Youth Radio - Topic: Language

Taking a Bite Out of Crime, Metaphorically Speaking

cfoster — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:32:42 -0600

When it comes to deciding how to solve society’s problems, you probably think the biggest split is between Democrats and Republicans. But it’s really between viruses and beasts.

In a study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers asked two groups of people to read descriptions of rising crime in the fictional town of Addison. The narratives were identical, except that in one version, the crime problem was described as a beast -- as in “Crime is a beast ravaging the city of Addison.” In the other, it was called a virus.

After reading, the participants were asked what the city should do about the problem – increase law enforcement (i.e. hire more cops) or reform underlying social structures (i.e. hire more school teachers). Nearly three-quarters of those who read that crime was a beast recommended more enforcement. The virus group was split about 50-50 between enforcement and reform.

“We find that metaphors can have a powerful influence over how people attempt to solve complex problems and how they gather more information to make ‘well-informed’ decisions,” write the authors, Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky of Stanford University’s psychology department. “Even a single metaphor can induce substantial differences in opinion.”

The researchers called the roughly 20 percent spread between metaphor groups “impressively” larger than those that exist between Democrats and Republicans or between men and women – both less than 10 percent.

What’s even more interesting is that hardly anyone owned up to being swayed by the metaphor. Instead they said they were most influenced by the statistic used to show the rising crime.

We like to think we’re more logical and data-driven than that, especially when it comes to making sense of a world that is impossibly knotty… some might say Gordian. But the stealth power of metaphor shouldn’t be a surprise -- English speakers use a new metaphor every 25 words, by some estimates. Everyone from linguists to neuroscientists are now examining how figures of speech govern the way we communicate and physically shape our brains.

“It often seems impossible to ‘literally’ discuss immigration, the economy, or crime,” write the authors. “The metaphors in our linguistic system may be offering a unique window onto how we construct knowledge and reason about complex issues.”

A unique window, huh? Well, I guess they couldn’t resist.

Top 6 Slang Words In The Virgin Islands

tajjones — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:30:53 -0500

I just got back from the U.S. Virgin Islands and it was amazing! The Virgin Islands are a little bit south of Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea. For a month I enjoyed the clear blue beaches, the rain forest and yummy local dishes and tropical fruits. With cousins and friends who showed me to the best beaches, parties and hang out spots, my trip was complete. But the culture exposure was positively overwhelming, with the dances, music, left side driving, and the unforgettable the accents and slang, it was a great experience, but I must have said “What?” over 100 times. Did I mention the slang?:

Lime or Limin –
-Verb
1. to socialize with friends, to go partying
2. to chill, or be in a state of relaxation
i.e.Want to go limin on Saturday?

The Bush –
-Noun
1. a tropical forest
i.e. I’m going to the bush tomorrow.

Vexed –
-Adjective
1. angry, very irritated or annoyed
i.e. She lost my shirt, I was vexed.

Bam! –
-Interjection
1. to say before making a dramatic point
i.e. BAM! he lied to her. I saw him at the movies and he wasn’t sick.

Gone bush –
-Noun
1. when something is lost or dies
i.e. I thought I had a full battery, but my phones gone bush.

Mehson – (meh-SUN)
-Interjection
1. an exclamation of excitement
i.e. Mehson! I was at the game and our team won the game, 26 to 24 mehson!

Foul Language

wilmer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:59:56 -0500

The following was broadcast on WABE-FM, Atlanta.

By Raya Tobler, VOX teen newspaper

Talking to a friend on the phone as I stepped on the train, I chatted meaninglessly with her and took a seat. As she spouted the latest gossip, I reacted as most teens would, with a gasp and some choice words. I watched as every adult face on the train shot surprised looks in my direction. I knew as soon as I dropped the bomb, they would think differently of me… the “F” bomb that is. I readily admit to using some dirty words in a casual conversation. Many adults view foul language as the decline of the next generation and that society is doomed to failure. But my choice of words doesn’t mean I am not smart. I have a B average in school and I’m a writer and the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. What important person in history didn’t have an R-rated moment or two? Everyone has their days of careless language. It doesn’t make them incapable of achieving greatness. I think there are some times where the best word to use in a situation may be a so-called improper one and it actually demonstrates a good understanding of vocabulary.

Previously from WABE:

Feelings

kjohnson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:39:50 -0500

Feelings are a way of expressing yourself. When you feel a certain way, you automatically have an emotion. Emotions describe feelings and everyone expresses themselves differently. Most people cry when they are upset, or talk to someone close to them. When I’m upset I make a rap about it. I also listen to music that makes me feel better. But if I’m really sad, I just sit in my room alone and by myself. A good way to express yourself is talking to someone.

Having to many emotions and feelings inside doesn’t make anything better. But on the other hand, some people aren’t as open as others. They like keeping things inside, afraid of what people say. Emotions might also be expressed by body language. When you’re happy, you’re most likely to have a smile on your face so someone can tell what your mood is. When someone is angry, it will defiantly show because they will act a certain way towards you. I know people who get really mad and punch holes in the walls, it’s crazy. Nervous people show their emotion by shaking or just by moving around too much. Feelings are important because without them, there is no emotion. Imagine life without emotion. The whole world would be boring and lifeless.

