The reading summary is done by: Jeff Gist (ENGL300-1) and Tyler Rendleman (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Friday, Feb. 11th, 2011
The text you need to read is here (the article about Carrie Secret from Oakland School, CA).
By Tyler Rendleman:
This article was based off of an interview with Carrie Secret, a fifth grade teacher from Oakland California with a teaching history of thirty one years under her belt. The articles main point is to educate the readers about the adoption of the Standard English Proficiency program at Prescott. The misconception of scolding students for not learning proper English was brought on by the media when in reality the SEF program emphasizes the importance of learning to read and speak English well. Not just require student to learn English the proper way and hold them below standards if they continue to speak improperly. Having the students read books with the use of Ebonics language patterns such as Joyce Hansen’s Yellow Bird and Me, and The Gift Giver, the students began to show Ebonics structures in their first drafts of English. After working with the children for a while and conversing with Professor Ernie Smith, Ms. Secret learned to approach teaching from a different standpoint as apposed to the “fix-something-that-was-wrong” approach. Ms. Secret was encouraging students use the language the professors use and they are expected to use in class, and that language is English. The most interesting part of the SEF program that grabbed my attention relates back to the students not being scolded for mispronouncing words. The students are allowed to read freely so Secret is able to see if the students are comprehending what they are reading and take mental notes of their pronunciation and later work with the class as a whole discussing the problems she heard so as to not single any one student out. The last point I found to be most interesting was the school wide program called the Just Read program. Everyday students are allowed to take home books and expected to read them because the children learn not to be afraid of the books, they are simply words that someone else has written down for their entertainment and not another obstacle standing between them and proper English. Upon completion Secret ends with telling the students that she has done everything she can for them, the tools are in their hands and it’s up to them to what they do with them.
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by: Jeffery Gist
The article was adapted from an interview with Carrie Secret, a fifth grade teacher at the time of the interview. Secret teaches at Prescott Elementary school in the Oakland California Unified School District. Prescott had been the only school in the system where a majority of the teachers had voluntarily agreed to adopt the Standard English Proficiency program, a state wide initiative that acknowledges the systematic, rule governed nature of “Black English” while helping children to learn Standard English.
Secret has been teaching for thirty one years at Prescott which is one of the Oakland schools that uses the Standard English Profanely program (SEP). the Oakland SEP program is ran by Nabechah Shakir, who dared to honor and respect Ebonics as the home language that stand on its own rather than as a dialectical form of English.
Students ate encourage to practice English most of the school day. As fifth grade students they are requested and encouraged to speck in English almost all the time. The misconception that the mass media has created. Is that schools are teaching Ebonics. This is not true the students come to class speaking Ebonics. The teachers are using strategies that will move them to a competency level in English
The article was adapted from an interview with Carrie Secret, a fifth grade teacher at the time of the interview. Secret teaches at Prescott Elementary school in the Oakland California Unified School District. Prescott had been the only school in the system where a majority of the teachers had voluntarily agreed to adopt the Standard English Proficiency program, a state wide initiative that acknowledges the systematic, rule governed nature of “Black English” while helping children to learn Standard English.
ReplyDeleteSecret has been teaching for thirty one years at Prescott which is one of the Oakland schools that uses the Standard English Profanely program (SEP). the Oakland SEP program is ran by Nabechah Shakir, who dared to honor and respect Ebonics as the home language that stand on its own rather than as a dialectical form of English.
Students ate encourage to practice English most of the school day. As fifth grade students they are requested and encouraged to speck in English almost all the time. The misconception that the mass media has created. Is that schools are teaching Ebonics. This is not true the students come to class speaking Ebonics. The teachers are using strategies that will move them to a competency level in English.
The way that Secret puts a spin on SEP is what I found interesting about the article. Using the strategy of allowing the students to read freely is a great way to go. By letting the read as they choose it helps Secret gauge what each student has trouble with. Then when it's time to teach them she knows exactly what they have to work on. She also breaks down what reading a book is in terms where the students aren't afraid of books, by saying books are simply words that someone else has written down for their entertainment and not another obstacle standing between them and proper English. This is why I like how she approaches the task of teaching them.
