Power of Language Essay

The Power of Language

Wes Salisbury

LAPU

1
Power of Language Essay

The life of the modern student of the 21st century is a complicated one. In many ways,

life is easier now than ever before. Advancements in technology has allowed incredible

advancements in education, with feats becoming common practice now that couldn’t have even

been dreamed of fifty years ago. In today’s society, the average first grader has the ability to

navigate a Chromebook or tablet. The idea that that is commonplace now truly shows how life

has changed for students in today’s age. On the other hand, the same amazing technological

advances have made life harder for students. The basics and foundations of a strong education is

language. Unfortunately, that seems to be falling by the way side. In order for each new

generation of student to be truly successful, a strong understanding of language and language

acquisition skills must be established.

First and foremost, language is the key to all communication. Whether it be written,

spoken, acted out, expressed, or any other form of communicating, it all involves language. The

only way to develop communication skills is by honing and strengthening language acquisition

skills. This starts early on, practically from the minute a child is born. Children act as sponges,

soaking up everything they see and hear, and make connections in their brains constantly. This is

why it is so important to start working with them as soon as possible to help them make

connections between anything involving language. This includes the use of proper grammar and

syntax, teaching or morphology, and learning how to read. Each of these works together to build

strong language skills for children as the grow and continue to learn. Technology, while

extremely helpful and completely necessary, is something that is not readily available at all

times. Strong language skills are. There may a be a time where spell check, or auto correct, or

proofreading websites aren’t available. Having students be too reliant on technology is

2
Power of Language Essay

detrimental for those times when technology isn’t at their fingertips. Technology is a great

luxury, but strong language skills are a necessity.

As teachers, it is our moral obligation to develop literacy in our students. They cannot be

as successful without those skills. It simply will not work. Our job is to reach as many students

as when can in the short time we have the privilege of teaching them. Anything less than that can

be considered a failure to uphold that moral obligation. If our students don’t succeed, it is

extremely likely that we aren’t doing our job to the best of our abilities, thus disobeying that

moral imperative that we have.

In order to avoid these failures, my future teaching plan is one of flexibility. I understand

that the same cookie cutter game plan is not always going to work. Each student is unique. As a

future teacher, I am willing to continually learn new teaching strategies, and strive to teach in as

many effective ways possible. I also plan to be as observant as possible to which students need

more attention than others in regards to building strong language skills. I believe that being as

adaptable as possible is the most effective way to reach our goals as teachers, which is to have

our students succeed. We cannot ask our students to do their best in learning new things if we

aren’t willing to do the same.

The ethical and spiritual obligations we have are just as important as the moral

obligations. If a teacher is not committed to doing the best job possible for their students, they

are in the wrong field. There can be no phoning it in when it comes to teaching literacy. It is an

all-in scenario that requires hard work, dedication, patience, and perseverance form both the

students and the teachers. I understand that there are outliers. Sometimes, a teacher can do their

best and it just isn’t going to resonate. However, the willingness to try and try again has to be

there. Otherwise, the ethical and spiritual obligation cannot be satisfied.

3
Power of Language Essay

To summarize, there is no skill more important for a successful student to posses than

strong language skills. The ability to properly utilize grammar, syntax, morphology, spelling, and

reading comprehension are paramount to students reaching their full potential. Without teachers

willing to continue learning new teaching methods, and be willing to go the extra mile, the job

cannot be done and our moral, ethical, and spiritual obligations to teaching literacy simply

cannot be fulfilled.