The African students in Ibrahim’s study, “Becoming Black,” targeted BESL (or Black English as a Second Language) rather than “standard” English in their learning. He concludes, “Learning is hence neither aimless nor neutral, nor is it free of the politics of identity” (p. 144). In light of his article (and the others that you read for this week), discuss the relationship between learning/speaking/writing English and racial/ethnic identity in Puerto Rico. For example, does mastery of a particular variety of English make a person less “Puerto Rican”? What role should Puerto Rican or other Caribbean varieties of English (Jamaican, for example) play in the classroom?
OR
Ibrahim’s conclusion quoted above gives us the opportunity to examine our own teaching practice to understand how it is political (though we may think that we are apolitical). Think about the class that you are teaching now (or one that you have taught) and reflect on how it was political. (By “political” Ibrahim does not mean “related to party politics,” but rather he means, roughly, “related to power relationships.”)
OR
In light of the Ramanathan/Atkinson article, how do mainstream notions of voice in the field of composition in English (as expressed in textbooks, etc.) differ from those in Spanish? What makes “good writing” in English and “good writing” in Spanish, according to mainstream norms?