ReplyDeleteTyler did a great job summarizing a long article. Just like the past two articles on proper english and how to write effectively, I found this article to be very interesting. First of all, I liked the way Carrie Secret conducted her class. She let her students speak freely whether or not they were mispronouncing words or having trouble period. At the end, she discussed these problems as a whole to the class so that not only the student who had trouble comprehending what he/she was reading but the entire class was able to understand where Secret was trying to say. This was also a plus side for Secret because she was able to see where students had trouble the most and see what they have to work on. I think Secret used this teaching method as a way to encourage students to learn from each other by listening to each others mistakes and it also engages them to learn more. I also liked the fact that there is a program that allows students to take books home so that they can read and broaden their minds so that they can increase their proficiency in english. These are great strategies that teachers are using these days to engage students to learn more!
ReplyDeleteTyler and Jeffrey did a tremendous job summarizing a very long and interesting article. The previous articles primarily discussed proper English and how to write effectively. Although the previous articles focused on those two, I found this article to be very unique and interesting. The way Carrie Secret taught her class was by far excellent and on point. Furthering my basic opinion I come to conclude to this because Carrie Secret lets her students speak freely whether or not they said words in the correct manner. One of the best formats Carrie Secrets conducts is a discussion afterward to talk about the problems they all faced and not just singling out one particular student. With this taking place Carrie Secret had a greater advantage to actually witness with a train of thought of what student had more problems over another, but did it in a professional kindly manner. The teaching method that Carrie Secret formulates is a way to encourage students to help each other out. Lastly one of the best things that can happen for a student is taking books home so they can read and increase their proficiency to the fullest. I believe this is a tool that all teachers should apply in today's education. What a remarkable article to read.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that Secret has come up with to teach Standard English to her students. I still disagree that Ebonics should be considered a language separate from Standard English, and I still think it is a dialect of English that is separate from Standard English. However; many of her teaching techniques, especially the way she does all of the reading and assigning books for her students, could be adapted for any kind of student no matter what dialectical background they come from.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how this article was written in a very conversational manner, because it made it easier for me to read. Also, it made the subject matter more interesting and stand out more.I liked that in the article Secret gave an example of children speaking with Ebonics, and how the same word would be pronounced in standard English. I agree with Secret that hearing the language is important, because people that speak a certain way do not notice it. For example, people with certain accents do not notice they have an accent until they encounter people that have a different accent. I also liked the way she teaches her students, and think that her techniques are good, in general, for teaching young children. I do not think that Ebonics needs to be "translated" to English, because it is a form of English.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I thought Secret took teaching and constructed it in a way her students would learn at their own pace. As a child everyone gets nervous from time to time when their teacher calls on he/she to read for the simple fact they don't want to feel embarrassed if they mispronounce a word or if it's a word they do not know. I think the technique Secret used by having her students read books and speak freely was a useful way to help her students learn and it developed a way so that she can see what her students needed help the most.
ReplyDeleteI like the Standard English Proficiency program and what it is supposed to bring to the table. I think the idea of letting students decide what they're going to read is a great idea because it doesn't make reading a scary, laborious activity, it makes it more fun. One of the most important things we can teach our students, in my opinion, is to enjoy reading and help them become more confident with they reading. I think it is good for students to be spend time in environments where proper English is spoken and written because they will eventually adapt to the proper English language. The Standard English Proficiency program helps this become possible.
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very interesting. during this written interview it really gets in depth with the subject and about different languages and the way they are used. This particular article deals with Ebonics and how it is used in society today. This article speaks about embracing and acknowledging Ebonics and then slowly but surely breaking speakers away from it and introducing them to proper English. In the article Carrie is trying to get readers to understand that Ebonics is sort of like a lifestyle and speaker must be brought around a different environment with proper english in order to pick up on the correct habit. I also thought Tyler did a good job on the summary. It contained valid details.
