Christensen begins her article with a disheartening biography about her experience as a child with dialect and linguistic background. Her ninth grade teacher wanted to demonstrate for the class the difference that pronunciation can have on someone's perception of another. The teacher had a rich girl pronounce "lawyer" and then had Christensen, whose father owned a bar, say the same word, as a result the whole class started laughing at the way Christensen spoke. Her article deals with the importance of respecting students backgrounds to help them overcome their fears.A powerful way to teach Standard English is to teach it as a tool by which students gain power themselves.
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