The emphasis on oral language development in this text is both a complex and worthwhile issue to contemplate as educators in an ELA classroom. It is complex as oral language is a form of language usage which requires a level of vulnerability and openness among peers in a classroom setting. I appreciated that this chapter took this into account to a certain extent, for I feel that this is a vital and perhaps primary concern when talking about talking in the classroom. I grew up very shy and unwilling to participate in class at any point for many psycho-social reasons. Sometimes, I was afraid to give the right answer in a Science class because I worried about people in that class who might use that to bully me and beat me up. Other times, I was too angry to give an opinion on a book with people of color because my class and teacher were all white and I knew I would not be understood. This is the problem with speaking in class; it requires social comfort and ease that can be impeded upon by both the social climate and one's mental state and/or illness, such as anxiety or depression. Both anxiety and depression affect a person’s ability to speak in public, such as in a classroom setting.
This chapter lays out norms, expectations, and routines to set in order to create comfort in those who might be worried to speak in class out of fear of judgment, anxiety, or other internal factors. They say to “ensure that no student is marginalized” in the classroom by way of “cultural scaffolding” which “enables students to [...] undertake new and more advanced academic tasks” (79). I believe that this concept is flawed in how it approaches cultural differences in the classroom. It seems that the concept of cultural scaffolding is prioritizing white culture in specific and saying that students who do not adhere to that culture or do not want to practice its practices are less academically skilled, able, or competent. Students who have cultures different from the white culture which, in western schools, is considered “proper” and “right,” should be lifted up for
their differences and not be forced to assimilate to a culture which is not theirs in order to garner academic respect or merit.I think that the flaws with this concept point towards the underlying difficulty with fostering oral language in the classroom—that you have a group of students who each have their own backgrounds and circumstances, and that there may be nothing more personal than how someone speaks or what they have to say when they do. I do not blame the book for laying out the concept of cultural scaffolding, for I think that this is only a symptom of a system which does not take heed of difference or appreciate people who are not the norm or historic norm.
This also plays into the concept of gender and how it affects speaking in the classroom. At my placement, I noticed a far larger majority of male students responding to my questions or volunteering to participate in class than female students. The male students who did not participate were often either off task or struggling with the material, as I would find when talking to them individually. The female students who do not participate, however, often have much to say and many thoughts on the material when I would talk to them individually. They were more likely just not volunteering their thoughts in a group setting due to shyness or fear of being judged. I found this deeply saddening for me, because I knew they are thinking deeply and I wanted them to know that their thoughts are valuable and would be productive for the whole class to hear. The scaffolding that I attempted, though, was what I would perhaps term confidence scaffolding. For, first, I talked to them one on one until they grew comfortable with me because I supported their ideas, and later I explicitly told them that they should be confident, and next I would tell them that they should volunteer in class because their ideas are worthwhile for everyone to listen to.