True Story 4.10
Native American propriety affects students’ writing ability
The setting for this story
Daniel is a community college teacher whose students include Native Americans. As he explains below, many of them find a specific type of writing assignment exceptionally challenging.
A story of misaligned minds13
My Native American students include some who are fluent in English and others who are working hard to improve. But regardless of this difference, many find it practically impossible to write a summary of a book or article authored by someone else. When I assign them to summarize another person’s writing, they submit papers that set forth their own feelings and opinions about that author’s work. Some of the papers are quite thoughtful and well-written, but none of them is a summary.
I have often explained to them the purpose and method of writing a summary. Although my Native American students seem to understand this explanation, they continue to hand in “summaries” stating their personal reactions.
Daniel’s question
What’s blocking my Native American students from being able to summarize a book or article?
Critique of story 4.10
Many Native American societies value the principle, or ethic, that each individual speaks only for him- or herself. This rule applies even to young children:
From birth, Navajo infants and children are assumed to know what’s best for themselves. Stated formally, this value is: No person has the right to speak for or direct the actions of another. Youngsters become accustomed to this guiding principle while growing up.
This “ethic of noninterference” means that even young children have occasion to choose for themselves. Imagine that a mom and dad will take the pickup truck to the store and want their four-year-old to come along, but she wants to stay near the hogan. She will stay unless some compelling reason makes that impossible.14
Because Native American students have been strongly conditioned to never speak on behalf of any other person, a teacher’s request that they write a short version of another person’s publication puts these students in a moral dilemma. Do they carry out their teacher’s assignment, or do they remain true to the norms of their tribe? Many follow their ingrained moral compass by sharing only their personal perspectives and opinions.
For thought
A cornerstone value of mainstream American culture is self-expression. Accordingly, we don’t often hesitate to share with others our own needs, feelings, and opinions. Beyond that, we’re also willing, given the proper circumstances, to summarize others’ points of view, to take action in their absence, and even to direct their activities or make demands on them. We’ve learned to assert ourselves.
We call our constellation of values “individualism,” the same term used by many to designate the Native American constellation of values. As you see, though, the two sets of values differ sharply in this regard. Like us, Native Americans often are willing to share their personal needs, feelings, and opinions. But their “ethic of noninterference” bars them from any activity that makes it seem as though they are speaking on behalf of, acting in the role of, or directing the activities of any other person.
Can you come up with a more accurate term than “individualism” – it could be two, three, or four words long – to designate this distinctly Native American constellation of values?
Related stories
Stories 1.06 and 7.09 also discuss practical applications of the ethic of noninterference.
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Endnotes:
13 Delpit, 170. Delpit credits Charlotte Basham but offers no citation.
14 Grove (2023), 89.
Full citations are available at misalignedminds.info/References.