Talking White Or Actin' Black

jpatrick — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:54:23 -0500

By Krisha Cowen

Race in America is a touchy subject as it is, but why do we still separate or label others as another race when they don’t fulfill the pre instated stereotypes. One way that people’s race is redefined by society is their behavior, the way they act and speak. Talking white, talkin’ black, acting proper, and actin’ ghetto all affect how others are viewed and accepted in certain societies. Growing up in Richmond and going to a predominantly white school, has allowed me to fall victim to stereotypes associated with both black and white people. When at school, I have been asked to use analogies for the slang I use that others may not understand. As though me saying "she was put on blast" in English class, or "ohh girl yo feet is thirsty" can be better stated as “her truths were brought to light” or “excuse me, but your feet need some lotion”.

But why do the majority of the black, white and Hispanic communities use different ways of speaking? And when a white person uses Ebonics they are automatically ‘down’ or introduced as ‘white, but still cool’, examples that I have seen happen to many white people that I have been introduced to by my African American and Latin friends. I’ve seen it work in reverse, where talking proper is sometimes seen as being ‘uppity’. For some, ending my words in ‘ing” and saying “thee” in front of words, implies that I am being a trader to my ‘Richmond roots’ and trying to please ‘those white people’ that I spend time with. And I am not trying to say that all black people, or Richmond people use Ebonics, or that talking proper means that you are trying to be white, I just want to shed light on the stereotypes that Americans have set --how some blacks have this eternal racism that they don’t see, feeling like they must talk ghetto and how whites feel like if they want to be accepted into the black community they must end their words in ‘in’ or say “be bein”.

Being Bilingual Is Not That Easy

denise — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:35:37 -0500

Now that 15.1% of the U.S. population is Spanish-speaking, there are plenty of advantages to being bilingual. But speaking both English and Spanish has its rough edges too.

Before coming to the United States I was learning how to speak, read, and write Spanish. But as soon as I crossed the border I was forced to learn English. It was frustrating and time consuming but it was something I had to do. For starters, my parents depended on me learning English so they could communicate through me. In order to make friends I had to speak their language, otherwise I was just another outsider. Once I was able to have a conversation in English, I became my parents’ personal translator. It was those experiences that convinced me that English was more important than Spanish. But the difficult part was going back and forth between the two languages, especially when I was surrounded by English speakers most of the time.

I use Spanish to communicate with my family members but since the majority of my cousins were born and raised in America, English is more natural and comfortable for us.

At home I speak Spanglish because I don’t like choosing between the two languages that represent who I am. It’s like leaving out butter or eggs when making cup cakes: every ingredient counts.

My mom wastes no time reminding me that I should concentrate on improving my Spanish, but improving my writing and reading is much harder than when I was learning English. I struggle with accent marks and learning when to use “ch”, “y” or “ll” because of their unique pronunciation. My mom is afraid that am decrease my opportunities if I don’t improve my Spanish. Based on a report by MSNBC, my mom is not the only parent who is constantly trying to figure out the best method for their kids to become fluent in both languages.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Last Words From Hopi High

brett — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:22:50 -0600

As heard on NPR's All Things Considered.

For nearly a thousand years the Hopi people have lived on the same three mesas, land now considered part of northeastern Arizona. For all that while they have been speaking the Hopi language, but now everyone says the language is dying. There are many hurdles standing in the way of preserving Hopi -- the great distances between each of the eleven villages, the distinct dialects in each of those villages, and for Hopi teens, the choice between preserving the Hopi culture or adopting a modern lifestyle.

In order of appearance: Austin Coochyamptewa, Alrye Polequaptewa, Leandra Calnimptewa, Paul Quamahongnewa, Annalese Nasafotie, Paul Quamahongnewa, Eloise Coochyamptewa, Leon Koruh, Rochelle Lomayaktewa, DeAnn Honanie.

Special Thanks to the Hopi High School Radio and Journalism Classes.

A complete transcipt of the story as it aired is availible after the jump...

SCRIPT

[Music]

Austin Coochyamptewa: Since the beginning we have been taught about the end. When our language dies, we are told that the world will begin dying with it.

Alrye Polequaptewa: We have a prophecy that one night lost brothers will awaken from the dead, then they’ll draw a line from one end of the village to the other. One by one they will line us up and then they will ask us “um Hopita kida, um Hopi.” Are you I’m Hopi? Can you speak the Hopi language? And if you cannot respond back in fluent Hopi, they will place us on the right side of the line. And soon after that they will cut our throats. This is what we called our Judgment Day.

[Music]

Austin Coochyamptewa: This is our school, the Hopi Junior Senior High School. Our Hopi language is dying, and me and most of my friends are struggling to speak it.

Leandra Calnimptewa: When I talk to my friends we speak English, we don’t like speak our Hopi language. Because some of my friends aren’t Hopi, others are, but they don’t really know how to speak it.

