Which form of English is correct?
by amclaughlin5202
A very important problem facing our nation today is the crisis of education standards in public schools. More specifically, in the case of Ashanti Young’s article entitled “Should Writers Use They Own English?”, it can be viewed as a question of what makes the standard form of English “proper” as opposed to other types of “slang” that can be heard in cities across the country. It raises the issue of whether it is discriminatory for schools to not allow students to write in their own form of English, forcing them to learn and use “standard white English” instead. So who decides what is the proper form? And why can’t other colloquialisms be included in some parts of schooling? Mr. Young has a valid argument that should be further discussed by teachers and students, alike.
This issue is relevant to us especially now, as college English students, where every paper we turn in must first be edited and revised multiple times in order to eliminate errors, strengthen arguments, and improve word usage. Stanley Fish argued in his essay “What Should Schools Teach? Part 3”, which Young’s article resulted from in rebuttal, proper English rules should be taught in high school, so that students can arrive at college already knowing how to correctly write sentences. Although there is also the issue of possible discrimination which should be discussed, we as a class should challenge ourselves to come up with some practical way of incorporating students’ own forms of the English language into schools, and if we cannot decide on any, let us challenge ourselves to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why this variation of English would not work in schools. If we gave students the chance to express themselves and use their own “voice”, we can open up their minds to the diversity of their language, but what are the drawbacks? I know that these questions would be thought-provoking enough to keep our interest over the course of the semester. This is a discussion that has so many different parts, all equally important, and now is the time to start talking about it.
Beautiful Questions 
I agree that investigating the use of “standard white English” is significant because of the diverse population in the American education system, specifically in urban areas. I particularly agree with the statement regarding students using their own “voice” and how it would “open up their minds to the diversity of their language.” Diversifying the English language could potentially allow for the breakdown of cultural barriers and stereotypes regarding the sophistication of certain forms of English, such as Black English. I think one of the surrounding topics we could expand the diversifying of English to could be the implications this would bring up for standardized testing. Current testing is largely based off of standard white English curriculum and the “proper” grammatical structures associated with standard white English. With this said, would the incorporation of diverse forms of English into classrooms also call for the reform of standardized testing? This may be seen as a reason why varying the English language may not be effective in schools. Also, would we still distinguish arenas for where specific variations of English should be used? For example, would we still be expected to use standard white English in a job interview?
I agree that investigating the use of “standard white English” is significant because of the diverse population in the American education system, specifically in urban areas. I particularly agree with the statement regarding students using their own “voice” and how it would “open up their minds to the diversity of their language.” Diversifying the English language could potentially allow for the breakdown of cultural barriers and stereotypes regarding the sophistication of certain forms of English, such as Black English. I think one of the surrounding topics we could expand the diversifying of English to could be the implications this would bring up for standardized testing. Current testing is largely based off of standard white English curriculum and the “proper” grammatical structures associated with standard white English. With this said, would the incorporation of diverse forms of English into classrooms also call for the reform of standardized testing? This may be seen as a reason why varying the English language may not be effective in schools. Also, would we still distinguish arenas for where specific variations of English should be used? For example, would we still be expected to use standard white English in a formal job interview?
I disagree with this mainly because there is no way it would work out the proper way. There is always going to be a problem with this, whether it be discrimination or just a barrier in the understanding of the language. I think if we were to discuss this topic for a short amount of time it would be much easier, but to spend an entire semester on this seems difficult. There was already a problem with the class understanding the original material, how would we be able to get through an entire semester of works we could not properly read and comprehend?