Here is the voice of a reasonably normal-looking young white woman who teaches high school English somewhere in these United States.
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So this is the start of my series on the teaching of linguistics in high school.
As an educator I’m constantly worried if I am part of the problem. What do I mean by that?
Well, public education is an institution that upholds lots of problematic systems in our society like white supremacy and misogyny and colonization, et cetera.
In my role as an educator I try to undermine that b.s. in my classroom as much as I can.
I teach high school English and — hoo! — the white supremacy runs deep. What do I mean by that?
Well, let’s look at how we write essays. Start with an introduction that includes a thesis. Always cite your sources. Use transition words like "however" and "therefore."
These are all made-up rules. They're arbitrary. They were created by Westerners in power.
In Linguistic Justice, April Baker-Bell calls this "the language of respectability" or "the language of power."
She got me thinking. What if I started my school year with a unit honoring how we talk rather than teaching students how to write properly …
The speaker mentioned there a book titled Linguistic Justice by an author named April Baker-Bell. Ms. Baker-Bell, who is black, is described on the website of Michigan State University thus, quote:
Dr. April Baker-Bell is a transdisciplinary teacher-researcher-activist and Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and English Education in the Department of English and Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University.
These are the people who are educating your children, and your children’s teachers.
Do you have small children? If so you should quit your job; sell everything you own; buy a trailer in some rural area of some red state; and homeschool. It’s your kids' only hope.
