Nashaya Lyons-Watson

9/24/15

English 1100

Prof. Young

Education at its Finest

Social class and education. Did you ever think those two were intertwined closely? Does your social class dictate the quality of education you get today? Those questions are brought up throughout Jean Anyon’s article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”. She examined many of schools throughout New Jersey in the 1980s that aligned with the social classes of Working-Class, Middle-Class, Affluent Professional, and Executive Elite. Looking at all of them I closely relate to middle-class considering that is where my parents stand. I went to a public school in the South Orange-Maplewood district. I would say that I received a good education from there from start to finish. I believe that the curriculum has strayed away from that idea of what should be taught to you based on your social class. I have observed personally how some of Anyon’s statements are worn and not related to today's world. Going off of my educational experiences my teachers would almost always encourage us to talk and ask questions in any class or outside of class.

Even with sensitive topics that were happening in the media they wanted to hear our opinion and what we through off it. An example would be our walk out last year for Ferguson we were told to come back in but our principal also told us that she was proud that we had spoken up and expressed out rights. Taking that into account my school was very welcoming to all of our individual voices in the classroom as well as outside of it. Along with expressing ourselves they let us analysis and take in every experience our classes had to offer.

Such as in our science classes like biology, chemistry, forensics and physics we did the experiment ourselves with some guidance from our teachers. Experiment that messed with mixing chemicals testing the limits of gravity and other sorts. They would give us handouts with directions to follow, but not to get a right answer but a result we could analysis and make something of. Realizing that I notice that it contradicts some of Anyon’s points on how the middle-class education is offered. In the beginning of her paragraph about the middle class she states “In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer.” It wasn’t always that cut and dry they wanted us to understand and analysis the answer we got in any class. In addition I know that analysing was a big thing for my English classes. My English classes were filled with many opportunities to analysis a readings and to question it. We also got to write many different type of papers from research papers, to short stories, and even poems. Following that my English classes didn’t just consist of simple grammar. We might have not talked about it as often but they didn’t stop at grammar for everyday life. They made sure we were prepared to write anything that was thrown our way. Compared to the article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” this wouldn’t follow what was stated. What Anyon says on middle-class writing is “simple grammar, what they need for everyday.” “They should speak properly, to write business letters and thank-you letters and to understand nouns and verbs and simple subjects are.” Doesn’t seem to match today’s schooling in any way. I would say my school more dotes upon the likeness of the Affluent Professional. I say this because how she describes the atmosphere of that certain social class relates to my experiences in the middle-class area. She states in the affluent professional section that “Work is creative activity carried out independently. The students are continually asked to express and apply ideas and concepts.” Seeing this statement describes my middle-class education, although it was written to apply to the affluent professional this makes me see that Anyon’s research is flawed. If I could change one thing about her research I would probably make it a longitude one showing the growth of the school system and the changes. Just like the world and its people are evolving so is the school system. A lot has changed since 1980 and this research can no longer reflect on what today brings.

Nashaya Lyons-Watson
9/17/15
English 1100
Prof. Young

Three Quotes

"Work tasks do not usually request creativity. Serious attention is rarely given in school work on how the children develop or express their own feelings and ideas, either linguistically or in graphic form."
What this quote is saying is that middle class schools they are not really looking to see who you are and what you could be they are only trying to prepare you for what is expected of you. The do not feel as if you will go any higher than you already are.

""There is no language arts textbook because, the teacher said, "The principal wants us to be creative." There is not much grammar, but there is punctuation. One morning when the observer arrived, the class was doing a punctuation ditto. The teacher later apologized for using the ditto. "It's just for review," she said "I don't teach punctuation that way. We use their language."
The want to set up a platform for them, saying they are part of greatness and expected to do more. The want them to explore what is not just around them but what they can do with what is around them.

""I'm more--just as interested in how you set up the problem as in what answer you find. If you set up a problem in a good way, the answer is easy to find."
They focus more on what is in your brain and developing it because they want to explore what they do. They are already put on a pedestal for greatness.They just want to give them room to grow into what they can be, the belief in them is already grounded.

Nashaya Lyons-Watson

English 1100

9/16/2015

Prof. Young

Don't Hide Your Voice Anywhere

What is acceptable in your writing in a “professional atmosphere”? Are you allowed to feel free when you write no matter where you are or do you need to put up facades in different places? I believe you should use your own language in academic writing if it gets your point across more so than framing it to fit a more academic setting. Considering that writing is a image of yourself and it reflects on you, it should be the true you, your true voice. As it states in the Student's Right to Their Own Language is says "A nation proud of its diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects." Everyone has such a wide range of language why not express the different. Now I’m not saying you should go overboard and just throw out all the aspects of academic writing. Make it you but make it have a point and a structure.

