Blog Post 4

     In the classroom, each and every student has had different past experiences and influences on their life. The way that a child speaks is a huge part of their life because it suggests a possible ethnic or geographical background that has helped shape them. Rather than criticize or correct the various ways that children can pronounce words, the education field needs to consider the value that each dialect can bring. Instead of correcting the way that a student says a word, teachers can incorporate learning. The students can review their background and influences and discover why students speak differently. Then is the teacher not only encouraging the diversity that all classrooms possess, the students are able to feel comfortable and learn about one another. 

      The job of the teacher is not only to teach the students the material in a textbook. They need to make students feel welcome and comfortable in the classroom, with each other, and with themselves. In embracing each culture and the way that each culture speaks, each student will be able to openly communicate without feeling self-conscious about the way that they speak.
     Especially when considering speech, teachers must be sensitive. Children typically adopt their way of speaking from their family. If a teacher were to insult or degrade the child's way of talking, they could indirectly be insulting the family of the student. In an environment where they are made to feel excluded, a child will not succeed or find happiness. To avoid these problems, teachers need to approach language and speech as a form of learning about students and accepting different cultures. Rather than insulting the students, the diversity that language brings to the classroom can be integrated into the lesson.