Ebonics Revisited (or They Be Messin’ Wit Our Kidz, Yo)

July 18th, 2005

In my old neighborhood, of all places…

Incorporating Ebonics into a new school policy that targets black students, the lowest-achieving group in the San Bernardino City [Calif.] Unified School District, may provide students a more well-rounded curriculum, said a local sociologist.

The goal of the district’s policy is to improve black students’ academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups in the district, black students go to college the least and have the most dropouts and suspensions. [...]

Mary Texeira, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino, commended the San Bernardino Board of Education for approving the policy in June.

Texeira suggested that including Ebonics in the program would be beneficial for students. Ebonics, a dialect of American English that is spoken by many blacks throughout the country, was recognized as a separate language in 1996 by the Oakland school board.

“Ebonics is a different language, it’s not slang as many believe,’ Texeira said. “For many of these students Ebonics is their language, and it should be considered a foreign language. These students should be taught like other students who speak a foreign language.’

Texeira said research has shown that students learn better when they fully comprehend the language they are being taught in.

“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.

Damn right I don’t agree with her. I learned to talk just like any other black kid growing up — and I didn’t need to use Ebonics in class.

Dumbing down any student in the name of learning is asinine stupidity.

(link via Daily Pundit)

Related: Commentary from Michael King, La Shawn Barber, Resurrection Song, Joanne Jacobs, and Michelle Malkin.

Update: Independent Sources is following the Ebonics debate. Meanwhile, Wizbang is taking flak for the biting satire used in their entry on the issue.


Filed under Education | Comments (7)

7 Responses to “Ebonics Revisited (or They Be Messin’ Wit Our Kidz, Yo)”

  1. ReidBlog on July 18, 2005 July 18, 2005 - 7:31 pm

    I agree that the curriculum is a bad idea, although I’ve been arguing on and off with people today, if it takes using “english as a second language” tactics to teach kids to speak properly, I’m for it. If the goal is to somehow normalize Ebonics as a language choice, it’s a very, very bad idea. It’s not clear which way the Cali proposal is leaning…

  2. tmcbee on July 19, 2005 July 19, 2005 - 5:08 am

    To implement Ebonics as a curriculum that would allow students to read and speak in Ebonics would be a disservice to the student in the long run. Standard English is the the language spoken in the market place by not only Americans with different iffernt dialects, but also foreign speakers. To allow students to emerce themselves in a language that will have no place in the larger world is not only stupid, but also a bit mean spirited. I agree with ReidBlog, when he says it’s ok if Ebonics is being utilized as an ‘english as a second language’ “tactic”. There is nothing wrong with being bi dialectical or in this case bilingual, but now that they know one language, they need to learn another, just like everyone else who wants to to compete and communicate in the market place.

  3. D.C. Thornton on July 19, 2005 July 19, 2005 - 7:45 am

    Ebonics is not a language or a dialect. It’s slang. It won’t do a thing to help black kids master effective communication skills that are essential to thriving in present society, no matter how it’s implemented.

    The best way to learn standard English is to teach standard English. Cheesy ESL schemes are useless.

  4. Insider on July 19, 2005 July 19, 2005 - 7:53 am

    On a more humorous note, at least it is bringing out creativity in the blogosphere.

  5. DarkStar on July 19, 2005 July 19, 2005 - 2:45 pm

    Is it slang mapping to American English?

    Meaning, a kid says, “Yo! That’s HARD!” and the teacher responds, “Yes, that’s nice” or “Yes, that’s insightful” or…

  6. Mac McComas on July 20, 2005 July 20, 2005 - 10:35 am

    Mary: Re: Ebonics–Don’t be stupid. You’re supposed to be educated and you’ve
    let yourself be drug down with the idiots.

  7. Arnold Williams on July 21, 2005 July 21, 2005 - 4:42 pm

    When I was growing up, I was learning standard English from school, and King James’ and Shakespeare’s English from my father, who thought that they were the font of all knowledge. It doesn’t hurt to have a little exposure to a different English — but it helps if something meaningful is said.

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