Friday, July 11, 2008
Language, power and control
I was thinking today about language and how often I have heard things like, "If you get this assignment done you can go out for recreation" or "That kid doesn't belong with the general population" all have clear, institutional roots and yet there are those that think it perfectly acceptable to be speaking to children in this way. Language is such a rich and important component of what we do. So.... why wouldn't we, in every occasion and situation, maximize its potential? In the end, I think much of what we (generally speaking, not my beloved cohort friends) do in education is ultimately about power and control.
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5 comments:
It is true that a lot of what happens in classrooms is about power and control - even in the type of language people choose when speaking to children.
I'm trying to think about my own language. It is hard to have perspective about yourself. Generally everything I do is trying to teach the students something including behavior. When I'm speaking in French & Spanish it is all about the work & info.
Because I avoid English maybe I avoid some of that traditional teacher talk -- or maybe I'm fooling my self. I'll let you know this fall...
I agree that some educators use language, too, often to obtain more power and control, but I think that there are others that don't always think about the repercussions before they speak. How often do we insert our foot into our mouths and feel awful afterwards. You provided me with a good reminder to consistently think about how what I am saying is being understood by others.
I think we absolutely use language to impose control--all the time, every day. It doesn't always have to be couched in negative terms, however. Some of my "best work" with my difficult kids stems from using positive language to encourage and manipulate, if you will, my kids into performing at their maximum potential. Humor and a good old fashioned "atta boy" is my way of controlling the situation--and everybody ends up smiling.
http://ubu.artmob.ca/sound/ball_hugo/Ball-Hugo_Karawane.mp3
I think that your comments are correct about our relationship with children and with the language that we use in school. I know for myself this has been a long, long road of reflection and a certain level of "undoing" because of the very relationships of power and control in my own family and from my own latin american upbringing. It brings me back to that concept of the paradox of learning that Morgan spoke of...where we need to learn something new yet we still hold on to our past, to our identity, because it is what we "know". I think that as teachers, leaders, parents or caregivers we are given an extremely important and exceptionally difficult task with out the time and space to reflect on how we exist and interact with our students and colleagues. In many ways I think that all teachers should be given the time and space to read, think and reflect as we have had the luxury of doing this summer as a cohort. I feel I have learned and rejuventated myself just from being in class, being a student again and learning from others.
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