Their+Eyes+Were+Watching+God,+anecdote

==We have a few Mexican Americans and a few blacks. It doesn't seem like an issue but I see through the article it is especially when we are reading //Their Eyes Were Watching God//. One young man, who some consider a low achiever, read orally in class the other day. Students were shocked that he read the dialogue so well. If anyone is not familiar with the novel it is about black Americans and the dialogue can difficult to read. After students expressed their shock at is fluent reading, this young man stated, "This is easy. This is the way I talk." Students laughed but Smitherman made me realize how this all fit together. I have always noticed how home life affects oral and written communication, and as the CCCC stated that we should "promote classroom practices to expose students to the variety of dialects that occur in our multi-regional, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural society." After discussing this students reading ability with black dialog, another student chimed in and said, "I am from the south and it is how some of my relatives talk." The timing of reading this article was perfect. "== Laurie Caudle-Poikey