Jamila Lyiscott’s Ted Talk entitled, Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color introduces a framework of liberation literacy and calls for action for a paradigm shift that begins with critical awareness of ones self and the world we live in. While reading one of our assigned text entitled Locating Yourself for your Students, I noticed that the writers, Priya Parma’s and Shirley Steingberg begin their work by echoing one of Lyiscott’s principal paradigms. That paradigm being awareness of ones self. Parma and Steinberg believe, “Identifying [yourself] to students in terms of your personality- that is, naming exactly who you are, has been a way to create a safe space for students to discuss sensitive racial and ethnic matters”(page 282). If Parma had walked into that classroom oblivious to her own privileges as well as oppressions being alienated as a women of color, the kids in that classroom would not have felt comfortable talking to her. Nor would they have had a safe space to talk about own feelings of oppression.
Jamila Lyiscott's final excerpt from, Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color: If we do not have socially just practices in ourselves, then it is impossible to have social justice in our world.
Jamila Lyiscott embraces the power of linguistic diversity and language in another Ted Talk entitled, 3 Ways to Speak English. She may speak her native language when she is with her family. Jamila Lyiscott describes herself as “tri-tongued orator”. She challenges people and expresses her definition of the word articulate. To her, articulation is not enunciating her words and pronouncing every sound because English is a complex language with multiple ways to speak the same words. She believes we should be celebrating linguistic diversity as opposed to looking down on people for speaking differently and labeling them as an inarticulate.
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ReplyDeleteI think we both took the same ideas from the articles. I too think that had Parma had not introduced herself the way she did then it would make it harder to bond and break down those walls with the students. By doing it from the start she set a tone for what she expected of students and herself. I think that is one thing that students sometimes lack in classroom settings is getting to know the teacher as an actual person and knowing them as people instead of the rule maker. I found myself more engaged in classrooms where the teachers spoke about themselves and more connected to them. That connection made them approachable whether it was classwork or personal help I needed to discuss with them.
I always say to work with youth you have to be your AUTHENTIC self. Often youth workers try to be what they think would like or try to pretend they are into the same things. The truth is that kids are the most honest of human beings and they know you're being fake. You have the own who you are and give space for youth to own their truths as well.
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