My opinion on Students' Rights To their Own Language

Claudia Mendoza

English 1100_3J

September 11, 2015 

Opinion: Students' Rights To their Own Language 

     "We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect, diversity, and uphold the right of students to their own language." This was the decision made in the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication in 1972. Should college students use diversity in their writing? Yes, they should. Believe it or not when students use nonstandard English or a different language, they sound like themselves, and not a robot. Their soul resonance sounds throughout the sentence. It sounds as if they put their identity into their writing. 

     In America, we have FREEDOM OF SPEECH, or so they tell us we do. In movies, actors say "Fuck you motherfucker, this is bullshit", "Yo momma...", , and Sofia Vergara says, "AY DIOS MIO" in her Columbian accent. The writer is the one who wrote it though, movies ain't free, and it takes a lot of people to make a movie. So why can a film writer express himself/ herself through a script and we(college students) can't? Bullshit. A film writer's vision is their movie. Why can't I make my movie with a BIC Atlantis, and FIVE STAR paper? 

     Diversity teaches us facts about different situations and an outlook of everything a student has experienced. If a student wants and needs to explain a situation in their own way, they should have the right to. You can't force them to sound monotone. Where would the fun be from writing or reading? If I was doing a paper that I enjoyed I would like to write freely on my emotions and past. I wouldn't like to sound like Siri only stating facts based on statistics, or not sounding like myself and sounding monotone. Words are used for emphasis and to express emotion on the content. 

    Like I mentioned previously, words have the power to express emotion on the content (prompt). "Wouldn't you know

We been hurt, been down before
Nigga, when our pride was low
Lookin' at the world like, "Where do we go?"

Would you rather have Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' lyric's rage as: Didn't you know? We've been hurt and down. When our pride was hurt we were wondering, 'where do we belong in this world?'", it doesn't sound bad but his emotions of rage and desperation to get his point across isn't there. What the people felt when their pride was low can't be comprehended with Standard English.

"What's the price for a black man life?

I check the toe tag, not one zero in sight
I turn the TV on, not one hero in sight
Unless he dribble or he fiddle with mics"

January 28th by J. Cole, real words, but if you were to put this in Standard English, it'd be sounding like a plain and boring debate on why during the Ferguson incident, there was no black heroes (like the president), but only basketball players, and rappers that spoke out about it on TV. You wouldn't feel the disappointing and aggressive sound of Jermaine's lyrics. That's why we have music in the world, and if they have a positive message in the song people tend to listen and hear with their hearts more. So why can't OUR writing be the same? What if there's a writing prodigy to be discovered throughout college?, but couldn't be discovered because teachers would have us write in Standard English.

     Now I ain't got no gavel, but I believe that the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication did the right thing in 1972. They were specific on how teachers should respect and allow students to express themselves using diversity with Foreign language and non-standard English in their writing. If we didn't have this solution, there'd probably be a less number of interesting books in the world to read today.