Paul Quamahongnewa: I’m just terrified that if I don’t speak, like right now. Everything I know that I’ve been doing, won’t really matter because I’ve lost my culture and my language already.

Annalese Nasafotie: It’s a scary thought that our culture is all dependent on our generation. Our culture’s dying, and there’s nothing we can do to save it because nobody wants to take the time to learn our language. It’s not going to have no significance it’s after all our elders are gone.

Austin Coochyamptewa: This problem isn’t new to our generation.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: I’m 66 years old.

Austin Coochyamptewa: Hope you stop learning our language.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: I wasn’t allowed to speak my language.

Austin Coochyamptewa: When they were punished for speaking in schools.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: You’re afraid, you’re ashamed and you’re crying and they tell you to stop crying and hit you, but how can you stop crying when they hit you.

Austin Coochyamptewa: That’s what happened to my grandmother.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: Eloise Coochyamptewa.

Austin Coochyamptewa: She stopped teaching her children.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: I regret it now.

Austin Coochyamptewa: To protect them from suffering the same humiliation that she had to endure when she was in school.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: I remember holding on to a fence, just crying, and then my dad will be dragging me to the classroom. It was so scary to sit there, that’s what happened to me. That’s why I didn’t teach my kids.

Austin Coochyamptewa: Remember the part, remember when, alright, we were sitting there doing laundry and I asked you, “how do you say this”, “how do you say that”, “what’s the word for up”, “down”, “where did you go”, things like that.

Eloise Coochyamptewa: Oh yeah. And I told him even if you can’t pronounce it right I’ll know what you’re trying to say, you know that why, I can help I can correct you I just hope you don’t die, don’t die, cuz that’s the only thing we have right now is our language and our ceremonious but it’s not too late, it’s not too late.

Leon Koruh: There’s two kind of people here. There’s one to destroy everything of Hopi even the language. And then there’s the others to preserve it.

Austin Coochyamptewa: This is Leon Koruh.

Leon Koruh: I am 48 years olds.

Austin Coochyamptewa: He is the spokesperson for the religious leaders of the Musungnuvi village.

Leon Koruh: If you wanna lose then language then you don’t learn it, you don’t speak it, you don’t teach it on to the next one.

Rochelle Lomayaktewa: I know we should speak it, but we just are like embarrassed and scared.

Austin Coochyamptewa: Lots of young people don’t want to speak the language in front of their elders because they say the elders make fun of them.

DeAnn Honanie: It’s scary when your trying to talk older people I guess because they tease a lot and we take it personally and we don’t want to speak it no more.

Leon Koruh: Sometimes the Hopi will say making fun of you should also get you to say okay I’m going to better myself, even though the children having hard time they shouldn’t stop because they’re the ones that will carry this language on it’s really no choice, unless we wanna, you know, forget who we are.

Austin Coochyamptewa: At our school there is only one student who is fluent in Hopi.

Rochelle Lomayaktewa: His name is Alrye Polequaptewa.

Paul Quamahongnewa: And everyone calls him Hopi boy.

Rochelle Lomayaktewa: Hopi boy.

Austin Coochyamptewa: Hopi boy.

Alrye Polequaptewa: (In Hopi) You never forget a language that you first learn.

Austin Coochyamptewa: The thing that makes Alrye different from everyone else is that his parents forced him to speak Hopi.

Alrye Polequaptewa: I learned the language from my parents when I was just a (In Hopi) little baby. It’s all they talk to me in was Hopi. And Hopi, it was suppose to be the first language I’ll ever learn.

Rochelle Lomayaktewa: Some people made fun of Alrye when we were younger because he had a traditional hair cut and spoke the language so well.

Alrye Polequaptewa: Number one Hopi boy coming through the door I guess they admired me but I thought they were like teasing me.

Paul Quamahongnewa: I kinda looked up to him because he knew Hopi and I started to learn words from him and I started learning and learning and learning and learning it just started popping in my head and I started getting an idea of what people were talking about.

Alrye Polequaptewa: Later on as I wondered why be like them when I can be myself and be different. And then I did that and I became a role model.

[Music]

Austin Coochyamptewa: The land of the Hopi is the center of the universe. We have lived on these three mesas for generations and all that while are people that have been speaking the Hopi language, but now everyone is saying that our language is dying.

[Music]

Is Texting Ruining the English Language?

austin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:46:31 -0600

David Crystal's new book cleverly callled "txtng: the gr8 db8" touches upon the always ongoing debate about how texting and lexicongraphy is affecting the English language.

The argument that I hear the most is that youth of the world today are often criticized for the use of text messages and abbreviations to communicate or "ruin" the English language. The idea that texting is ruining English comes from some studies which suggest that people who send text messages (implying heavy abbreviation) tend to have more grammar and spelling errors as a result. But langugage is dynamic and misspellings sometimes accounts for new words! To say that this "ruins" our language is absurd. The point of a language is to be easy to understand, standardized, and easy to learn. If a symbol, spelling, or word is neglected, then let the development of the people dictate the developement of the language; after all, we did invent language, so why is it such a crime to change it?

