Ebonics suggested for district

San Bernardino County Sun ^ | 17 July 2005 | Irma Lemus

[The Grammarian]

We have led the way before the civil-rights movement opened the door for women's rights and other movements.

He seems to have it backwards. Women's suffragists were a major force in the abolition movement, which in turn led to the civil rights movement. So, if anything, women's rights opened the door for civil rights.

[rdb3]

Succeed?

Why?

Of course, you don't believe that they could succeed, do you?

[phoenix0468]

"...training on black culture and customs..."

So, is creole a different language than French? No. Any linguist will tell you this. Creole is a dialect of French, not a different language. Is Cantonese a different language than Mandarin? Again, the answer is no. Even though the two may sound very different, they are both based solidly on the same literal lingual form. When written both are almost exactly the same. Ebonics is no different from English than Creole is from French. If someone who speaks Ebonics were to write something down, it would be written in English and easy for any English speaker to understand. The differences between dialect and language are not being very clearly drawn here. Obviously the expertise of linguistic science is not being used here at all.

This does not entirely make me disagree with the approach that some educators are using in teaching standard English to these students. Treating them as English as a Second Language students may actually be the best approach. A student who has grown up in the inner city where Ebonics is the standard dialect will most likely have difficulty learning standard English if the teaching approach assumes they have an understanding of it; which the student may not. Other factors must also come into consideration when teaching students from areas where standard English (this includes rural areas as well as urban) is not spoken or taught in the household. The primary one being that of literacy. If the parents of the student are either illiterate or have a low level of literacy, the student will struggle with learning standard English using a traditional approach. These students will not have the necessary support in the household that students with more literate parents may have.

Of course these students are much more widely varied than just those who speak Ebonics. They will include Hispanic, Chinese, and many Eastern European immigrants. Students from rural areas with parents of low literacy. And students who are being raised in single parent households where the parent may not have the luxury of being as involved in their child's education as they may like to be.

The question of literacy among our children today is a multi faceted one that not only involves dialect, but literacy, and involvement. Children who struggle with literacy may need a different approach and some additional (i.e. after school, and extracurricular) tutoring to be successful.

[humblegunner]

"There are African Americans who do not agree with me. They say that (black students) are lazy and that they need to learn to talk,' Texeira said.

Apparently that's too much to axe.
These goomerheads need a clue.

The kids aren't lazy, it's just that nobody will teach them anything and make 'em do it.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

The next thing on the agenda will be Ebonics as a required course to all students so they can understand each other.

 

I thought they had figured out this was absolute nonsense. Every educated black leader I have ever heard totally disagrees with this BS. When did they revive this crap? I guess they really are victims after all. Jesse and Al should be proud. They have obviously convinced the educational elites, (oxymoron?), the reason the African American populace has such a high drop out rate is because they can't understand English.

 

If this is the case, would someone like to explain to me how in the world they are going to communicate after they graduate with the rest of the population? Or perhaps they are going to start their own country too, so everyone can get a job. After all, how else are so many going to be gainfully employed unless a government entity puts them to work? Oh wait. that is exactly what the libs want isn't it? We should start a whole new branch in the government. The Department of Ebonics Translation to Every Other Department of America.

 

You have got to be kiddin!

[Fred Hayek]

I was at New Jersey Institute of Technology (the former Newark College of Engineering) at the time. Maybe a bit of a liberal at the time (yet pro-military, I was more of a Scoop Jackson Democrat than a McGovernite and really disliked McGovern), yet thought "what is wrong with this picture". The liberal system seemed to want to keep people dependant.

[phoenix0468]

Zuben, actually they are trying to teach English. I think an English as a Second Language approach would be successful for either group of students.

[45Auto]

Perhaps you have a point. However, California passed Proposition 227 in 1998 that mandated the end of bilingual education. The results are summarized:

Test Scores Soar After California Bans Bilingual Ed.

"In 1998, California voters passes a voter initiative, Proposition 227, that banned bilingual education. Two years later, the state issued its Stanford 9 Achievement Test reports."

"Among 2nd grade students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), the portion of students testing above the median increased nearly 50% in the three subjects tested: Reading, Math, and Language. Opponents of English immersion have long argued that it was necessary for children to spend a few years in bilingual education to prepare themselves for English-language instruction. However, youngest students showed the greatest increases in test scores."

