Michele Foster

Talking that talk: The language of control, curriculum, and critique

Abstract This article analyzes the classroom discourse of an African American female urban community college teacher as she interacts with her class of predominantly African American students. The analysis, informed by perspectives in the ethnography of speaking perspective, focuses on one register variation commonly known as teacher talk . Three categories of teacher talk are presented: (a) the language of control, (b) the language of curriculum, and (c) the language of critique. This study shows that the teachers talk drew on the rich language and verbal traditions of the African American community. The teacher employs African American English (AAE) language forms and allows them to coexist alongside Standard English (SE). The analysis of teacher talk shows how the language of curriculum, control, and critique served the tripartite function of communicating cognitive information, establishing and maintaining social relationships, and expressing the speakers attitudes. The analysis also highlights the significance of sociocultural as well as sociopolitical factors that influence learning and the place of AAE in teaching and learning.

Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South@@@Growing up African American in Catholic Schools

African American schools in the segregated South faced enormous obstacles in educating their students. But some of these schools succeeded in providing nurturing educational environments in spite of the injustices of segregation. Vanessa Siddle Walker tells the story of one such school in rural North Carolina, the Caswell County Training School, which operated from 1934 to 1969. She focuses especially on the importance of dedicated teachers and the principal, who believed their jobs extended well beyond the classroom, and on the communitys parents, who worked hard to support the school. According to Walker, the relationship between school and community was mutually dependent. Parents sacrificed financially to meet the schools needs, and teachers and administrators put in extra time for professional development, specialized student assistance, and home visits. The result was a school that placed the needs of African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. Walker concludes that the experience of CCTS captures a segment of the history of African Americans in segregated schools that has been overlooked and that provides important context for the ongoing debate about how best to educate African American children. African American History/Education/North Carolina |Walker recounts the history of the Caswell Training School, an African American school in rural North Carolina that faced enormous obstacles to stay open, operating from 1934 to 1969. She shows that the school placed the needs of the African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. The result was a nurturing educational environment in spite of the injustices of segregation.