Six-year-old Santiago, who is Mexican American, seems to be a very bright boy. He began reading simple picture books when he was 4 years old, and he can solve many one-digit addition and subtraction problems in his head. Yet when the teacher asks the class to answer these types of math problems Santiago is tentative in providing his answers compared to the other students (who are mostly European Americans and African Americans) who shout them out to the teacher. With the textbook's discussion of cultural differences in verbal interaction in mind, identify the most likely explanation of Santiago's behavior.
A) He has been taught that saying anything at all to adults is rude.
B) He is accustomed to his culture, which values tentativeness in expressing opinions.
C) He is accustomed to speaking only in unison with other children.
D) He has learned that to be polite he must wait at least a minute before responding.
Question 2
You have several students in your class who speak a dialect other than Standard English. If you follow the textbook's recommendation for handling this situation, you will:
A) Teach them to speak and write Standard English exclusively, and as quickly as possible.
B) Allow them to use their own dialect or version of English exclusively in all school classes and activities.
C) Strongly discourage them from speaking their dialect even when they're at home.
D) Ask them to use Standard English in some situations (e.g., oral reports) but allow their own dialect in other situations (e.g., informal classroom discussions).