abstract U.S. high school reading and writing course materials most often revolve around a specific variation of English: Standard American English (SAE). In other words, although the U.S. is diverse and made up of people from a wide array of backgrounds, our education system fails to represent the complex web of English dialects that our cultural framework consists of. Our research explores SAE, the nation’s overarching Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the front lines of our education system in Oregon. Ultimately, our findings reveal that the issue is not only a lack of dialectical diversity in language arts courses in U.S. high schools, but also a lack of any standard for such diversity and of anyone asking why this is the case. We argue that in order to meet the needs of their diverse student bodies, Oregon high schools need to incorporate variations of American English beyond SAE in their reading and writing curricula.

What are the Common Core State Standards? ● Prepares K-12 students for higher education and workforce Mathematics and Language Arts ( reading and writing ) ● Outlines “ what it means to be a literate person in the ● twenty-first century ” Common core state standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. (n.d.). Common Core State Standards Initiative .

Cultural Diversity vs. Linguistic Diversity Cultural diverse materials in CCSS ● “...gain a reservoir of literary and cultural knowledge, references, and images” But dialectic variation? What dialect is the basis? ● Common core state standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. (n.d.). Common Core State Standards Initiative .

What is Standard American English (SAE)? _’’Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.’’ _Arguments on SAE ● For ● Against

Is Standard American English Neutral? SAE is not mentioned ● - “I think [the author] is white … I don’t see any English as a foreign language problems. I don’t see any … issues with any kind of ‘cultural vernacular.’ ” - Writing “tends to be much better with my white students” Davila. B (2016). The inevitability of “standard” English. Written Communication , 33, 127-148. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0741088316632186

Ebonics - 40 Dialects can be identified in African American communities throughout the English Language. Craig, H., Zhang, L., Hensel, S., & Quinn, E. (2009). African American English--speaking students: an examination of the relationship between dialect shifting and reading outcomes. Journal Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research , 52 (4), 839-855. doi:1092-4388(2009/08-0056) In the 1960s Linguistics started studying African American - Vernacular English (AAVE) - AAVE is looked at as “Bad English” but in reality it's not, because it has not been taken into account. Thompson, Riki. “African American Vernacular English and Dialect Awareness in English Departments.” ERIC , eric.ed.gov/?id=ED475742

SAE and High School WRITING ● Has the rubric for assessing students instead of none for reading ● Negative moderate relationship between dialect use and overall literacy performance ● Questions asked

SAE and High School READING Similar to what we see in writing ● There is not a universal (SAE) dialect. ● CCSS has no requirement to introduce dialectic diversity in the classroom. ● The standards merely suggest that students should be encouraged to seek out diverse material. ○ Diverse exposure can be as limited as simply introducing Shakespeare. What’s unique about reading? ● It’s, frankly, difficult to study. ○ Dialect is not censused in high schools, and rating material can be tricky. ○ We needed to make our own standard.

High Schools in Oregon Beaverton High School ● ○ 74% Minority Liberty High School ● ○ 81% Minority Franklin High School ● ○ 92% Minority Centennial High School ● ○ 91% Minority

How do we improve?

How? (writing) Name the standard ● ● Convention-vs.-perspective, not correct-vs.-incorrect Code-meshing ● (The inevitability of “standard” English)

Code Switching Code Meshing

How? (for teachers) Teaching writing for a diverse classroom Suggestions - Strategy-focused writing instruction, coupled with teacher scaffolding - teaching of editing skills Limitations

“Being educated and aware about dialects such as African American Vernacular English … allows us to address issues with knowledge rather than ignorance, raising awareness within our students, with the eventual hope of raising public awareness .” Thompson, Riki. “African American Vernacular English and Dialect Awareness in English Departments.” ERIC , eric.ed.gov/?id=ED475742.

Conclusion ● No specific reading and writing standards disadvantages students ● Does not reflect/validate all voices ● An issue that needs to be addressed

Citations American English (2017). In Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia online . Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.lanecc.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail vid=4&sid=97cfaf08-02fe-4f4b-8560-b4c86b479bf1%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=AM083600&db=funk Beaverton High School. Beaverton High School: Academic Planning Guide 2018-2019 . Retrieved from http://beaverton-hs.net/course_catalog/ Brady, J. (2015). Dialect, power and politics: Standard english and adolescent identities. Literacy , 49 (3), 149-157. Campbell, Y. C., & Filimon, C. (2017). Supporting the Argumentative Writing of Students in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: An Action Research Study. RMLE Online, 41 (1), 1-10. doi:10.1080/19404476.2017.1402408. Centennial High School. 2018-2019 Course Catalog. Retrieved from http://chs.csd28j.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2018/02/Course-Catalog-2018-2019.pdf Common core state standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. (n.d.). Common Core State Standards Initiative . Retrieved from 7http://www.corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/ELA_Standards1.pdf Clark, U. (2013). A sense of place: variation, linguistic hegemony and the teaching of literacy in english. English teaching: practice and critique, 12 (2), 58-75.

Conley, D. (2011). Building on the common core. Educational Leadership, 68 , 16-20. Retrieved from http://www.rpdp.net/files/ccss/ELA/9-12%20ELA%20Journal%20Articles/Building%20on%20Common%20Core-ascd%20article.pdf Craig, H., Zhang, L., Hensel, S., & Quinn, E. (2009). African American English--speaking students: an examination of the relationship between dialect shifting and reading outcomes. Journal Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 52 (4), 839-855. doi:1092-4388(2009/08-0056) Cronnell, B., & Southwest regional laboratory for educational research and development, L. C. (1981). Dialect and writing: a review. Davila, B. (2012). Indexicality and “standard” edited American English: examining the link between conceptions of standardness and perceived authorial identity. Written Communication, 29, 180-207. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0741088312438691 Davila. B (2016). The inevitability of “standard” English. Written Communication, 33 , 127-148. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0741088316632186 Dropout Rates in Oregon High Schools. Oregon Department of Education . www.oregon.gov/ode/reports-and-data/students/Pages/Dropout-Rates.aspx Franklin High School. Franklin High School: Forecast Guide 2018-2019 . Retrieved from https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/1160/18-19%20-Final%20Forecast%20Guide.pdf Gatlin, B., & Wanzek, J. (2015). Relations among children's use of dialect and literacy skills: a meta-analysis. Journal Of Speech, Language, And Hearing Research, 58(4), 1306-1318. Hillsboro School District. Standards and Assessment . Retrieved from https://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Page/4626