"Teaching Standard English" by Christensen

When I first read the first few paragraphs, before going on to the next subtopic, I found myself being able to understand the situation she found herself. Myself being a bilingual individual, I find myself pronouncing words differently then those who have been speaking or only speak english. Going on with the reading I understand that grammer is difficult to have etched in our minds because rules can vary between sentences. Reading about the teacher's student, Fred, it reminded me of a friend, Celene. I never really had trouble with grammer but it may have been due to trying to play it safe, also like the teacher herself. Sometimes I also found myself correcting Celene and other peers. This made people feel inferior to me and unwilling to speak to me as often as they used to. I learned that I shouldn't be strict with peers grammer in a comfortable, non-professional and friendly setting because as long as we understand eachother there is really no need to correct eachother.

Reading on I understand how minorty race groups in public schools can feel like they are unappreciated or feel like schooling is trying to make them as "American" as the major race group. All through most of my high-school I was never encouraged to write or talk about my culture or anything pertaining to my Latin race. I ended up knowing everything about the American culture and forgot about my own knowledge about other topics not pertaining to the American culture. Finally during my senior year in high-school I took a World literature class and read books from other countries and cultures. I felt graditude towards the school for having a class that made students feel like we are a generation of people who really do try to recieve knowlegde about other places then America. I also liked the idea how the author advises other teachers to encourage their students to write while ignoring their grammatical errors. Once the idividual is comfortable with writing the instructor can then help the student understand new and helpful grammer tips and information.

This one simple piece of advice for other teachers and instructors can greatly help students. Students gradually improve and have an easier and more comfortable time in learning. I was glad to here from my teacher, Beth Buyserie, that she will not be making us memorize boring grammer rules but rather do what the author advises. I am looking forward to learning new things and stop being my own grammer cop.