Chapter 4: Christensen

Chapter 4 of Christensen was interesting in the fact that it focused mostly on grammar and dialect. I'm currently taking English 574, which is Grammar in Teaching Writing, and I am slowly learning that as a teacher I don't have to play as Christensen put it "grammar cop." I always though, or rather people made me think that not knowing everything about grammar was a crime. I mean I know standard English and how to complete sentences, but I just have trouble with the more complex rules of standard English. But as I further my study into education I am realizing that correcting every little bit of a students grammar is not always the most important or best thing. I was always taught that if you speak a certain way other than what is considered the way "white people" talk you were speaking incorrectly. People around me who spoke English the way it was spoken in their home or region were made fun of if it was different in any kind of way. So I naturally thought that the way I use to speak was incorrect or wrong and once I arrived at WMU my speech began to change and I sort of conformed to what is considered to be correct English.

Now that I'm reading all of this literature about how grammar and speaking incorrectly shouldn't be looked down upon I'm sort of relieved to find out that I don't have to chastise every mispronounced word that my student speaks. I think it's great that Christensen discussed this because this is a big obstacle for future teachers to have to worry about and I think that the information she provided is very important to know. I love how she helped students who felt uncomfortable about their English feel comfortable by using examples of how to incorporate standard English and personal dialect into their writing so they can know that what they grew up speaking was not wrong at all. Lucky for me though someone invented spell check!As for the rest of the chapter, one thing I admire about Christensen is her want for social change and for her students to understand that if they don't agree with something they have the power to change it. I was at first annoyed by her constant want to attack everything but I think it's need to some extent. It helps her students feel important and gives them a chance to act instead of just getting angry.