It should be known that the minds of society are fixed around the idea that the pace of how others learn and the language that they speak determines their intelligence. Along with this concept, physical and mental tests are constantly being conducted upon society to help people separate and insult the intelligence of those who are different, race and background-wise, etc.

Our society is continuously trying to classify two groups of people as either “stupid” or “smart.” Then, society decides whether or not these people should be defined with a grand or derogatory representation. This is unfair, and does not give people a chance to express their knowledge fully in their defense. The act of enforcing tests that claims to determine their intelligence should not arbitrate the intelligence of a person. In I Just Want to be Average by Mike Rose, it strongly represents the school environment that diminishes the spirits of young students based on a single test, that determines if they were considered “stupid” or “smart” using the school’s principles. He uses the words ‘disaffected’ to describe the students who were placed in the “stupid” class.

“The vocational track, however is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected…” Throughout the story, it shows that the teachers who teach the “slower” students, do not establish any policies to help them improve as students. The teachers have this mindset that they’re hopeless, without giving the students a chance to enhance their knowledge that is yet to be discovered by others.

This story gave me a revelation about school environments. Similarly to Mike Rose in his story, ever since I was in elementary school, in English class, we would have oral reading tests and writing prompts that would determine what reading level we were at.  I could remember the feeling like it was yesterday.

“Remember, DRA testing starts today, directly after lunch. Come into class quietly and read independently. I will call you up one by one to take the test. The classroom must remain quiet.”

“Here we go again.” My friend Michael said to me.

“I really hate these. I don’t think it’s fair.” I whiningly say.

“I always feel like every little stupid mistake that I would make, counts towards the grade. I never get the grade that I deserve.” Michael said pulling out his book.

I could tell that he was as nervous as I was, I have my red, hardcover book opened up to a random page as I continuously read the same sentence over and over again. All I could think about was the order that Teacher Debbie was going in. I counted the minutes in between each student that gets tested just so I wasn’t caught by surprise when she calls my name. I felt my leg starting to shake anxiously under my desk, I couldn’t get it to stop, Every noise in the room made me jump. The constant and crisp sound of flipping pages, quiet whispers coming from the back of the room, the zipping of book bags, the sliding of chairs, and so much more.

I would tell myself, “Just calm down. Panicking will make it worse, you will try your best and that’s it. Just read smoothly and don’t think about it too much.”

I could feel my face tense up as time passed. I completely forgot about the book I was supposed to read and found myself monitoring every little movement my teacher made. I heard nothing for a good few minutes and felt my eyes getting heavy.

“Viv?” I felt my friend Michael tapping me on my shoulder.

I jolted up and opened my eyes wide.

“It’s your turn, hurry up.” He said pointing towards our teacher.

I got up right away, scooting my chair back quickly and making a screeching sound. I walked towards her desk slowly trying to remain calm, I felt like my heart was racing a million beats per second. The jitteriness from my leg came back as I sat down.

“Choose any book and read until you see the star.” Teacher Debbie said, laying out 5 booklets out in front of me, as she flipped through her papers.

I silently picked one out.

“Whenever you’re ready.” She said waiting for me to start.

Soon, I started to read. I examined the whole page and read the words in a monotone voice. As I continued to read, not focusing on what the words actually meant, I heard the little scribbles that she started writing. I started memorizing the noises of patterns of circling and underlining. By the end of the test, I was told to finish the book and fill out the packet she gave me.

Every year I would expect to take the same test, and to go through the whole process again. My results wouldn’t necessarily be considered to be a part of the “higher level.” I felt like I was never going to be good enough as I would compare my scores with my friends, who would get a higher grade than me. To this day, those tests, helped us figure out what level we were at, but they should be altered in a way that wouldn’t negatively affect and create learned helplessness. The tests and teachers should help encourage us to strive for better.

In both “I Just Want to be Average,” and my life story, the teachers would never say that they were conducting these tests to separate the smart from the dumb. But as students, we would always know that that’s what they’re trying to do. This feeling of wondering if we are good enough based on tests could lessen our will to continue on improving ourselves.The idea of testing and categorizing students based on tests is a strong depiction of social hierarchy in the terms of language and the testing of intelligence rather than social class. This serves tremendous significance to how close-minded society is.

Cultural representation should be fair and impartial but instead offensive terms are being correlated with those who don’t appear to be “smart” based on their culture and language. This is undoubtedly a burden on many people whose first language is not english, and those who couldn’t afford the best education. These expectations are being planted in the minds of those who are oblivious and obstinate.  From the story, “Superman and Me,” an Indian boy has grown up understanding for himself and his culture, that being with Indian has it’s own affiliation. He says, “We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but subverted them on the outside.”

The children would grow up hearing distasteful words used to describe them, some would try to avert those stereotypes, while others simply just accepted those terms as a way to define themselves. Not only were they called stupid because of their background, but also because they were ESL learners. This language barrier invited members of society to belittle and apply judgements to one another, unable to see past the reality of each person’s intelligence regardless of race, nationality, and tests.

