Reading Different Dialects From Various Points of Views

Last class towards the end we got in groups and read a couple books with dialects from several ethnic background. In my group one in particular stood out. We read a book from the times of cotton plantations and it was written in African American dialect. One of the members in my group was reading at loud, while the other two of us read silently in our heads. She stumbled upon the words, but successfully got through the book. After she was done we discussed what was difficult about reading the passage. I expressed that I was use to seeing this dialect. Since I am African American I have grown up with books similar to this one telling about my history and how our culture was back in those times. Also I shared with them how just because I am African American does not mean I nor my family talk like that now. If I was to read the book aloud now, I would still struggle a bit because that is not how I talk in my daily conversation, but I would definitely be able to relate more to what the words in the book mean. On the other hand my two classmates who are Caucasian said it was totally unfamiliar to them and at some parts they concentrated more on the words instead of the meaning of the book. As a group we really found this two be interesting. It is always create to see so many perspectives on the same topic. I truly feel this is how we learn more about diversity. It is knowledge that is gained more through experience then anything else that helps built a person diverse background.