by Jessyca T

Created on: April 08, 2009   Last Updated: April 27, 2009

Critical thinking includes questioning and challenging knowledge that is presented, and not accepting things at face value. The movement to teach critical thinking is a reaction against mainstream, oppressive use of knowledge control in modern society.

Struggling for control of what is acceptable, and what is not, is how power is won in society. Thinking critically about language is one of the most important steps to upholding freedom as language is the tool used to exert and maintain control.

The driving force behind encouraging critical thinking is that people are capable of shaping language conventions and choosing their own methods of expression. Thinking critically about language is an important step toward change and social awareness, though it is not easy to cross the boundaries of acceptability.

In grade twelve, I wrote a short story that was supposed to be inspired by a struggling group in Canadian society. I chose drug use and teenage homelessness. The characters cursed and used slang and my teacher required me to edit the story in order to have it graded. I resisted, but faced with the pressure of university admittance, I caved. The teacher told me privately that she loved the original story and I should try and submit it for publication. She said that although there was no place for that language in the school, the edited version was not nearly as believable or publishable as the original.

This was the first time I could see how privilege and positioning are won, or lost, through language. I understood that the contradictions in what knowledge is said to be valued and what knowledge is actually valued take away the voice of those without power.

The teacher said there was no place for the street language in school while admitting that telling the story with the accepted academic language made my efforts unusable. This fact stayed with me for a long time.

How can a person fit into a society that doesn't accept their form of expression and that devalues their place in the world by doing so? They can't. Plain and simple.

Language forms values and can lead to action, or inaction. Attempting to regulate language with critical thought is the only defence against oppressive use. Negotiation for power over accepted language is not easy, even for those practiced in being critical of their discourse. However, committing to critical language awareness is important for working on issues of social justice in society and equality in education.

Learn more about this author, Jessyca T.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.