Ryan Kuar
Feb.4.2021
“LANGUAGE STATEMENT”
My heart started to beat fast when I saw an eighty-five on my English paper. I
stared at my paper, seeing a bunch of circles and lines marked in red ink. I raised my
hand, wondering if she made a mistake. Do not get me wrong, an eighty-five is a good
score, but I thought I deserved better than a B. I could not read her comments because
her handwriting was indecipherable. When she called on me, I asked her why I got this
score. She grabbed my paper, put on her glasses, and stared at it. Then she stared at me
with her big black eyes.
"Are you an ESL student?" she asked. I stared at her in confusion. I told her, "no."
She looked at me again. "Do your parents speak English at home?" I was silent for a
while and then replied, "no." She let out a sigh. "Well, this paper is filled with so many
grammatical errors and syntax errors. Your writing level is of a sixth-grader. It seems
like you submitted trash to me." Her words stung me, but when she yelled at me in front
of the whole class, I felt so embarrassed. I could not say anything. I remember looking at
the girl next to me who was staring at me with sympathy. She then started to lecture the
class about the importance of grammar and started reading things off my paper. "Who
starts a sentence like?" She then tells me, "I hope I did not hurt your feelings, I am just
trying to help!" In my mind, I wanted to scream at her, but I remained silent, and I
nodded my head no. When the bell rang, I ran out of class, crying.
That was the first time I doubted my English skills. I was never the best grammar
student, but I never took it to heart. But after this incident, I was ashamed of my
English. With that said, I agree with Gloria Anzaldua, who said, "Wild tongues can't be
tamed; they can only be cut out.” The way we speak is a way of self-expression, and we
should not be told how to speak properly. Carmen Kynard also makes a valid point that
we shouldn't let anyone judge our writing, and our word style is about what we can do
and what we can not. I disagree with professor X and Stanley Fish, who prioritize
grammar and rhetorical style in English. Although they are important to know, we
should feel comfortable speaking the way we wish.
The goals of a composition class should be to understand and analyze literature.
We should utilize reading resources and respond to different rhetorical situations. We
should also integrate our ideas with others and learn about different perspectives of
writing. We should also be able to challenge other authors' opinions.
I am passionate about English and reading books, whether they are textbooks or
a simple Harry Potter novel. Sometimes when I am bored, I write poems or stories.
Here is a poem I wrote for my Creative writing class senior year:
In the city of misery and sin
Where the dancing courtesans dwell
Lived Ameera, an angelic woman
Who had ocean eyes and olive skin
Placing all noblemen under her spell
But she fell in love with only one man
The bright silver moon laughed at Ameera’s plight
Her mother advised her not to fall in love
For a courtesan like her could never marry
But she ran away in the cold dark night
“Cham, Cham” went her anklets, running like a dove
To meet her lover whom her heart carried
Her heart broke when she saw her beloved
There he was with another young woman
Laying with her underneath the pomegranate tree
The seraphs of heaven laughed from above
Realizing that she could never love again
Her sky blue eyes turned into the dark roaring sea
His love for her was pure fiction
And so she returned to the same brothel
taunting the minds of young noblemen
Such is the tale of the famous courtesan
whose life has been hopeless and awful
And who broke noblemen’s hearts time and again