For more information, check out the David Crystal interview at http://education.zdnet.com/?p=1021 and also see the opposing view at http://education.zdnet.com/?p=1021

What's the New What? Spanglish is the New Ad-Speak

webintern — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:23:06 -0500

By Luis Sierra, Youth Radio

What’s the new What? Spanglish is the new ad-lingo.

Spanglish is what marketers are using to sell everything from the War in Iraq.

To Burger King’s fusion food “Chicken Fries”

But don’t get it twisted, Spanglish, code-switching between English and Spanish, has been around for a long time. And you can hear it everywhere Spanish speakers live and communicate with one another. I mean, the last time I was driving through my school parking lot with a friend, I found myself saying:

“Hey! –There’s un Parquiadero, just step on the brekas”

When meaning to say “Hey Look! A parking space, step on the brakes.” But, according to Catarino Lopez, Creative Director for Bromley Communications, and maker of the BK Chicken Fries Commercial, no one will be stepping on the brakes of the Spanglish Ad craze any time soon.

In a high school you always have an incoming class of freshmen and you always have an outgoing class of seniors, and the Latino market is exactly that—there is always an incoming class of immigrants and who are coming fresh from other countries, to find jobs and better opportunities.

And as immigrants become what Lopez refers to as sophomores and juniors, the products advertisers try to sell them get more and more expensive. Like this Toyota commercial.

KID
“Papá, why do we have a hybrid?”

PAPA
“For your fuuuutuuure.”

But this ad isn’t just selling a 30 thousand dollar hybrid car. It’s selling something more, assimilation!

It runs on gas and electrical power.

Mira
Mira aquí. It uses both.”

KID:
“Like you, with English and Spanish.”

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies estimates that Latino purchasing power will grow to over a TRILLION dollars by 2010. But Ilan Stavans, the editor of the Spanglish Dictionary, and Professor at Amherst College, believes the financial impact of Spanglish will be minor when compared to the way it will rewrite culture.

Ilan Stavens: Spanglish is not likely to disappear in the next 10 to 20 year’s. Just the opposite. It will become the much more frequent in media that not only targets Latinos but targets the country as a whole ultimately shaping the way we used the English language and used the Spanish language.

Yeah that’s right? ¿eso era lo que yo pensava? Spanglish is about my hybrid identity, not my hybrid car- because, well, I just can’t afford one! So it’s nothing new to me, but for those marketers who think it’s el ultimo grito, “Spanglish is the new Ad-lingo.”

TEACH YOUTH RADIO: The N-word Discussion

lucyk — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:48:41 -0500

News Break:

THE N-WORD DISCUSSION

What's the story?

This is Dawn Williams, co-creator of Teach Youth Radio. I have been working with Lissa Soep on Teach Youth Radio since its inception and feel that I should be working myself “out of a job” by preparing other educators as well as young producers to build their own curriculum around youth-created content. Here, I share a behind the scenes look at how I develop Teach Youth Radio lessons each month. It is my hope that as the Teach Youth Radio initiative evolves, young producers at Youth Radio and other youth media groups will start to integrate curriculum design into the media production process. Imagine youth written and produced lesson plans with every youth media story!

For this month’s News Break, we selected a segment called The N-Word Discussion, which aired on National Public Radio. This conversation is timely and relevant considering the recent coverage of public figures such as Michael Richards and Don Imus making racist comments and images of nooses hung from trees in Jena, LA. Media outlets have condemned rap music for its usage of the n-word, the b-word, and the h-word, and for normalizing these words for a wider audience. Youth Radio’s Alana Germany hosts the roundtable questioning the use of racial and gender epithets while Pendarvis Harshaw and Ayesha Walker share their views on this provocative topic. In the version of the roundtable that aired on NPR, Ayesha and Pendarvis focus on the n-word in particular. All three have produced stories that we’ve previously featured on Teach Youth Radio pages.

Ayesha: That word has been magnified for what? Why are we using this word first of all?

My first step in producing a Teach Youth Radio News Break is to select which story to feature in the curriculum each month. Newsworthiness is an important consideration. I also consider how teachers might apply the piece to different subject areas and how it is written. All the stories in Youth Radio’s archive reflect a distinct perspective of the storyteller and a particular style that language arts classes can analyze.

Once I’ve selected a piece to feature on TYR, I must make sure that there is a transcript. If one is not already available online, I transcribe the piece in full. This step is crucial, because the transcript allows students to work between oral and written textual forms. The transcription process involves listening to the piece over and over again, which helps me analyze the News Break.

Read this Script!
Listen to this Commentary!

Teach this News Break!

SCRIPT

PRINT

The N-word Discussion

Hip hop culture is often blamed for proliferating words like the B-word, the H-word, and the N-word. There’s been a lot of debate about why these words are so prevalent in pop culture. Youth Radio’s Alana Germany talked to Pendarvis Harshaw and Ayesha Walker about all of these potentially offensive words, but their focus quickly turned to one word in particular, the N-word.

