A Response To Twain

   Similar to William Faulkner or Margaret Mitchell, Mark Twain has played with language and regional and racial as a tool within his short story A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I heard it. Two distinct voices are created. The first voice is that of a benevolent southern landed gentry, "Misto C". This persona becomes the frame from which adds a kind of psychological and social balance to the primary voice of "Aunt Rachel". The juxtaposition of the educated voice verses the uneducated voice is clear. Twain turns all assumptions on its head when the voice of the lowly slave is filled with more experience, morality, and intellect than her servant master.

Expectations of an English Teacher

    On Monday when this assignment was given, the question followed me through out the day and filled the empty spaces of my time. The persistent question floating to my for-thought, "What are the expectations of an English Teacher?". The response to this question haunted me. I reflected back to my earliest memories of my former grade school teachers and the answer to this question filled my soul with dread. I could only remember the unbending rigidity of grammar. All of the countless books I had enjoyed, and creative writing  had somehow been overshadowed by the forced imposed structure of grammar. Was this authoritarian approach to language what is expected....?
     Even though grammar certainly has a place within the English language, I have to admit that I believe that Noam Chomsky is correct in his assertions that grammar is something which arises organically from the very nature of language, rather than something which is forced and prescribed. This drastic shift  reshapes the concepts of grammar and likewise changes the responsibilities and expectations of a modern English teacher. Instead of fostering fear and dread to unyielding structure of grammar, I believe English teachers should be cultivating a desire and love of language due to its ability to communicate ideas. Whether these ideas be the unfolding of a story within a written book or simply the student being able to convey their own personal thoughts and ideas.
      Technology has shifted how modern culture currently interacts with language. From text messages to emails. Websites and e-books. The way we interact with language has changed. The prominence of newspapers and books has shifted. This semester I have  had the opportunity to use an e-book in place of a traditional textbook. This rapid shift is happening and is upon us. The teachers of tomorrow must address this change and embrace it.  This is where our responsibility lies. As we straddle this change, the expectations of teachers falls firmly on two sides of the same coin. We must fulfill the expectations of parents to educate their children. Yet, we must fulfill our responsibility to the student and give them the tools to succeed in an ever changing world.  In order to do this, we must change our pedagogical approach and reassess the ways we expose the student to the unsubtle nature of language.