Ebonics in Schools
Many black individuals have played their part in America's history. Has the Oakland School gone too far by wanting to teach a black slang language in school. In this paper, you will see the peoples, teachers, and the student's opinion as well as the Senate.
A lot of people are speaking out on the subject, especially actors.
Arsenio Hall replied to reporters “When I heard somebody from Oakland say the word genetic, on TV, I ran into the kitchen so I didn't have to be mad at anybody.” James McDaniel of ABC's NYPD Blue and S. Epatha Merkerson of NBC's
Law and Order described the Oakland School Board's decision on Ebonics as a distinct genetically based language (Shister, p.1). Civil Rights leader Jesse
Jackson defended Oakland's school over a controversial plan to recognize black
English in the classroom (N.A., p.1).
On December 18, 1996 the Oakland School Board approved a policy affirming
Standard American English language development for all students. This policy covers the effectiveness of the strategies that must be utilized to ensure that every child will achieve English language Proficiency (Hawkins, p.1). This policy is based on the work of a broad-based Task-Force, convened six months ago to review the district-wide achievement data and to make recommendations regarding the effective practices that will enhance the opportunity for all students to successfully achieve the standards of all students. The data shows the low levels of the student performance and lack of students in the Advanced
Placement Education Program. These recommendations focus on the unique language stature of the African American Students (Shister, p.2).
One of the programs recommended is the Standard English Proficiency Program, which is a state of California model program. Which promotes English-language development for African-American students. The S.E.P. (Standard English
Proficiency) training enables teachers and administrators to respect and acknowledge the history culture, and language that the African American student brings to school (Cambell, p.2). Recently a “Superliteracy” component was added to ensure the development of high levels of reading, writing, and speaking skills. The policy further requires strengthening pre-school education and parent and community parcipitation in the education process of the District
(Hawkins, p.1).
In the following, t...
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...Ebonics reached Capitol Hill January 23, 1996 as a Senate subcommittee took up the provocative question of whether using African American dialect can help black children learn Standard English, and whether it deserves Federal support.
The hearing began on a combative note. Senator Lauch Faircloth denounced
Ebonics as absurd and said that the Oakland school board's decision to have teachers recognize it in classes struck him. But Oakland school officials, joined by Rep. Maxine Waters adamantly defended the Ebonics policy and insisted that it had been misinterpreted as an attempt to lead students away from
Standard English. School officials said they simply want Oakland teachers to devote more time to students who rely on black English and help them better understand the difference between their language patterns and standard English.
Many other schools are trying to teach Ebonics such as San Diego and Los Angeles, who are considering on creating plans to teach it (Shanchez, p.1).
The controversy is still going on in Capitol Hill and has not been resolved yet. The solution may come soon. Or it may be a long time from now. Either way some people will be upset with the final decision.
Another school in the same district is located “in a former roller-skating rink” with a “lack of windows” an a scarcity of textbooks and counselors. The ratio of children to counselors is 930 to one. For 1,300 children, of which “90 percent [are] black and Hispanic” and “10 percent are Asian, white, or Middle Eastern”, the school only has 26 computers. Another school in the district, its principal relates, “‘was built to hold one thousand students’” but has “‘1,550.’” This school is also shockingly nonwhite where “’29 percent '” of students are “‘black [and] 70 percent [are]
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