Language and Culture: Loaded Labels by Bridget Erickson

“Academic gap,” “Early Learning Deprivation,” “Disadvantaged backgrounds” We hear these buzz words very often in education. Typically used in well-intentioned ways, but most definitely should cause us to reflect on the underlying cultural tones of the message.

These terms must be used with caution as many may mistakenly conclude these terms indicate students' socialized experiences are lacking in some way, or even deprived. Dell Hymes (Cazden, John, & Hymes, 1972) warns of the inappropriateness of labeling children in this way. Instead, Hymes (1972, p. xx) strongly asserts, "if the contexts that elicit or permit use of that competence are absent in school; if the purposes to which they put language, and the ways in which they do so are absent or prohibited in school,"  it very well may be moreappropriate to say the child is repressed rather than deprived, placing the onus on the school rather than the child's background. Furthermore, research supports any difficulty with content may well have nothing to do with the child's cognitive processes but more with the linguistic properties of school (Clark, 1969; Donaldson, 1963).

More compelling evidence that we need to explicitly teach the language of schooling to all students rather than assuming students understand content area language structures.Join the journey as we explore language and literacy.