In the documentary, “A Place to Stand,” the protagonist, Jimmy Santiago Baca speaks about his important parental figures in his life not being present to guide him. He described the way he was raised as, “You learn how to run with the dogs as a dog.” Just like in “Superman and Me,” the boy knew his role in society and  knew that he was different and was going to be treated as such. He compared himself and those that he surrounded himself with as “dogs,” and used the term very loosely. In some cases, an individual would feel very insecure to be themselves because of that negative energy being cast upon them. No one should be afraid or doubtful of who they are because of how other people speak of them.

Interpretation is an important factor when it comes to responding to these harsh stereotypes and assumptions that are made. In the story, “Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tran, she expresses her experience with her use of different forms of english. This is mainly centered around her work, and how she would speak differently based on the environment. She reveals her thought process about language and it’s influences, “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.”

She notices different layers when it comes to the power of language, it is much more than just a way to communicate with family members and the community. But it’s a way to express complex ideas and reveal these impressions about every person.  She also gives her commentary on her responsiveness when it came to communicating with her parents.

“Lately, I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as 'broken" or "fractured" English. But I wince when I say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness.”

Those who come from the same cultural background, within the same family still have the tendency to have negative speculations. These standards has even led to those who are within the same cultural background to believing these heavy-handed alterations being made about their loved ones. It is easy to judge someone’s intelligence based on their level of education and their cultural background. These mental and physical literacy tests has a strong grip on cultural dominance and is clear to distinguish who deserves certain representations. Everyone has their own form and definition of what literacy is and the types that are commonly used. Without the power of language and literacy being one of few sole reasons why many are quick to judge, many thoughts would be kept to oneself. The amount of repulsive commentary against groups of people would be kept at a minimum, but the power of language and literacy is a huge factor in the structures of society and may never be broken down because it’s been molded and strengthened.

Citations:

Rose, Mike. "I Just Want to Be Average." Lives on the Boundary: The Struggles and Achievements of America's Underprepared. New York: Free Press, 1989. 162-67. Print.

Most evenings, while I am upstairs doing homework, I hear the inaudible sound of the news playing on the TV downstairs. And in some of those evenings, there is some breaking news that causes my parents to turn up the volume to get all of the details that the reporter is telling the viewer – or, in some cases, the details that the news wants the reporter to tell the viewer. In these cases, I can hear my parents saying things like, "That's a lie!" or "This didn't happen!" There are times when I decide to go downstairs to see what's being said on the news, and, when they finish telling whatever news story, a discussion follows talking about all of the blaring issues about the story the news told its viewers, or the blaring issues not told.

The idea of the media twisting stories, even just the slightest bit, is essential for the citizens in our society to be misinformed. In James Baldwin's If Black Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? he described how different languages in one region can affect the power dynamics. "It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power." (Baldwin)  In the United States, language, along with other factors such as race and gender, have been used as a way to give advantages to one group of people while creating hardships for the other groups.

Education gaps has been a major issue that affects families and individuals and how they view and interpret news. Socioeconomic class is one major factor in the quality of education. According to the Economic Policy Institute, students who are in lower social classes struggle more with reading than students in higher classes. Lower reading levels then results in students, eventually growing up to adults, who are less prepared for interpreting all of what is thrown at them. Lower education means students who are not able to, or do not want to, dig deeper into the meaning of, for example, a news story or a post on social media about an event. The education gaps, mostly put up against lower class citizens, is what allows for the manipulation of people. Most families will enroll their kids into public school, and public schools deal with being underfunded and generally having lower quality education.

For the school system to give lower quality education to students in a lower social class means these students are easier to manipulate by means of media. When students are taught less content, it is more difficult for them to be able to connect the dots when it comes to analyzing the world. Analyzing news usually requires background knowledge, or at least the ability of fishing for what is correct and what is incorrect – or what is "real news" and what is "fake news." The use of misinformation and lack of student support in schools sets up students for not being able to distinguish between right and wrong. Certain media, such as social media, conspiracy theorists, and even some news networks, use this lack of student education to their advantages in order to "sell" their news to those viewers.  

The news, in some ways, could be seen as a business. On television, there are promos to watch certain people at certain times, which usually are tagged with catch phrases such as "The best news," or "Trusted by viewers." The business factor of the news is another factor that affects the way news networks present news. Certain news networks cater to their own audiences. According to the Pew Research Center, "those with consistently conservative views" watch Fox News, a conservative and right-leaning news network. Most viewers who have more left-leaning views turn to CNN, MSNBC, or New York Times, which are more left-leaning news networks. This means that Fox News will more likely choose stories that are more critical of the left in order to retain its viewers, and CNN will choose stories that are more critical of the right to retain its viewers.  However, there is more diversity in the political views of the viewers that watch networks like CNN or MSNBC, while 60 percent of Fox News viewers are strongly conservatives. News networks, in order to appeal to their audiences, usually choose certain stories to make public, or will cover certain stories with different lights. In the 2016 presidential election, for example, right-leaning media covered left-leaning candidates – most notably Hillary Clinton – far more critically than left-leaning networks. However, they covered right-leaning candidates with very little criticism. This meant that those who view right-leaning media strongly disliked Clinton, or any other left-leaning candidates. Left-leaning media was critical of the right-leaning candidates, but also not as critical of left-leaning candidates.