ReplyDeleteThis article was adapted from an interview with Carrie Secret. Secret is a fifth grade teacher from Oakland California. She has been teaching at Prescott Elementary for thirty one years. This is a school people told her to stay away from, but she loves it and refuses to leave. Secret teach fifth grade and has taught the same children for five years. The thing I found most interesting was the fact that Secret does not go around the room correcting her students Ebonics. However, she does encourage the use of Standard English. Secret tells her students that guests are coming in and they try to speak proper English to show their capability. Also, when the students are in groups she tells them to speak as a professor in college would. I think these are two great ways for teaching Ebonics speakers to speak proper English. This method works well because it does not tell the students they are doing something wrong and need to change. This policy teaches students that there is a time and a place for Ebonics (home) and a time and a place for proper English (school). This does not take away from their culture and is clearly working for Secrets students.
ReplyDeleteI think that the efforts of Carrie Secret are admirable. It is ridiculous to label a dialect of speech "wrong," as some people might label AAE. However, it is still important that everyone in a society be able to understand each other. That is why a standardized written and spoken dialect of English is very important. Teaching speakers of AAE how to write and speak standard English should not emphasize that they abandon their normal way of speaking, but develop a new one to use in certain situations. Pretty much everyone does this anyway. People speak differently in different situations. Granted, the difference between AAE and SWE is much greater than the difference between the way I speak with my friends and the way I speak with professors. In any case, if Secret or any other teacher is able to get results with her methods, then it works.
ReplyDeleteTyler did an great job summarizing the text. That text was interesting. I really like that students were able to take books home for free so they wouldn't be afraid of them. I can relate because I was never a reader; in fact, it wasn't until my senior year of high that I read my first book in its entirety. I can understand how book can be frightening, especially if a person is so far behind in books that should have been read. This initiative is wonderful, and I hope they continue to do it.
ReplyDeleteThis article was based off an interview by a fifth grade teacher name Carrie Secret. I found this article to be very interesting. Especially the approach Ms.Secret took in order to get the children to speak proper english. She let the children read freely. Not correcting them at first is a really good method in my opinion. I do believe that making sure they understand the material first then collectively correct their mistakes is a better method instead of somewhat punishing them for not knowing is a better method to take. I do respect her for putting forth an effort to simplify a very complex subject as language and put it in simple terms so that we can all understand one another.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great article. It is inspirational to teachers and students all over the world, I'm sure. I think a lot of the comments that I've said regarding these topics may have been a little insensitive. I guess I just think that drilling and expecting everyone to speak and write the same, is standard. I haven't always considered if the student was truly getting the most out of it and really understanding. I think it is fantastic that Ms. Secret has spent a lot of time with these children and has developed a system in which she can teach effectively and the students do not become discouraged.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the summary and looking at the article, I think they were all written well. One thing I really liked about the article was how it was written in more of a conversation. Things like that definitely make something easier to read and understand. Another thing I enjoyed was how it seemed Secret took her teaching responsibilities and made them easier for each child to understand at their own pace. I agree with Secret’s statement that hearing the language is important because the people who talk that way don’t notice. Another thing I agreed with was the way she teaches her students.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the way in which Carrie Secret conducted her class. When I was an art education major, we learned about something similar to this, it was called the "nurtured heart approach". The idea to enforce what the student is positively contributing to the class and their education as a whole, as opposed to pointing out the negatives. This is along the same ideology of Secret's method. I think her way of teaching shows her dedication and understanding for her position as an educator and as a mentor. Teachers not only educate us on what we learn but how we learn. Molding our brains to absorb information in a certain context. Continuing on that, since Secret realized that to truly teach someone you have to first have an understanding of the way they currently learn and process information. I think a lot of her theories and different ideologies come from her many years as an educator, which sometimes is much more beneficial... well, then anything really.
ReplyDeleteI think this article was interesting because you got a sneak peek into a non-traditional style of teaching. A teaching style that seemed to be effective in Carrie Secret's opinion. Although they didn't encourage Ebonics they accepted it, I don't personally think this can help students. They should be promoting correct English instead and get kids into that habit. The summaries of this article were good. They broke down the major points of a rather long article and made it concise.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed reading this article. I thought that it was extremly interesting. I liked that Secret used familiar reading books with the children. She embraced the student's culture and helped the students to feel more comfortable. I thought that both students did a wonderful job summarizing this very lengthy article.
