Double Entry Journal #3: Cultural Theories

Assignment:
Here is the link to the graphic organizer for cultural deficit.

Reference:

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm

Related Source:
This short little handout (link is here) goes further into the definition of cultural deficit, that thinking that cultures are inferior will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have no idea about what it means by "perceived lack of intellect", besides that by perceiving difference in race, language, and physical features cause the teacher to ignore those students. I like the silly clip art.


Reference:

Cultural deficit theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.ocmboces.org/tfiles/folder845/Cultural%20Deficit%20Theory.pdf

Double Entry Journal #2: Teaching Without Assumptions

"I knew she was ignorant just as soon as she opened her mouth!" This teacher was referring to the fact that Jenny the mother of Donny, one of her students, spoke in a southern mountain dialect, a dialect that is often used to characterize poor whites known variously as "hillbillies," "hicks," or "ridge runners." 

She would go down to try to tell them that Donny did not know enough about reading to be passed on to second grade. She would go down to complain that even though the teacher had told her that she would retain him in second grade, that he had been passed on to third-just as had happened to her and her husband.

The teacher talking about Jenny really annoyed me. It is rather like when students do not talk, so the teacher assumes they are not intelligent. I feel a little guilty that sometimes I am too busy answering the questions of students while the silent students work without my help, though I am trying to improve. It is a bit difficult in a classroom of more than twenty 6-8 year-olds. As a beginning teacher I am seeing many bright children everywhere I look, be it talkative, quiet, or with an accent. I think a lot of people can relate.

Money and fear should not be such a huge factor in education. The Teachers are not only ignoring people with an Appalachian accent, but are being tied around with red tape if they hold a student back, so they send him on. School politics is not something I'm looking forward to. There is a mixed bag of personalities when it comes to teachers.

 Reference:
Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power. (Print: Anthology)

 (link to the anthology here)

This article (link is here) has a good point. Everyone has an accent. Sure, you should try to make your accent a bit flexible so people can at least tell you are speaking recognizable words, but I think that a rough spot happens when it comes to foreign professors not familiar with English. I don't know what to think when it comes to teacher accents sometimes. A lot of my teachers have had accents and I could still understand them.

Reference:
 

Codrescu, A. (2010, May 10). Arizona education loses the accent of america. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126480169

Double Entry Journal #1: Media and West Virginia

'''Local color' writers made brief visits to the mountains, then wrote fanciful books about the queer, violent mountain folk. As realistic as Harlequin romances, local-color books like Mary Murfree's ''In the 'Stranger People's' Country'' were read and reviewed as journalistic accounts.

College professors began to use them as textbooks in sociology classes."

For some reason, this quote made me cringe, especially the last sentence. "Tall Tales of Appalachia" (link to the article is here) points out how ignorant of the Appalachian culture people are. I certainly have noticed how people discriminate and ignore people from West Virginia, and I agree that there exists very little I know of to have created such scathing feedback from the media.

I cannot believe that college professors would use such utter nonsense as textbook material. (pardon my language) Unless sociology teachers used these books as an example of how not to view things, I do not see the point of bringing books such as these into discussion. I was trying to keep a positive outlook on sociology, but this article may have crushed it.

Reference:

O'Brian, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia.The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

"Truth if Fight or Flight" (link is here) has a different opinion when it comes to Appalachian stereotypes. This blogger believes there is a grain of truth in the stereotypes and she approves of some of them because of her own experiences. She says that the stereotypes used to anger her, but she admits that they still have some truth. I am not sure I agree with the author, but it is of interest.

Reference:

Kelli (2010, June 13). Truth in appalachian stereotype- fight or flight. Retrieved from http://eastkentuckygal.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/fight-or-flight/