ABSTRACT
In the first few months of my teaching career, I was stumped. My preservice teaching program didn’t prepare me how to persuade students to learn Standard English. In my naivety, I thought everyone would want to learn Standard English. I distinctly remember one conversation I had with my ninth graders early in the semester:
Me: We all change the way we talk. Surely you don’t talk to your grandmother the same way you talk to your friends? Students: Of course I do! My grandma wouldn’t want me talkin’ to her any other way! Yeah-huh, I talk to her like I talk to my friends! Me: What about the principal? Do you talk to him the same way you talk to your friends? Students: I ain’t fake! You fake if you do. Me: So this is about being fake? Students: Yes!
