Finding Voice: Learning about Language and Power

Christensen discusses why teachers need to teach students "voice" in its social and political context, to show the intersection of voice and power, to encourage students to ask, "Whose voices get heard? Whose are marginalized?" As Christensen writes, "Once students begin to understand that Standard English is one language among many, we can help them access their multiple voices—the one they use on the basketball court, the one they use in speech and debate, the one they use at the kitchen table, and the ones they use in their writing."