by Maddie Bendiewicz
Fish and Young broadcast their contrasting opinions in their articles on speech in the classroom. While Fish advocates for a strict promotion of standard written English, Young advocates for a mixture of different dialects in the classroom to help level the playing field for all students. And while learning this form of English will be different for all students, teachers should acknowledge that the use of this form of English doesn’t automatically make someone more intelligent. I think standard written English should be enforced in the classroom because it provides the best opportunity for success in today’s society.
Fish writes in his article “What Should Colleges Teach?” that there should be a standard form of English taught in the classroom. Standard English is known as English that “with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary is substantially uniform.” This form of English has been “established by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the educated … that is widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken and understood” (Webster). Fish also believes in teachers discouraging students’ dialects if they stray from the standard. This mainly affects minority students and those who are not native english speakers, and having to adapt to this new form of English is like learning a new language. This disproportionate influence on students serves as Young’s motivation for his article in response to Fish’s.
Young opposes Fish’s stance in his article “Should Writers Use They Own English” by discussing how straying from the standard form of English is not inherently incorrect. He also brings up that these societally defined “incorrect” versions of English are common in the lives of mainly minority students, and having them adhere to standard English is like making them learn another language because it may not be the version of English that they use among friends or family. Young takes issue with Fish discussing his concern that his graduate students couldn’t write very good sentences. Young thinks that if “they wrote good enuff in they essays to get into grad school” that proves that they write well enough (Young). Young calls for an introduction of “code meshing” into the classroom. This is the combination of multiple dialects within any single context of communication. Code meshing allows people to “draw upon the resources of more than one “code” in the course of constructing or communicating meaning” (Malenczyk). This will make it easier for all students to incorporate the language that they use at home into their writing.
I agree with Fish on teaching a standard form of English in the classroom. I think that there should be a standard form of English grammar and language taught in schools. Not allowing students to learn societally acceptable uses of words and language is not giving them an equal chance at success. Fish vocalizes this concern by saying “You’re not going to be able to change the world if you’re not equipped with the tools that speak to its present condition” (Fish). Society has built itself around a certain form of language, and a complete understanding of standard English is crucial for success in today’s world. Whether you’re taking the SAT, ACT, LSAT, or other standardized tests, applying for a job, meeting new people, or talking to your professors, the way you speak has a huge impact on how you come across. Especially in job interviews when the person interviewing you doesn’t know you very well, you have to make a good first impression. Having the ability to give clear answers to questions and communicate effectively is a very important part of life and succeeding in society. And because vernacular languages are less often understood, this is more difficult if you aren’t using standard English.
In the words of Dr. Brennah Hutchison, ultimately this debate comes down to the question of “Are we helping students by not addressing effective lexical or syntactic choices some might view as erroneous?” This battle is essentially on whether to “nurture students’ home languages in academic prose or ask them to conform to stuffy, grammatical rules” (Hutchison). Although these seem like radically different ideas, there is room to compromise. While I believe in conforming to standard English in the classroom, I don’t think that the struggles of minority students should be ignored. While teaching about standard written English, teachers and professors should also reinforce the idea that people who use other dialects aren’t less intelligent than people who use the standard English that is reinforced in schools. Teachers should also educate students on different vernacular languages. Students should know that vernacular languages aren’t failed attempts at standard English but rather separate languages with different grammatical rules. This should be brought into classrooms by reading literature and listening to speeches in other vernacular languages in addition to standard English, and emphasizing their importance as well.
Instead of ignoring the fact that learning these English rules will be more difficult for some students, schools should teach everyone not to discriminate against other students for the way they speak and write. Teachers should allow a safe environment for students to speak the way they are used to but encourage them to learn the version of English that will allow them to be the most successful that they can be. Teaching standard English while also instilling this awareness of other vernacular languages will help move society toward a place more accepting of other vernacular languages.
Learning how to communicate may be one of the first things you learn in school, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Communication comes in many forms and learning effective communication for the workplace is different for every student. Depending on the student’s background and home environment, the difficulty of learning standard written English may vary. And although this will inevitably be more challenging for certain students, this topic should not be ignored. Teaching all students standard English will open the most opportunities for them. And teaching that different dialects and forms of English that stray from what is being taught in the classroom is not inherently incorrect or that the speaker is not necessarily any less intelligent is also important. This allows students of all backgrounds to feel more comfortable and included in the classroom, and foster a better learning environment.
Works Cited:
Fish, Stanley. “What Should Colleges Teach?” New York Times, 9 Sept. 2009.
Hutchison, Brennah, and Angela Morris. “Mesh It, Y’all: Promoting Code-Meshing Through W Writing Center Workshops.” The Peer Review, thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/issue-4-2/ m mesh-it-yall-promoting-code-meshing-through-writing-center-workshops/. Accessed 4
Nov. 2021.
Malenczyk, Rita, et al., editors. Composition, Rhetoric & Disciplinarity.
“Standard English.” Merriam-Webster.
Young, Vershawn Ashanti. “Should Writers Use They Own English?” Iowa Journal of Cultural
Studies, vol. 12, no. 1, 2010, pp. 110-18.