Delpit - Resisting the System

Lisa Delpit’s article discusses a topic that I have been reading a lot about recently in my linguistics course and in writing center research.  Particularly since CCC released the resolution that all students should have a right to their own language, many education and composition scholars have discussed how we can enact this resolution in the university.  I very much agree with Delpit’s argument that students can learn dominant discourses no matter what discourse they used when growing up.  I also agree that these students should learn how to master these discourses so that they have fewer obstacles to face in their education and in the work world.  However, I feel that Delpit has ignored a larger issue: what can we do to change the university to make it more accommodating to students with different dialects?

If we only follow Delpit’s suggestion of teaching minority students to master the dominant discourse, I feel that nothing will change.  The dominant discourse will continue to be the mark of excellence, and those who prefer to use a different discourse will continue to be seen as less prepared for scholarly and professional work.  I feel that we should take steps to make room for more discourses in academic and professional communication.  Instead of simply stating that students’ native dialects have value, we should make it true by allowing these dialects to have more prominence.

Nancy Effinger in her dissertation “The Writing Center as Bodega: Making a Third Space in Academia for Global Englishes and Alternative Discourses” (2011, University of Texas San Antonio) suggests that writing centers are in an ideal position to encourage Global Englishes.  She, like Delpit, recognizes that writing consultants may be called on to help students master a dominant discourse so that the students can succeed in their coursework.  However, because the consultants are not directly part of the system (they are not grading students based on their mastery of the language), they are in a better position to subvert the dominant discourse by communicating with students in their native dialect and finding other outlets for them to use their dialects.  Writing centers can also educate professors about the value of native dialects and encourage the professors to allow more room for these dialects in their courses.

Composition instructors can also play a role encouraging multiple discourses.  I believe we should definitely help students master the dominant discourse, but perhaps we could encourage and even teach different discourses.  We can also try to influence administration to celebrate multiple discourses and not use evaluations (such as certain standardized tests) that discriminate against people who have a different vocabulary.