In a 1980’s educational debate Rhodes Boyson declared, “Teachers should be putting across proper English and expect to be spoken to in the same way by children. Grammar has to be taught. It is not something children are born with … Standard English is the passport to mobility” (Flemming). For years even before the 1980’s the concept of teaching Standard English to every student in the public school arena created much debate and disagreement. Some people such as David Pascall have agreed with Boyson and gone so far to suggest that “teachers should not be content to insist on ‘correct’ expression in their classrooms but should infiltrate the playground, intervening in pupils’ speech to enforce standard English” (Flemming). However, this strict adherence to the use of Standard English has become increasingly difficult over the years. In fact, in 1990 “approximately 9.9 million of the estimated 45 million school-age children in the United States live[d] in homes in which languages other than English [were] spoken” (Borman 10), not to mention the number of homes where non-standard varieties of English were used daily. With more and more racial, cultural, ethnic, and ultimately linguistic diversity in schools across the United States, teachers constantly face the challenge of reconciling their mission to teach Standard English with their students’ connection to their primary language, whether that language is Spanish, French, Chinese, African American English, or a non-standard dialect of English.

In response to this diversity, many teachers simply ignore the differences flooding their classrooms, stubbornly shoving Standard English down their students’ throats, while other educators embrace the linguistic diversity present in their classrooms. While ignoring the diversity allows teachers to avoid hassle and continue their everyday routines and pre-designed curriculums, recognizing and addressing the linguistic diversity in the classroom significantly benefits the non-standard speaking students. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness, English teachers must make it their mission to provide an English education to all students, no matter their first language, in an accessible, understandable, and genuine way that reinforces the validity of the language or dialect that each students speaks at home and simultaneously provides access to Standard English. Effective teachers must provide students access to the language of professionalism in the United States and also reinforce the value of each student’s primary language.

Understanding the concept of Standard English and its cultural role holds a vital position in the debate about how educators should present Standard English. Standard English is “the English language in its most widely accepted form, as written and spoken by educated people in both formal and informal contexts, having universal currency while incorporating regional differences” (“Standard English”). Just as Received Pronunciation is perceived as the most proper form of British English, Standard English is the language of the government, education, and upper-class Americans. Over time, Standard English has become synonymous with a high level of education and success. In "Race, Empire, and English Teaching," Suhanthie Motha recognizes that “the English language carries enticing meanings and is connected to social advancement, opportunity, modernity, wealth, enlightenment, Whiteness, and cosmopolitanism” (Motha 4). Therefore, it is no surprise that teachers find themselves under pressure to promote Standard English—what Prescriptivists claim to be the purest form of the English language. As the single language of American success, many educators feel the pressing need to teach and reinforce the use of Standard English alone. However, thousands of students in the United States public school systems do not speak Standard English. These students often struggle and leave the classroom feeling invalidated and even offended.

However, this situation is not hopeless because many educators are working to expand the public understanding of what is "right" in regards to the role of English in the classroom. Expanding a definition of what is right in association with language and speaking means redefining the role of English classes across the United States, and many educators and scholars have been exploring the countless ways of accomplishing this. For redefinition to occur, English teachers must alter their instructional goals and methods, and many researchers have developed ideas to seamlessly conduct this transition from an environment of language discrimination to an environment of linguistic validation.

To address the problem of a created social disadvantage, many scholars focus on methods of overcoming society’s pressure and giving students a positive educational experience that both introduces them to Standard English, giving them command of the language needed to succeed in the United States, while simultaneously validating their primary language. Sheryl J. Denbo suggests in her article "Institutional Practices that Support African American Student Achievement," “When teachers are in tune with their students’ cultural styles and worldviews, they ‘understand their students’ verbal communication and body language, preferred modes of discussion and participation” (Denbo 49). Denbo argues that despite the language and dialect barrier that horrifies many educators, teachers can overcome this difference by attempting to become culturally involved with or at least informed of the students’ personal worldviews and experiences; this means understanding student preferences, comfort levels, and previous knowledge. This strategy requires a significant effort from the teacher to become immersed in their students’ daily experiences, needs, and desires. Essentially, for this approach to succeed, teachers must break from their teaching mold and approach their non-standard speaking students as though they have never met them before. Teachers must begin fresh, put aside preconceived notions of what students need, and allow the students’ true needs to determine the instructional strategies and methods.