Alana: So all of these words have become commonplace and are kind of becoming popular now and like an example is rap music. The content and the usage of the b-word or the h-word have kind of opened up this door for those of other ethnicities to be racist and as soon as they’re confronted with anything they blame it on Black people saying, “Oh well they call each other that you know woopdy woomp or whatever.” So, do you think that the smartest way to eliminate it would be to stop using the word?

Pendarvis: One side of me wants to say don’t use it but that lends it power. Because it’s out of common use, break glass in case of emergency, use this word and then that means that this word is the trump card. That’s when everything stops and it’s like aw man, he used the unspeakable word.

Ayesha: Words are symbols but people outside of the circle see that symbol different than someone inside of the circle and being inside of the circle I don’t see no wrong in using the word

Alana: Do you think it’s realistic to try to stop using the word?

Ayesha: Nah, it ain’t realistic to stop. I mean, I’m not tripping off of nobody calling me a word because I’m certain of who I am but then like I’m not going to try to stop nobody from using words because they just words like I mean I say that but then at the same time I do feel weird when I hear somebody that’s like you know not Black or doesn’t, you know that’s not urban use that word. Like Condeleezza Rice if she called me the n-word I would probably get offended

Pendarvis: Cause she’s not part of the same culture as you especially because she’s in a different tax bracket, she, you know, the Ivy League school you know a whole bunch of things that you steer clear of you know using that word or just being in that mind state but then again there’s people, people in the suburbs who just grew up listening to rap music and now you got whole generations of kids who grew up listening to rap music and they feel that they have that mind state because they have absorbed that culture through the music. So it’s all about how you’ve been cultivated.

Alana: So what do you do about those people who aren’t necessarily urban or who maybe think they’re urban or who think that because it’s mainstream they have a right to use that word because Jay-Z says it or because 50 cent says it.

Ayesha: I couldn’t care less I mean. You feel it when you know you can use that word and if it just comes out wrong, then it ain’t even right for you to use that word

Alana: So Pendarvis, what do you think the shift was that made it okay to say the n-word the way we say it now?

Pendarvis: I don’t know man. If I said anything I’d be lying to you man. Cause I, the first thing that popped into my mind was NWA Niggaz 4 Life. And that’s when I was like, oh yeah, that’s when my generation picked it up. Cause I know my sister had that album and I know I stole that album from her and I listened to it and that’s where I got the word from and so I think it’s recycled man I see my little nephew say it the other day and I probably accidentally said it when I was on the phone with one of my friends so we gotta stop this somewhere man I mean how you gon’ wipe it out from a whole generation of kids man you gon’ I don’t know man not allow it on playgrounds or something like that?

Ayesha: That word has been magnified for what? For what? It’s like what about what somebody done did?
Why are we using this word first of all? You know, a whole bunch of Black people we out there doing what selling drugs, we out there killing each other, We out there pimpin’, we out there just, we not, we not together. Like in my city, Richmond, California it’s like all these youngsters don’t have nothing to do, we don’t have nothing to do. Every time that I done tried to go to get into some kind of program or something I have to go outside of my city. I guess like the system is designed to keep us separated so we don’t come together. And I feel like once we start fighting against it, I’m still not going to stop using that word.

Alana: But what do you think has happened to the discussion and the use of the word in recent light of people like Michael Richards and Don Imus?

Pendarvis: You said what does it do for the conversation or something like that? And it made me think dang, what if the word nigga was an industry right? Y’all gotta follow me on this one. So, what if the word nigga was an industry, right? And had a stock in the stock market. Everyday in the Wall Street Journal you could see how the word “nigga” was doing?

Like it’s up ten points because Don Imus used it. Or it’s down thirty points because we had a march on Washington cause people aren’t even thinking about the word. It’s obsolete for that day and what if you could just see it through history. Like I wonder, in the 1920’s when Blacks were affluent how the word was being used. And then I wonder like in 1995 when Def Row and Bad Boy was battling how it was doin? It’s probably just a steady stock. I’d invest in it because I don’t think it’s going nowhere.

TEACH YOUTH RADIO

Youth Perspectives on Pedagogy
In addition to linking the News Break to standards, I consult with the young people who produced the feature story. I spoke with Pendarvis Harshaw and Ayesha Walker about how they could envision teachers using this discussion in a classroom. Pendarvis said that he could see it being used in English, history, and economics classes. He talked about how the n-word is used in literature, such as Huckleberry Finn, and this roundtable could be a provocative piece for illuminating the historical context of the word. He also reflected on his comparison of the n-word to the stock exchange and the economics of the n-word as “currency” in the music industry.

Ayesha pointed out that although the discussion was originally about the b-word and the h-word as well, the n-word became the central focus. She wanted to make sure that discussion about those other words did not get ignored. She expounded on the term “urban,” which she invoked during the discussion, and the way that she saw it linked to working class people. We talked about whether there was a way to incorporate the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Experiment as a way to illustrate the oppression of black people. Another element from my discussion with Ayesha was the issue of code-switching. We talked about being at ease in a discussion versus the anxiety of preparing something written, which would then be read. She had the idea of adding a formal and informal letter-writing activity as a lesson plan suggestion.

