"Teaching
Standard English: Whose Standard? " April 4, 2012
This
article touched me in a very personal level. I came to the United States being
11 years old. To me, elementary and middle school years were, for the most
part, very disturbing and frustrating. I remember entering the 5th
grade at Salem Elementary School. My class was composed of “new-comers” and not
many were fluent with the English language; however, I found myself isolated
and rejected by all of my peers because I was the only one who did not speak a
word of English. Even my book bag was a problem… Their lookers were too small
for my bag which had wheels. My first
years of school in The United States were a true challenge. I was not only
dealing with having to adjust to a new way of living, but also learn a new language
in an environment in which everyone made me feel less-then. As I went through elementary school and
middle school, I focused more on speaking English as good as possible. I was
never afraid of speaking English, but like Fred, the boy in “Teaching Standard
English” Whose Standard?” I limited my vocabulary because I did not want anyone
to laugh at my words.
My
struggles with the English language found their way into my high school years. I remember a paper I wrote for a class. In that paper, the teacher gave me a grade
which, to my understanding, I did not deserve so, I confronted the teacher.
When I asked the teacher why I was given that grade, the teacher’s answer was “How
long have you been speaking English?” I answered “For about 5 years” and the
teacher said: “It will take you about 7 years to be proficient. You are a very
good writer, the problem is that I can almost hear you accent when I read your
writing”. Words cannot explain how devastated I felt when I heard that. I could
not believe my ears. For so many years I had been working so hard on my English
and comments like that was what I got as recognition for my accomplishments. For
a few hours I felt extremely upset, then, I realized that the fact that my
writing was not good enough for that teacher did not mean that my writing was
not good. I also realized that my accent is part of who I am and the uncountable
number of situations I have had to overcome in order to be in this country and
learn the English I need to be able to accomplish my goals and be productive.
When I made myself aware of this, I started to get involved into school
activities from which I had restricted myself because I did not think I was
going to be accepted because my English was not perfect. With time, I have
become a lot more comfortable speaking in public and writing in English. This
has happened because I have realized that it is better for me to pronounce a word
incorrectly, and get my point across than to not say anything and become
unknown to the society I am part of.
Rosaly Cuevas