ReplyDeletethis article was pretty long and the students summarized it well. it was interesting to get a behind the scenes idea of what goes through a teacher's head. the positive encouragement she gave her students benefitted them by helping them learn more efficiently. the conversational format of this article also made it very easy to read and much less monotonous.
ReplyDeleteI can truly appreciate the manner in which Secret conducts here class. She allows students to embrace their natural cognitive abilities and then provides them with the proper guidelines. Another interesting point I found in the article was the notion of not being afraid of books. Its a little embarrassing to admit, but I used to have a sub-conscience fear of books; they used to intimidate me.I guess the idea of attempting to digest all this information that, I felt was beyond me, was a bit overwhelming. If introduced to reading for fun at an early age, perhaps I would not have felt that way. Her encouraging methods are probably motivation for her students to succeed, they are not afraid to learn; which is great.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was a interesting article and it contained a good summary. First issue I have: What is "Proper English?" I've heard from other sources that actually "Proper English" is spoken by people from Great Britain and not us Americans. For the most part, I agree with what the author is saying. It is important for educators to teach students how to fix their way of English. I particularly agreed with the statement, "Ms. Secret learned to approach teaching from a different standpoint as apposed to the “fix-something-that-was-wrong” approach." I think that this is a important concept and method rather than scolding the mistakes. I believe that her methods will help students improve.
ReplyDeleteTyler and Jeffery did a wonderful job summarizing both articles and getting straight to the main points. This is article is somewhat touching because its good to hear about teachers not putting such high standards on students now and days because it may deal with a lot of students self esteem if they are punished for not learning English the proper way. I think it is great what Ms. Secret is doing and the program, Just Read, sounds like a great program that all schools should have for students especially ones who are struggling. Great article and summaries.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful article to talk about the thought of students learning English by a teacher, Carrie secret. Students are creative and fast-learners, especially the elementary students so that they should not be constrained in their language learning progress. I agree with Carrie secret’s response that “They (students) bring their home language to school. That is their rights.” It is true that students would feel easy to express themselves when they are using the comfortable language. I think children can learn fast in a comfortable environment. By the way, I think there is a grammar mistake in the sentence. It should be “They bring their home languages to school. That is their rights.”
ReplyDeleteWhile I can see Carrie Secret's viewpoints on this subject, I don't entirely agree with her methods. To me, telling the kids they speak a different language and that they need to "translate" when they are in class could perhaps have as negative an effect on the students as simply teaching them the "right" way. The point of school is learning. I didn't know how to do equations until I took algebra, and it didn't make me feel stupid to know that I didn't know how to. I also wonder what kind of social effect this has between the students who speak ebonics and the students who speak more normalized English. It seems like it would create a strange environment. Kids at that age are old enough to recognize differences, but still too young to understand them. I know that if I had been taught this way in fifth grade, I might have though that the ebonics kids were actually from another country. This seems like it separates more than standard teaching. Also, I had to question Secret's motivations after hearing that she sometimes taught her students writings from Jeremiah Wright, the preacher who more recently has been famous for condemning America and suggesting that the White House is controlled by "them Jews."
ReplyDeleteThe teacher who dared to declare Ebonics as a dialect is a brave individual, that could have turned out very badly for him, luckily that was not the case. Scolding people for not speaking proper English isn't a good way to go about your life. Also the way Secret ends her teaching and tells the students the tools are now in their hands is a very positve way to end the session.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting article. I feel that letting students read freely, could really help their potential as readers. I believe that the was some of our schools are now actually teach students to become afraid of reading. All they do is drill facts from a boring text book into us. How are we suppose to enjoy reading when that is the form given to us. If students read what they want as an assignment it could help more students to enjoy reading. I also like the idea of not correcting the students. By telling younger people to completely change something is illogical, but to show them that there is a time and place for the two different styles can help get the point across to use proper English in situations that it should be used.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting and both guys did a great job of summarizing it. This article was taking from interview with fifth grade teacher Carrie Secret. She describes how her school district took a new program called the Standard English Proficiency, where they teach students to read standard English, but without scolding them if they are incorrect. The teacher just takes mental notes and works with the students later. I think this is a great program and will probably encourage a lot more students to read because they are not being called out in front of the whole class when they mess up, which is really embarrassing to children. If they are just left to read and told later what their mistakes are I believe that children would be more anxious to read books and learn how to read. I think this program is great and believe that many more kids will become better readers from it.