Use the script and audio of the commentary in this Newsbreak to inspire students to explore these skills and themes:

Language Arts:
• Highlight the power of language – from meaning to metaphor.
• Compare the impact of oral and written speech.
• Analyze news media coverage of race, class, urban issues, and youth culture.
Health:
• Explore the emotional and psychological effects of hate speech and racial epithets.
Social Science:
• Examine the n-word in a historical context and the power in and of freedom of speech.
• Identify the connections between racism and free-market economics.
All subjects:
• Students can use this News Break to write their own lesson plan suggestions for teachers.

For this month's feature, you can access to these strategies and resources:
   1. Ideas and Suggestions for lesson plans
   2. Toolbox handouts
   3. Synthesized Standards
   4. Reporter Bios
   5. Resources and further research
   6. Youth Radio’s media production techniques
   7. Report Notes

1. IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR LESSON PLANS:

To develop the actual lesson ideas, I listen to and read through the story several times, highlighting particular phrases that stand out and lend themselves to classroom work. This part of the process is key. It involves looking closely at the exact phrases that are expressed and the aesthetics of the composition. As I highlight these phrases, I try to put myself in the shoes of educators working across different subjects, asking questions such as: How has this author/producer approached this story? What aspects pertain to language, health, history, science, geography, or economics? How does this piece promote critical media literacy? In the following section, I include a series of transcript excerpts, where you can click on highlighted phrases to see my footnotes, which reflect some of my thought process in developing activities. Views Notes

LANGUAGE ARTS:
Linguists at work: What is the history of the n-word? How is the n-word used in literature, such as in Huckleberry Finn? Students can trace the linguistic history of different racial and gender epithets and discuss their usage in works of literature. They can additionally research insider and outsider usage of words that have come to mean different things depending on who uses them and how. Ask students to provide suggestions for how teachers might effectively contextualize works of literature that include hateful terms if they use these texts in their classrooms.

Metaphorically speaking: How does Pendarvis convey how he views the n-word as an unspeakable, yet spoken word? Note his rich array of metaphors and imagery: “break glass in case of emergency,” “the untouchable,” “the trump card you try to avoid using,” and “the stock market.” Students can practice using metaphors and similes in their writing or speech by describing what a racial or gender epithet used against them looks, tastes, smells, sounds, and feels like. How do they feel when they hear these words?

Roundtable discussions: Modeled in this News Break is a form of commentary that allows for a multi-voiced perspective on an issue. We hear each person playing a different role. Alana is the mediator and Ayesha and Pendarvis take turns speaking on a particular side. Students can replicate this model to hold a discussion about a topic that currently affects teenagers. You can find Youth Radio’s tips for hosting panel discussions in the new book, Drop That Knowledge: Youth Radio Stories, which you can find here.

Talking vs. writing: In addition to this roundtable discussion, Ayesha, From Blacksburg to the Bay Area Alana, Killing Off Cancer? and Pendarvis (or Dru), The Turf, The Village have written and produced works individually that we’ve used in the Teach Youth Radio line-up. How do their speech patterns and their personal stories show their ability to code-switch? Do any of your students feel that they switch between the way they speak and the way they write English, or depending on whom they’re talking to or writing for? Students can choose a topic and write about it in a formal letter and in an informal note to a friend. Compare and contrast the two texts.

*MEDIA LITERACY:
In this section, I look for overall themes that can be used to discuss media through a more in-depth lens of race, class, gender, often challenging the way mainstream media constructs narratives, expresses various interests that aren’t always transparent, and presents partial truths.

Points of view: The questions an interviewer or roundtable host asks lead the way a conversation goes. Given that, can journalism ever be 100% objective or unbiased? How are Alana’s questions indicative of her opinion? How does each speaker’s opinion come through in this discussion? Students can find proof to support why they think each person feels the way they do. At what points do Ayesha and Pendarvis vacillate and negotiate as they share their opinions? These are important points to note as they consider both sides of the issue. Have students compare this roundtable to one found on the commercial television news. What are the similarities and differences? (for example, look for ways that discussions can sometimes be polarized to generate “good TV”).

Gender issues: Along with the n-word, the b-word and the h-word (“ho” short for whore) are heard frequently in the media. In this News Break, there is a discussion about the race and class of people who use the n-word but not as much discussion about gender. How does the gender of the person who says a word and the person who is called a word play into the meaning of the words above?

HEALTH:
Sticks and stones: Further discussion of the n-word should include direct exploration of racism, black people in American history, internalized racism and institutionalized racism. The National Resource Center for the Healing of Racism provides articles and other resources dealing with these specific issues. Students can brainstorm words and symbols that have been used throughout history against people of their same ethnic backgrounds and research and share the history behind these practices.

