““Say what?””

1. September 26th, 2012 at 12:30 PM      Reply Mya Harkness Says:

   How does the way we talk affect our life? The way we talk to people is going to make people assume how we will act. If you talk loud and improper, people will assume you are ghetto. If we talk properly, appropriately, and in normal tones, people will assume you have been taught manners and you are very intelligent.

   This is important in literature and in life because it can impact the attitude people have toward someone or a character. It can mean if you will be successful or not. If a person or a character is not able to get a job or do what they need to do, they cannot provide for themselves.

   
   
2. September 26th, 2012 at 2:24 PM      Reply beingmii99 Says:

   How we say and what we say affects everyone’s judgement because if you talk as if you can’t spell, then people will assume that you don’t have an education. However, if you speak elegantly and people understand, they will assume that you are well spoken.

   
   
3. September 26th, 2012 at 2:30 PM      Reply Kayla Scott Says:

   Ms. Hayes, my thing is that if you talk inappropriately, people are going to look at you any kind of way. So, why act crazy when you’re not. See my thing is, act smart and look smart. So if you have a really importiant dream to achieve, you should act and talk inttelligently.

   
   
4. September 26th, 2012 at 8:32 PM      Reply Amber Says:

   I think what we say and how we say it makes people think that we’re not educated and we have no home training. That’s stereotyping because most of us are well educated, but we try to fit in with the rest of the kids and so they change how they speak. Then it affects their writing and their grades go down a lot. In the long run they lose all those friends that brought their grades down and left them with all those f’s and some major catching up.

   I really don’t like how people just up and judge other people’s children, even by the way they talk when they don’t know anything about them or what’s going on. They may not have a nice home, car, parents and all the big stuff. They may have a lot going on at home and there’s no one there to help them, so their doing all they can to do on their own. Other kids, their parents, moms and dads, have a job and they went to college and etc. They don’t have an excuse, but I think a lot of what you do and how you do it makes people think

   
   
   • September 26th, 2012 at 9:47 PM      Reply Ms. Hayes Says:

     Amber, your response is passionate and heartfelt. It encompasses more than I anticipated from the question. I’m reminded of a psychology class I was enrolled in at Agnes Scott College that dealt a lot with human perceptions and attitudes. We learned about how stereotypes often function in a way I have never considered. As humans, we are somewhat uncomfortable with that which is unfamiliar, so we like to quickly make assumptions and put people in categories so that we feel less uncomfortable. Stereotypes, for better or worse, often serve as somewhat of a time-saver. So, as much as we may dislike them, they appear to be embedded in our minds and in our society. Perhaps this makes being able to communicate effectively more important, but I guess it still means that people have to be open-minded and take the time to get to know another person.

     Maybe someone else will respond to this thread and even suggest another question to further this discussion. Okay?