BlogPost 4

[Teachers] should recognize that the linguistic form a student brings to school is intimately connected with loved one’s community, and personal identity. To suggest that this form is “wrong” or, even worse, ignorant, is to suggest that somehing is wrong with the student and his or her family. (p.33)

Every student is individually unique. People create their own sense of style, they love different books and movies, and they learn in different ways. The differences between two individuals is endless. So why do schools often see differences as problems? Maybe because if its different for every student how can they come up with a universal way of teaching. Maybe because it's easier to try and mold people to a certain idea of perfection rather than seeing how the uniqueness is already perfect. If a student speaks three languages at home, yes it's important for he or she to understand what is going on in school, so he or she should know how to speak that language, but if the pronunciation a text is all they are learning are they really learning to comprehend or are they learning to be afraid to speak up and give their opinions? Because each person is uniquely themselves, each student needs to be approached, when being taught, in a way that will help them tackle their own specific challenges.