Going outside: Ayesha talks about having to go outside of her city to find positive programs for youth. Is this an issue that your students encounter as well? Have your students map positive resources for young people in their immediate vicinity, and in other geographic areas nearby. Can they find a relationship between the availability of these resources and health data such as rates of disease and violence? What are some similar struggles that your students have faced in terms of finding resources and programs linked to their interests? You could have them produce a resource guide identifying health providers other young people can turn to for after-school activities and other services.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Blue eyes and brown eyes: In her introduction to the panel, Alana talks about today’s media blaming black people for the use of words with negative connotations and Ayesha rethinks that culpability. Ayesha’s questions about the n-word, “It’s like what about what somebody done did? Why are we using this word first of all?”, refer back to the history of oppression of black people. Then she continues to show that black people are still struggling because they are not the people who hold power in the United States. Students can view Jane Elliot’s brown-eyed versus blue-eyed student experiment, which helped to teach an all-white third grade class how it feels to be discriminated against due to a physical characteristic. How might they update that experiment or modify it for different student participants and settings?

Speaking freely: Have students look up freedom of speech as it appears in the Bill of Rights. How are hate speech and other vulgarities regulated in terms of media usage? How does the colorblind usage of the n-word by non-blacks and colorblind disapproval reflect larger race issues in society? Compare the conversation above to the following article about Buchanan High School.

Symbols of hate: Ayesha says that words are symbols. The n-word can be associated with white sheets, nooses, and swastikas. Students can research other symbols that represent discrimination against people of their same background. They can read about the Jena 6 trials against six young Black men of Jena, LA, who were involved in an altercation after nooses were hung from a school tree. (view story)

Money and Racism: Pendarvis eloquently compares the n-word to the stock market and Ayesha importantly questions the history of why it is being used in the black community in the first place. Students can chart or create a timeline showing how racism has marked and helped shape core U.S. institutions since the times of slavery. This graphic can include the prison industrial complex and the free labor provided by privatized prisons. They can also design a chart/timeline that shows eras in which the n-word would be in high circulation, as if it were a stock. What forces and measures would determine the term’s “value”? What would its fluctuations reflect about the state of society and the conditions faced by black people in the United States?

2. TOOLBOX HANDOUTS:

Use these to help students focus and extend understanding...Coming Soon!

3. SYNTHESIZED STANDARDS:

Subject: LANGUAGE ARTS
Reading: Comprehension
Reading: Response
Writing: Process
Writing: Product
Listening & Speaking: Comprehension
Listening & Speaking: Analysis
Listening & Speaking: Discussion
Listening & Speaking: Production
Media Literacy: Comprehension
Media Literacy: Analysis

Subject: SOCIAL SCIENCE
Course: US History
Course: US Democracy
Course: Economics
Lens: Citizenship
Lens: Culture
Analysis: Connections & Pattern

Subject: HEALTH
Influence: Family, Peers, Community, Culture, Media & Technology
Interpersonal Communication
Decision Making & Goal Setting
Practice & Activity

4. Meet the Youth Radio REPORTERS who produced the story:

Alana Germany has reported on youth culture and religion in schools for Youth Radio. She is a senior in high school, headed to college in Los Angeles.

In 2003, Ayesha Walker was introduced to radio during her sophomore year at El Cerrito High School's radio station, KECG. In 2005 she was elected Director of Communications, where she supervised her own radio crew and hosted the morning announcements. "Esha" is a graduate of Youth Radio's Core and Bridge classes of 2004.

Commentator Pendarvis “Dru” Harshaw was raised around all three corners of Oakland, California. After attending Edna Brewer Middle School, he was granted a scholarship to the Athenian School, a college preparatory school in Danville, California. He struggled mightily with the social scene (only about 20 out of 400 students were African-American), rigorous academics, and financial flaunting by some of his privileged classmates. But in his senior year, Dru was elected Student Body President and accepted by a historically Black university.

5. RESOURCES AND RESEARCH related to the story's themes:

•Documentary Explores Politics of 'N-Word' (NPR's The Tavis Smiley Show, July 6, 2004)
•The N-Word
•Hip-Hop News: Documentary Explores The 'N' Word
•N-word use increasing, not without protest (SF Gate July 29, 2001)
•Teacher uses the N word (YouTube)

Funeral for the n-word:
•NAACP symbolically buries the word "nigger," entertainers resurrect it
•American Morning / Funeral for the N-Word
•Racial slur on sofa label stuns family
•The National Resource Center for the Healing of Racism

Related Youth Radio stories:
•N-Bomb
•Black Is

6. MEDIA PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES:

Guides and inspiration for creative media-making projects: conducting interviews, writing commentaries, and producing features.

• MAKING AUDIO NARRATIVES •

For many more hands-on resources and behind-the-scenes accounts of youth media production, check out the new book, Drop That Knowledge: Youth Radio Stories. Written by Youth Radio's Research Director and Senior Producer, Elisabeth Soep, and San Francisco State Professor Vivian Chavez, it's being touted by media experts as a "landmark contribution to our understanding of media and youth movements in the US."

Order here and save 20%!
*At checkout, just enter 09W9108 in the shopping cart's source code field and click "update"*

7. REPORT NOTES:

Alana: So all of these words have become commonplace and are kind of becoming popular now and like an example is rap music. The content and the usage of the B-word or the H-word have kind of opened up this door for those of other ethnicities to be racist and as soon as they’re confronted with anything they blame it on Black people saying, “Oh well they call each other that you know woopdy woomp or whatever.” So, do you think that the smartest way to eliminate it would be to stop using the word?

