is code switching bad?

Perfect illustration! And the site it comes
from is pretty great, too. 

A few weeks ago, one of my White classmates brought up the idea of code switching. It was in response to an article in which the author expressed disdain for concerted efforts to make college campuses more diverse, citing the fact that students of color don't know how to speak proper English and therefore don't deserve to attend elite universities. (Paraphrasing, but not much.) My classmate was obviously disturbed by the idea that students of color have to change the way they (we) speak just to be accepted in school. When I mentioned that I do it all the time (including the present time) and have been since I was a kid, she was shocked. "That just seems like so much effort!" When I said that it was pretty natural at this point in my life, she looked visibly upset.

My classmate's reaction has been gnawing at me ever since. Is code switching bad? Having been explicitly taught this behavior at a rather young age, I never gave it much thought. I grew up knowing that the how you act in public has to be better than how you at home because people who don't know you will think you're [whatever] if you act like [whatever]. While an understanding of the racial and social implications of this came later, my parents were very deliberate with this message. My mom modeled this behavior at work and even gave my brother and me phone answering lessons. (Like, for real. It was that deep.) My parents, just like their parents and all the other parents who do/have done this, were just trying to give us a leg up.

It is no secret that Black students are treated better when they (we) can mimic the White, middle-class values and norms that the American public education system values. Researchers like Lisa Delpit and Gloria Ladson-Billings (two of my favorite favorites, by the way) write extensively about the ways that African American children are perceived as deficient and uneducable because their normal is not the same normal as their teachers who come from majority groups. As a result, they lose out on valuable educational experiences (like learning) because their teachers either don't teach them well because they don't think they can learn *or* spend so much time teaching them away from their cultural norms that they don't get a quality educational experience.

[FYI: As of 2007, the teaching force was ~87% White, while the student body was 40% non-White and growing (Renzulli, et al., 2007). So, while every White teacher doesn't do this, it happens a lot.]

My justification for teaching kids to code switch is that it makes things easier. Successfully doing this means that they can avoid these issues with teachers and focus on learning. They won't be judged negatively by their teachers and will probably get treated better than their peers of color who cannot connect with their teachers this way. Even in non-academic settings, like the workplace or just in public, code switching has its benefits. People who do this have an easier time moving through the world because they know what is expected of them. Or, as my mom puts it, "they know how to act."

I do agree with my classmate on one point: It really sucks that this has to happen. Why do not-White children (people) have to bifurcate in order to be accepted? I wish we could get to a time when the White, middle class norms aren't "normal" and everyone can be who they are and it's all good in the hood... but that time is not now. Code switching is necessary, and those of us who can successfully master it will be the ones who benefit the most. So, while I hate being called "articulate" and being told that I "speak so well", I'd rather have these (non)compliments than be dismissed outright for not properly forming a sentence. It is a trade off that I will take any day of the week.

Sorry, classmate. Code switching is here to stay. Lucky for you, you can always just be yourself.

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citation:
Renzulli, L., Macpherson, H., and Beattie, I. (2010). Racial mismatch and school type: Teacher satisfaction and retention in charter and traditional public schools. Sociology of Education, 84, 23-48.