Reading and Writing socially situated

According to Gee (1991), reading and writing are socially situated activities. Gee has made it a point over the semester along with Deplit, to explicitly teach about discourses which generally represent students and their home lives, and any other popular culture/ cultural identity then actively participate in. America is becoming increasingly diverse and with that being said, it is no surprise that classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse as well. So what does that mean for a teacher and how does that effect me? Well, in order to get the students on the same level and in order to keep the playing field level, it is important to take into account where the students are coming from. Part of taking into account where they are coming from- their "primary discourse" is recognizing their language and their home literacy. Their home literacy simply being the way in which they naturally interact with each other and use different modes to do so. Language is a very powerful thing- it has the power to unite a classroom which also means it unfortunately has the uncanny ability to destroy a classroom. Language is not static; it is always changing and evolving. Language is an identity- I use it differently based on the cultures I am involved in, and most do. I use language differently when texting my friends than I do when emailing professors or when talking with my parents. This then leads me to believe that language can very well be a barrier and incredibly exclusive or indeed inclusive.

In order to assist all students to take on the identity needed to succeed in my content area, I would scaffold them enough so that they know that school has a specific requirement for language. That is not exactly what I want to say but that is frankly the only way I can put it right now. What I mean is that there is a mainstream in school and there are things that are typically looked for that signal a successful student or a student that demonstrates a lot of strength and is likely to be called the "model" student. You may have students that use slang or speak in dialects that are not typically acceptable on standardized tests. To make it fair for everyone, I would have to teach students how to "code switch." Meaning how to use what language is acceptable in school when and how and teach them when it is appropriate to use other language (Gee & Crawford, 1998). They are who they are and it is important to embrace that in the classroom- actually you need to do that- you must recognize and accept their primary discourses what ever they are (Delpit, 1995). But it then also becomes my responsibility to teach students the language they have to use that will help them be more successful in school. As of now, text your friends "k" but it probably is not acceptable on a state test, I am sure they would rather you write "okay." This may be more difficult for some than others because some students may already be a part of the sought after "mainstream" and others not so much. Some problems with this that I can foresee are breaking a student's heart when I have to kindly explain to them that their primary discourse may not be what schools want their students to be like. No Ivy league college wants the top in their class giving speeches that exhibit slang because slang is not generally associated with prestige or success. "What" is likely to be spelled "wat" and that is not correct according to the Traditional School of Grammar. But language and the way students use it, is their identity.

This presents itself as a challenge in terms of relating my content to students' lives. However, by recognizing students' primary discourses and accepting that in the classroom, you are making it relevant to students' lives. By incorporating their pop culture and their out of school literacies content will automatically become meaningful and relevant to their lives (Hinchman et al, 2004).