Dawn’s notes: I find it interesting that she hadn’t mentioned the n-word at all, yet it became the main focus of the discussion. She also brings up the issue of non-blacks blaming black people for their own oppression. How interesting that the originators of the word have escaped culpability. Language Arts classes could research the origins of these words.

Pendarvis: One side of me wants to say don’t use it but that lends it power. Because it’s out of common use, break glass in case of emergency, use this word and then that means that this word is the trump card. That’s when everything stops and it’s like aw man, he used the unspeakable word.

Dawn’s notes: True! Not using the n-word gives it power. Pendarvis uses several metaphors for the n-word, like “break glass in case of emergency,” “the untouchable,” “the trump card you try to avoid using,” and “the stock market,” as a way of describing the fluctuation of usage. His use of metaphors would be great for Language Arts classes.

Ayesha: Words are symbols but people outside of the circle see that symbol differently than someone inside of the circle and being inside of the circle I don’t see no wrong in using the word.

Dawn’s notes: This idea of words as symbols is powerful. What about the confederate flag, the swastika, the noose. These are all symbols associated with racism and violent discrimination, just as words are. What are their histories?

Alana: Do you think it’s realistic to try to stop using the word?

Dawn’s notes: This is the second time Alana has asked this question. Is it due to clarification or is this her opinion?

Ayesha: Nah, it ain’t realistic to stop. I mean, I’m not tripping off of nobody calling me a word because I’m certain of who I am but then like I’m not going to try to stop nobody from using words because they just words like I mean I say that but then at the same time I do feel weird when I hear somebody that’s like you know not black or doesn’t, you know not urban use that word. Like Condeleezza Rice if she called me the n-word I would probably get offended.

Dawn’s notes: Ayesha brings up the complicated issue of freedom of speech, although racism came before hate speech, so it is more an issue of ending racism than ending racist speech. She also speaks to how the n-word is race and class related.

Pendarvis: I don’t know man. If I said anything I’d be lying to you man. Cause I, the first thing that popped into my mind was NWA Niggaz 4 Life. And that’s when I was like, oh yeah, that’s when my generation picked it up. Cause I know my sister had that album and I know I stole that album from her and I listened to it and that’s where I got the word from and so I think it’s recycled man I see my little nephew say it the other day and I probably said it accidentally when I was on the phone with one of my friends so we gotta stop this somewhere man I mean how you gon’ wipe it out from a whole generation of kids? Man you gon’ I don’t know man not allow it on playgrounds or something like that?

Dawn’s notes: The usage of the n-word has followed a cyclical pattern. Pendarvis got it from music, and older generations were saying it along with Richard Pryor, who later after a trip to Africa stopped saying the word. Does that signify a self-awareness combating internalized racism? He talks about stopping the cycle but hesitates to suggest an n-word prohibition because as Pendarvis said earlier, stopping its use lends it power.

Ayesha: That word has been magnified for what? For what? It’s like what about what somebody done did? Why are we using this word first of all? You know, a whole bunch of black people we out there doing what selling drugs, we out there killing each other, We out there pimpin’, we out there just, we not, we not together. Like in my city, Richmond, California it’s like all these youngsters don’t have nothing to do, we don’t have nothing to do. Every time that I done tried to go to get into some kind of program or something I have to go outside of my city. I guess the system is designed to keep us separated so we don’t come together. And I feel like once we start fighting against it, I’m still not going to stop using that word.

Dawn’s notes: Ayesha brings the historical context of racism to the forefront and the present conditions that reflect continued racism. Although the Civil Rights Movement was touted as the key to solving problems of inequality, she finds that black people are not unified and still struggling. She can feel the structural inequalities as a youth involved in an after school program where she has to travel outside of her city to find positive programs. How many other students can relate to that same situation?

Alana: But what do you think has happened to the discussion and the use of the word in recent light of people like Michael Richards and Don Imus?

Pendarvis: You said what does it do for the conversation or something like that? And it made me think dang, what if the word nigga was an industry right? Y’all gotta follow me on this one. So, what if the word nigga was an industry right? And had a stock in the stock market. Everyday in the Wall Street Journal you could see how the word “Nigga” was doing?

Like it’s up ten points because Don Imus used it. Or it’s down thirty points because we had a march on Washington cause people aren’t even thinking about that word. It’s obsolete for that day and what if you could just see it through history. Like I wonder, in the 1920’s when Blacks were affluent how the word was being used. And I wonder like in 1995 when Def Row and Bad Boy was battling how it was doin? It’s probably just a steady stock. I’d invest in it because I don’t think it’s going nowhere.

Dawn’s notes: I could see graphs that show economic trends of black people in the United States. Slavery and the lack of reparations, during segregation a significant number of small businesses, and then post-integration where corporations and big business have made it more difficult for small black-owned businesses to thrive and also have worked with the criminal justice system to return to free labor, deeming the prison industrial complex as new age slavery. These stages could be illustrated with economics research.