Summary In the early mid- 1990s, Mary Beth Monahan, a sixth grade teacher from New Jersey introduced her students to the history and development of the English language. In the article “On the lookout for language”: Children as Language Detectives, Monahan introduces a strategy to introduce students to better understanding the language we speak and why we speak it in a certain way. Her goal was to provide students with a broad understanding of why “standard English” is seen as the proper and only form of English. She wanted her students to realize that other codes of English should not be seen as satire or looked down upon (Monahan & Henkin, 2003, pgs. 206-207)
During this unit of student, students acted as detectives and investigated how language is used in different scenarios. Students were provided writing from a variety of historical periods and a variety of styles of writing and try to understand why the author chose to write in that tone and code. Students also were given opportunity to practice code switching in a strategy known as “park bench,” …show more content…
It was not until the end of the article, when I learned of her approach to presenting the oppression and inequity faced by African Americans occurred in the past but based on students experiences in the other exercises, it is clear that it still appears today. Monahan provided an excellent platform for discussion of race and equity in the United States and how language plays a role. Monahan also set an expectation and belief in her students that writing and conversation in English should be viewed through the same lense and there should be no preconceived notions of other cultures, and that our current “Standard “ English power comes from who has
During this unit of student, students acted as detectives and investigated how language is used in different scenarios. Students were provided writing from a variety of historical periods and a variety of styles of writing and try to understand why the author chose to write in that tone and code. Students also were given opportunity to practice code switching in a strategy known as “park bench,” …show more content…
It was not until the end of the article, when I learned of her approach to presenting the oppression and inequity faced by African Americans occurred in the past but based on students experiences in the other exercises, it is clear that it still appears today. Monahan provided an excellent platform for discussion of race and equity in the United States and how language plays a role. Monahan also set an expectation and belief in her students that writing and conversation in English should be viewed through the same lense and there should be no preconceived notions of other cultures, and that our current “Standard “ English power comes from who has