Synopses & Reviews
From the celebrated author of Other People's Children, a fifth anniversary edition of the pathbreaking collection examining the relationship between language and power in the classroom, with a new introduction.At a time when children are written off in our schools because they do not speak formal English, and when the class- and race-biased language used to describe those children determines their fate, The Skin That We Speak offers a cutting-edge look at crucial educational issues. Now reissued with a new introduction by Lisa Delpit revisiting the politics of language instruction for students of color, The Skin That We Speak takes the discussion of language in the classroom beyond the highly charged war of idiomsin which "English only" really means standard English onlyand presents today's teachers and parents with a thoughtful exploration of the varieties of English we speak and the layers of politics, power, and identity that those forms carry.
With groundbreaking work from Herbert Kohl, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Victoria Purcell-Gates, and Lisa Delpit herself, the book also includes classics by Geneva Smitherman and Asa Hilliard III. Hot-button topics range from Ebonics to the creation of a national public policy on making English the official language of our classrooms.
Review
"Although these lucid, accessible pieces speak most directly to teachers and would be teachers . . . the issues are broad enough to attract more general readers, especially parents."
—Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
From the celebrated author of "Other People's Children" comes this fifth anniversary edition of the pathbreaking collection that examines the relationship between language and power in the classroom.
Synopsis
In this powerful book, bestselling author and MacArthur "genius" Lisa Delpit joins with other education experts to unpack the complex relationship between language and power in the classroom In what Black Issues Book Review calls "an essential text," leading education scholars illuminate the crucial role of language in the learning process, uncovering the biases and stereotypes associated with the varieties and dialects of English we speak. With diverse perspectives on topics such as the need for linguistically differentiated instruction, code switching, and the role of personal identity in the classroom, The Skin That We Speak is a vital look at crucial educational issues.
Edited by bestselling author and MacArthur fellow Lisa Delpit and education professor Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, the book includes an extended new piece by Delpit herself, as well as groundbreaking work by Herbert Kohl, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Victoria Purcell-Gates, and classic texts by Geneva Smitherman and Asa Hilliard.
When children are written off in our schools because they do not speak formal English, and when the class- and race-biased language used to describe those children determines their fate, everyone loses. The Skin That We Speak is a much-needed analysis of the ways that classrooms can accommodate everyone, to the benefit of students, educators, and society.
Synopsis
The author of "Other People's Children" delivers a commemorative edition of this groundbreaking collection that examines the relationship between language and power in the classroom. Now with a new Introduction by Delpit.
Synopsis
Now in paperback,
The Skin That We Speak takes the discussion of language in the classroom beyond the highly charged war of idioms and presents todays teachers with a thoughtful exploration of the varieties of English that we speak, in what
Black Issues Book Review calls an essential text.”
Edited by bestselling author Lisa Delpit and education professor Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, the book includes an extended new piece by Delpit herself, as well as groundbreaking work by Herbert Kohl, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Victoria Purcell-Gates, as well as classic texts by Geneva Smitherman and Asa Hilliard.
At a time when children are written off in our schools because they do not speak formal English, and when the class- and race-biased language used to describe those children determines their fate, The Skin That We Speak offers a cutting-edge look at crucial educational issues.
About the Author
Lisa Delpit, a MacArthur Fellow, received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Education in 1993 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which hailed her as a visionary scholar and woman of courage.” She is the author of
Other Peoples Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (The New Press) and is currently the executive director for the Center for Urban Education and Innovation at Florida International University.
Joanne Kilgour Dowdy is Associate Professor of Adolescent/Adult Literacy at Kent State University in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies. She is the author of
GED Stories: Black Women and Their Struggle for Social Equity.
Table of Contents
ContentsPreface vii
LISA DELPIT
Introduction xv
LISA DELPIT
Part One: Language and Identity
C H A P T E R 1 Ovuh Dyuh 3
JOANNE KILGOUR DOWDY
C H A P T E R 2 Ebonics: A Case History 15
ERNIE SMITH
Part Two: Language in the Classroom
C H A P T E R 3 No Kinda Sense 31
LISA DELPIT
C H A P T E R 4 Trilingualism 49
JUDITH BAKER
C H A P T E R 5 Some Basic Sociolinguistic Concepts 63
MICHAEL STUBBS
C H A P T E R 6 Language, Culture, and the Assessment
of African American Children 87
ASA G. HILLIARD III
C H A P T E R 7 I aint writin nuttin: Permissions to Fail
and Demands to Succeed in Urban Classrooms 107
GLORIA J. LADSON-BILLINGS
C H A P T E R 8 . . . As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth!”:
Issues of Language, Literacy, and Power 121
VICTORIA PURCELL-GATES
Part Three: Teacher Knowledge
C H A P T E R 9 Topsy-Turvies: Teacher Talk and Student Talk 145
HERBERT KOHL
C H A P T E R 1 0 Toward a National Public Policy on
Language 163
GENEVA SMITHERMAN
C H A P T E R 1 1 The Clash of Common Senses”: Two
African American Women Become Teachers 179
SHUAIB MEACHEM
C H A P T E R 1 2 We dont talk right. You ask him.” 203
JOAN WYNNE
Appendix: Linguistic Society of America Resolution on
the Oakland Ebonics” Issue 221