I have been born and raised in the south and it has
impacted my southern draw greatly. I am
a proud sweet tea drinker, football loving, yes ma’am/no sir saying, and y’all
type of girl. Out of all my friends, my
southern accent is the strongest.
Growing up in a small town where everyone has the same kind of drawl, I
did not think much about it. While I was
in high school, I went to Boston on a school trip and I quickly saw how others viewed
my southern twang. I was asked to repeat
things multiple times and people told me that they would speak slower in order
for me to understand what was being said.
Since then, I try to be mindful of how I react when I hear others talk
with an accent or a speech impediment.
This year in my classroom, I have several students
with speech related issues. I try my
hardest to be very patient with them and allow them to say whatever is on their
mind even if it takes longer than others. I am constantly listening for hurtful words
toward them from the classmates or anyone else about the way they speak. Ableism relates to attitudes and actions of
others relating to a form of disability (Derman-Sparks & Edwards,
2010). Being the girl that pronounces a
few words funny, I can handle a few laughs because I know that I could correct
my words if I wanted/needed to. It is
not that easy for my students with the speech impediment. I do not want them to feel the same frustration
that I felt while up in Boston for a week.
I want them to feel confident in what they have to say and know that
they will be heard by all.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J.
(2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.
Washington, DC: NAEYC.
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