 

For example college essays. They ask to know who you are and why they should accept you. But how do you answer the who you are part if you’re writing like someone else. I know when I was writing my college essay I definitely lost some parts of me. I was just trying to appeal to what they wanted to hear and what they wanted to see. What looked “smart”. I forgot they wanted to see me, because that’s who they were accepting, not my falsified writing. What is looking “smart” anyway, because you can say a few big words. If those big words have no meaning or point is that really looking smart, its just showing you can write a nice sentence. You need to be able to use your own language in academic writing so you can get across your meaning the way it was meant to come out. The last sentence stated in the passage says "We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language" I strongly believe if more teachers were open to other styles and languages of others we wouldn't be pushed to stray away so much from what it ours. We should write as if we are looking into a lake’s reflection, our goal is to see ourselves and not a hollowed version. All that hollowed version is good for is blowing the real you away like a forgotten fall leaf.

Nashaya Lyons-Watson

English 1100

9/02/2015

Prof. Young

Jamaican Flag 

“Mi luv jamdung” is how I love Jamaica would come out in patwa. Patwa is broken English. I was born half Jamaican and half native american but nobody could probably tell that from just one look at me. I also probably don’t sound like it as well but despite those outward identifying points I still would never be able to forget or suppress that part of me. My grandparents are what keeps the Jamaican spirit alive in me with their stories of Jamaica, variety of foods from the country and their way of life. They don’t let me forget who I fully am. Identity is a unique representation of culture seen by yourself and other, that is what identity means to me.

Gloria Anzaldua talks a lot about her identity in her article “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. Anzaldua states that her language is her identity varies of time throughout her piece. She also addresses how many have tried to suppress and in a way try and assimilate her into the “american culture”. One quote that really stuck with me throughout her article was when she said “So if you really want to hurt me, talk badly about my language.” I can relate to what she says but culture wise. I’ve been around people that stereotype

Jamaicans. Some stereotypes are that we are always late, smoke weed to much, we practice voodoo and even all Jamaicans are poor. Which in no way  is true because we are all different individuals. Our culture might not be looked on as poorly as some of the West Indies but we do get our fair share of blows. Personally our cultures shouldn’t be judged. They are all unique and different and contribute a lot to others and ourselves, and I would never try and erase that part of myself.

Christmas in Florida with my Family

My grandparents live in Florida now. My family and I would go down there on vacations when I was younger. When we went down there they had certain rules they kept by. Such as when they made foods that came from Jamaica we would at least try a piece, when addressing someone we would say “Yes, grandma or Yes, Mom. No impolite “yeahs” or “huhs”. Also that we are at the table at a certain time and eat together as a family and go to Christmas mass at their cathedral. I would try almost anything she made from platanos, jerk chicken, beef patties and goat. The wide range gave me a nice palate for all the foods that were born from this culture.

Platanos/ Plantations

I even helped a few time in the kitchen to see the mechanics behind these dishes. A quote that refers to this is stated in Anzaldua’s piece, it states “There are more subtle ways that we internalize identification, especially in the forms of images and emotions. For me food and certain smells are tied to my identity, to my homeland” The cuisines she opened me up to help to further connect my roots to my culture and begin to understand that part of me.

My Great Grandmother in the middle.
Grandma to the right and Grandfather to the left

Growing in the culture my grandma would enlighten me with her stories. She told me of her move from Jamaica to the United States to obtain a better livelihood for her children. Jamaica might have beautiful parts but it also has poverty like any other country. When she moved over here with my six month old father she had to leave my aunt and uncle. They wanted to make a home for them to come to. During that time they maintain all aspects of their culture but they did have to make sacrifices in some areas. Such as when my grandfather opened up his own furniture upholstery shop. He had to turn off his accent almost like a switch to come across to others that didn’t understand it well. Also with my dad they didn’t want him to be scrutinized in school so they would tell him not to use his accent it in school. Through all the attempts to make them “american” they stood strong and carried on this culture so that my brothers and sisters and I could learn about that side of us. For that I am forever grateful to know my culture.    

I identify with my culture the most because I was raised to see it as a beautiful thing, another half of me. I was raised with some of their values, cuisines and stories embedded within me. I can not change that nor would I let anyone else do so. I cling to my identity because it represent me as a whole and I wouldn’t have it any other way. At the end of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Anzaldua ends it with “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable, we, the mestizas and mestizos, will remain.”

A generation proud of their culture

As will my culture as we pass it down along every generation.