"These test scores measure only those students who remain in special classes for LEP. Another important measure of the effectiveness of LEP programs is how many of the students in the programs are able to be sent into mainstream classes. Redesignation tends to moderate test score improvements, as it removes the top-performing students from the testing pool, lowering the test averages. However, despite this, redesignation rates increased 12%, accelerating their improvements."

"Proponents of bilingual education have offered alternative explanation for the improving test scores, including increasing familiarity with the test, smaller class sizes, and a return to "phonics-based" reading instruction. (Phonics is a method of learning to read by recognizing which sounds are produced by letters and letter combinations. Previously, the education establishment had also predicted that the introduction of phonics would be harmful.)"

"These factors may have played a role; test scores improved among English-language students. In any case, these factors would have made it difficult to prove that ending bilingual education was the factor responsible for the test score improvements. However, many school districts attempted to defy Proposition 227. By doing so, they helped prove the case against themselves. Those school districts which most resisted implementation of Proposition 227 showed the smaller improvements[this still goes on today]; whereas those that most aggressively implemented Proposition 227 showed the greatest improvements."

The upshot is that English Immersion is the best way to bring students into the mainstream educational system. Piddling along for years coddling those who do not have a strong English language capability (or those who don't wish to learn it) does no one a favor.

[phoenix0468]

Boo be the fool got popped with the long gun. Dig?

[Katya]

In Europe there are many dialects spoken that are actually quite different from the standard languages used in the educational system and in the media. However, in schools the rules was usually NO dialect. You couldn't write in dialect, and you were meant to try as well as you could NOT to speak in a dialect. These policies were implemented to give rural children the same opportunities urban children had. It's fine to speak a pidgeon at home, but you certainly want your children to ALSO know the standard language.

[T Lady]

'I fail to see how teaching Ebonics is going to produce more black lawyers or PhDs or anything else except more welfare recipients.'

Of course you're correct. However, doing anything for black and or/other minority children that makes even a smidgen of sense won't pass the Liberal Smell Test. This is clearly evident in the article itself.

...It's all about siphoning more money from the taxpayers' pockets.

[freedumb2003]

I see that the Liberals continue to find new ways to keep the "coloreds" on the plantation.

The sheer naked racism of this proposal should cause the black community to rise up in anger.

But since it also fits the agenda of the race pimps (Jackson, Sharpton, et al) it will be sold as another "we can gig Whitey with this one" scheme.

[phoenix0468]

You apparent misunderstanding of my post is obvious. TESL or Teaching English as a Second Language is an approach to learning English in an immersive environment, not in a bilingual one. The teacher need not know any other language but English to teach using TESL methods, but must understand that the students who are learning are not standard English speakers.

TESL has been extremely effective in getting international students up to speed in their comprehension of the English language and their ability to understand their instructors when they are admitted to a university or college.

This method could be very effective in teaching children who are not taught standard English in the home. Not just inner city Ebonics speakers but those with other household issues, as my post indicated.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

I be against it and $hit.

[HereInTheHeartland]

I grew up in the Midwest and went to college there. I got my spoon feeding from all the liberal college professors.
I then moved to San Francisco and saw liberals truly in action, and saw the results of their actions.
I have grown to really dislike liberals, especially the older ones who really know what they are doing. They truly hate America and Western civilization.
The younger idealistic ones still are possible to win over, once they get their paychecks and see what the govt takes from them.

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

I'm going to put "Ebonics" on the language proficiency section of my resume. Perhaps I'll even generate additional interest.

~ Blue Jays ~

[bill1952]

A pilot of the policy, known as the Students Accumulating New Knowledge Optimizing Future Accomplishment Initiative, has been implemented at two city schools.

That wording would make Lenin proud.

How about the school board's new knowledge optimizing future accomplishments in getting azz kicked endlessly while illererate homey students hang on the stoop with no work.

[RightOnline]

Oh just good Lord.

[bill1952]

I can accept that sort of thing as long as its right up front. That's the thing about Farrakhan - he doesn't try to fool anyone about his position

So I can start slinging the N word, wear white sheets, and burn crosses as long as I'm up front about it?

[RightOnline]

"By defining Ebonics as a foreign language (i.e. not English), I can now refuse to hire people who speak slang in the interview."

No more phone calls.....................we have a winner.