A report on the Proficiency in Standard English for Speakers of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) program.

Ebonics have gained prominence in the American education system. However, ebonics continues to receive mixed responses from the academic communities. The following bill proposes the "Equality in English Instruction Act." The bill would require the State Department of Education to immediately terminate the proficiency in Standard English for speakers of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) program, which is encouraging the teaching of “ebonics” or street slang in our schools. The bill would prohibit the state, its subdivisions, and local government agencies, including school districts and community college districts, from expending state funds or resources, or applying for federal funding, for the purpose of, or support for, the provision of AAVE instruction. The bill would require that any funding that already has been obtained for the purpose of, or support for, the provision of AAVE instruction be instead used for the classroom teaching of linguistic or communication skills in the English language.
This memorandum contains a recommendation to the bill after identifying the major problems in the bill. I will reason from a linguist’s point of view and explain the rationality for voting against the bill. I will refute each of the statements that have been given in the bill to conclude logically that voting against the bill is an effective stance.

• The bill states that by adopting the AAVE program the teachers are incorporating slang and avoiding to rectify the bad grammar in the “home language”
Slang as often conceived is not sloppy or inexpressive. As matter of fact slang cannot be imitated easily and is very precise and expressive than the standard form. AAVE is what the African Americans have encountered since...

... middle of paper ...

...ommunity.
Ability to communicate in Standard English will not improve your economic status or intellectual capacity. Access to politically mandated language in no way would guarantee economic success. Empirical evidence suggests that there has been a positive trend in the unemployed African Americans holding doctorates. Knowing Standard English form will not make students intelligent nor will it teach them the lessons of life. Access to the standard language may be necessary, but it does not guarantee success.

Conclusion:
In this irrelevant debate about the language form, we are deviating from the intention and purpose of education. To educate, means to make a child fully aware of his environment and open him to the act of thinking. As a well-informed society we should learn to appreciate the beauty of every English form and integrate it into standard form.