The literature choices made in the English classroom hold the potential for enormous impact—either positive or negative—on non-standard speaking students. Sadly, many students daily encounter a negative environment where the texts chosen in their English classes narrowly focus on a small, unfamiliar cultural group and promote only Standard English. Donald McCrary recognizes that for many students school serves as “the negation of the home (and of the street), its values the negation of their values” (McCrary 73). Therefore, when educators attempt to shove Standard English down the throat of students via texts that show little representation of otherness, distancing begins immediately because of the language difference and because students cannot find themselves in the texts. They do not see their personal cultural values in the texts, and it naturally follows that students see little importance in the content and the language of texts.

In response to this problem, McCrary suggests using “hybrid texts” (McCrary 77)—texts that provide examples of Standard English blended with various dialects and languages—“to help students understand that their primary language [or dialect] holds meaning even outside their home environment, and this this language [or dialect] is capable of expressing and supporting complex thoughts” (McCrary 77). These hybrid texts serve as one of the effective English teacher’s most valuable resources when attempting to reach non-standard speakers. Texts such as Pat Mora’s "My Own True Name," Mark Twain’s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Malala Yousafzai’s "I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban" and Eudora Welty’s "A Worn Path" provide linguistically relevant narratives with inclusions of non-standard English languages for speakers of Spanish, Southern dialect, Urdu, and African American Vernacular English, respectively. Each of these texts are filled with Spanish, Southern, Pakistani, and African American experiences, culture, and points of view. Also, these texts are primarily narrated in Standard English, yet they each include much dialogue in other languages. McCrary strongly suggests using texts such as these because they provide students with a door into literature because the students connect with the text on a personal level. Most non-standard speaking students “find the hybrid texts extremely interesting and familiar, responding to them with confidence, comprehension, and commitment” (McCrary 77). Therefore, by making careful and thoughtful selections of literature, English teachers can both promote Standard English while engaging non-standard speakers and validating their primary language. Whether a student speaks a non-standard variety of English such as a Southern dialect or a completely different language such as Spanish, this method of choosing and incorporating texts validates each student’s primary language while simultaneously providing access to Standard English. A well-chosen text reaches a number of students, validates their life experiences and primary language, and provides access to Standard English in a non-threatening manner.

Additionally, teachers can use non-standard supplemental texts that work in tandem with Standard English texts. Texts such as these validate both Standard English and other non-standard ways of speaking. One such supplemental text is Thug Notes, a series of YouTube videos produced by the user Wisecrack. These short videos take Standard English texts frequently included in high school cirriculua such as Joseph Conrad’s "The Heart of Darkness" or Herman Melville’s "Moby Dick" and provide summaries and analysis in African American English. These videos take African American English and employ it in examining these typically distanced Standard English texts. By simply viewing these videos along with high school English curriculum texts, many students may begin to realize that understanding and analysis can occur in their own language or dialect, not solely in Standard English. Understandably, English teachers need students to ultimately produce work in Standard English. However, these videos allow teachers to take a Standard English text and demonstrate to students that these texts can be approached, understood, and analyzed with African American English and ultimately any dialect or language. These videos and similar supplemental texts open the door for conversation, giving students a comfortable starting ground before asking them to examine the same text using Standard English.

All in all, these major classroom choices can positively impact the success and engagement of non-standard speakers. The many small moments and choices of today's classroom teachers can greatly influence non-standard speakers' success in both school and adulthood. Standard English has its place and value, but many students bring non-standard linguistic assets to the classroom that educators must begin using as a resource to connect students' prior knowledge to the learning tasks presented in the classroom each day.