ReplyDeleteBoth students did a great job of summarizing the article. I do not necessarily agree with the article, but I have not agreed with any of the articles about BVE. This topic is an ongoing debate. There is not a correct answer about this topic. It is solely up to the reader to decide.
ReplyDeleteThis article, written about the teaching methods and styles by Carrie Secret, really focuses on effectively teaching Ebonic speakers without disdain. Secret teaches at a school in Oakland called Prescott. There in Oakland, their program respects Ebonics as a language, which is learned at home and is separate from the English language. Secret teaches English to her students as well. The SEP(standard English program) focuses on combining culture, language and literacy for the greatest outcome with their students. Recognizing where the students come from allows the teachers to be fair in their ways of teaching; in using this method, all students are considered equal. Secret makes sure to use correct words like "encourage" instead of "required" to make sure that she doesn't steer any students away from learning. She also makes sure to make her students read Ebonics texts so they see the way it works and then makes them translate it to English. I enjoyed this article. Hopefully with more of these programs being adopted regularly, Ebonics could be obsolete in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that this could be a very important article on the issue of dialect and Standard English. Carrie Secret and her colleagues have developed an interesting strategy of teaching. They not only respect the culture of those with another dialect but embrace and use that culture to help the teaching of Standard English. I would be very interested to sit in on some of these classes to see the practical application of teaching these students by starting with a blank slate and bringing in Standard English as a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteI understand how the teacher is trying to show her kids that speaking Ebonics is not a bad thing, but I believe that her methods are not that effective. When she tells her students that when they are giving an report or when the visitors come that they have to translate to English, I believe that she is making them think that they are speaking a different language that is not fit for the everyday world. She is better off just telling them to sound out their words when visitors come then to tell them to translate.
ReplyDeleteTyler did a great job summarizing this article. I found it interesting how Carrie Secret conducted her classroom. She allowed the students a freedom to speak in any way whether they were mispronouncing or misusing words, and at the end of class would make corrections for the entire class to hear so that everyone, not just the people that spoke were able to understand her. This allowed Secret to identify the students that were having problems and made it easier for students to learn collectively as a group from one another. This teaching method as well made it easier to instill motivation and encouragement for those students to want to learn more. This is an exceptional strategy that I know I myself may use in my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteThis article is based on an interview with 5th grade teacher Carrie Secret. Secret has been teaching at Prescott Elementary in Oakland, Ca which is the only school in its district to have teachers volunteer to adopt the Standard English Proficiency system. This system is designed to encourage students to speak proper English and does so by having them translate their ebonics into English. There are subtle parts to the English language that they are not familiar with and throughout her time with the students Secret helps them pick up on errors such as dropping a 't. All in all she is trying to help her students be more prepared for the professional world.
ReplyDeleteThe article was based off of an interview with Carrie Secret, a teacher from Oakland California. Secret was encouraging students use the language the professors use and they are expected to use in class, and that language is English. Secret has been teaching for thirty one years at Prescott which is one of the Oakland schools that uses the Standard English Profanely program(SEP).
ReplyDeleteThis article was very informing. The interview technique really helped me to understand the topic at had, which is using correct language in class. the system is made to push students to speak proper English. Good motivation article.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to teach standard English to a Ebonic speaker; do you not need to know how they speak first? The learning in a sense is being both ways. Way one, the teacher needs to learn the skills of the student to understand what she as a teacher needs to be correcting. The student needs to learn standard English from the teacher. They need to cooperate so the Ebonic speaker can effectively write standard English, however the teacher needs to know if the speaker can comprehend what is written.
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