The use of education and business has been a way for the general public to be manipulated by media and the government. Our sources of information are usually divided on political views, therefore changing what information is presented to viewers and how that information is handled.

Works Cited

• Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 July 1979
  
• Mitchell, Amy, Jeffrey Gottfried, Jocelyn Kiley, and Katerina Eva Matsa. "Section 1: Media Sources: Distinct Favorites Emerge on the Left and Right." Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. October 20, 2014. Accessed December 2017. http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/section-1-media-sources-distinct-favorites-emerge-on-the-left-and-right/.
• “Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing: A Summary of the Major Findings in Inequalities at the Starting Gate.” Economic Policy Institute, www.epi.org/publication/early-education-gaps-by-social-class-and-race-start-u-s-children-out-on-unequal-footing-a-summary-of-the-major-findings-in-inequalities-at-the-starting-gate/.

The Power Of Words

Following the whispers of the visitors, I entered a room filled with all sorts of emotions. Everywhere I looked, I saw the representations of feelings expressed by the many strokes of paint.  Those vivid landscapes filled my nostrils, making them able to inhale history and the interesting stories those canvases were able to display. Although I wasn’t capable of understanding the meaning of the paintings, I sensed that some of those pieces were able to transmit better stories than others. I realized that I was feeling more attracted to the art pieces with a better narrative. I realized that artist use their talents with more or less success as we all do when we articulate our ideas and express ourselves.

As I approached the Civil War years part of the exhibit, my mind went back 70 years, to a time I did not witness, but a time that I learned about from the many stories my grandmother used to tell me. Unlike the art, I was able to understand better and relate to those stories. I remember that she explained to me how the Museum used to be a hospital and a refuge from the bombing during the Spanish Civil War.  My fingers tingled, uneasy with the idea that I was standing in a place where thousands of people lost their lives over the course of three long years of war and terror. My ears could hear the alarm sirens and the people running to the basement to save their lives. Somehow the old words of my grandmother were making me see what art couldn’t. I saw my mom and sister walking nearby, looking at the art as if they were reading a poem, understanding every single stroke and detail. I wasn’t surprised when I saw my mom lost in her thoughts, as if the weight of past were on her shoulders. I held her arm, and with my sister, we continued talking about the art and life of the southern genius who was exiled in France never to come back.

Lost in the conversation, we made it to the heart of the exhibit, The Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Although I was surprised by its massive size and monochromatic palette, the enormous black, white and grey masterpiece about our war, about any war, did not capture my imagination. I knew the painting was important, but still, I couldn’t get interested in it. I felt frustrated with the idea of not understanding art as other people could. I could see all the details of the artwork but I wasn’t able to express myself. I saw the big bull which Picasso often used in his art to represent Spain. I saw the mother crying, a universal symbol of horror and desolation. I saw a lamp, a vivid portrayal of one of the many bombs. The masterpiece was there, in front of me, and I did not like it. But, how could I say that?

“Jacobo, what do you think? Isn’t it formidable?” My mother stated with teary eyes.

In that moment I made a connection with my art analogy. Just as an artist chooses very carefully their way to make an impact on their audience, I made sure to choose the correct words to impress my mom. I answered,  “Mom, I have an ambivalent feeling.”

I have noticed that my mother loved my expression. She looked at me with an enthusiastic interest.

“And…?” My mother asked.

“It is powerful but also so devastating.” I continued, using both my hands to express how big my devastation was.

My mother looked at me with love and approval. I escaped from her reach, making myself busy looking at other details of the painting. I remembered that in that moment, I realized how important my choice of words can be when trying to look smart and profound. I have never forgotten that lesson.

That day I learned that unless you make stories interesting or fascinating, they are just ideas, or thoughts. The storytelling is what matters. Many people believe that there are many shapes and forms of literacy, in my opinion, the literacy I understand best is the verbal communication between two individuals. Literacy has an important role in society, and although it is an injustice for many, the ability to be articulate determines your socio-economic status. Mireille Guiliano agrees with this idea, “Intelligence, knowledge or experience are important and might get you a job, but strong communication skills are what will get you promoted.” People communicate in many situations, such as in interviews or relationships, and only those who understand that words matter in our society, will have an advantage.

I’ve come to realize that I can not underestimate literacy, and the ability to communicate what I think and feel.  Therefore I must be aware of the power of words and effective communication, as they are the keys to my future success.  

Works cited: “Bio.” Mireille Guiliano » Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire Q&A, 25 Oct. 2013, mireilleguiliano.com/content/iwomen-work-art-savoir-fairei-qa.