Ebonics jeopardize students, learning
Campus Times
February 14, 1997
Currently, Ebonics, or historically "Black English," is the
hot ticket of debate among California educators. The argument centers around
whether this dialect is a second language or just another form of English.
Students in the United States have always been taught to speak, read
and write in a proper form of English. In the past, non-English speaking
immigrants were placed in classrooms, unable to understand a single word,
however they eventually learned to communicate without special assistance.
Today in our elementary schools this is not the case. There are special
classes that non-English speaking students are placed in. Classrooms that
gradually ease students into English are commonly called E.S.L. (English
as a Second Language) classes.
Educators want to create a classroom curriculum that will primarily
instruct its students in Ebonics, thus categorizing this dialect as a separate
language apart from English.
Ebonics should not be defined as a language isolated from English, yet
as a form of social slang. Ebonics is one of the various adaptations of
English which evolved because of the diversity within our communities. Young
individuals who use Ebonics have difficulties communicating within mainstream
society.
Efforts need to be made within the home to create a foundation for future
educational opportunities. Rather than spending state money to backtrack
with teachers, financing them to learn Ebonics, children need to be also
taught standard English at home.
Recently, the Oakland School Board proposed and passed a program declaring
Ebonics as a language. Teachers within the Oakland school district must
attend courses in Ebonics, therefore adding unnecessary financial burdens
upon the district. Money spent educating teachers in Ebonics could in fact
diminish the already limited funds available to the public school system.
The issue of possible segregation among the student body has never really
been addressed. By singling out one portion of the populace, we are encouraging
segregation in the classroom. For all practical purposes this may seem necessary,
however it creates divisions based on ethnicity and language.
African American students speaking Ebonics now are further separated
from other children through language. Separate classrooms primarily violate
what the civil rights movement of the 1960's established, equality for every
man, woman and child.
Educational methods utilized in the classroom should be modified to
meet the needs of the student body as a whole. Current methods, such as
students reading literature written in "Black English" while teachers
pose questions that require answers in proper English, defeat the whole
concept of properly understanding English in its proper form. There are
many African American students that oppose Ebonics with the argument that
being in school requires students to speak in the proper form of English.
Students are taught proper English while at school, yet once they are
at home they speak in Ebonics. Students will not learn to communicate using
proper English if it is not reinforced in the home. English is a difficult
language to learn, it takes time and patience to speak proper English.
Ebonics is not another language. It is English using improper grammar,
which is not embraced in the business world. People of all colors know this.
The best way to prepare students for the real world is to demand proper
English and to acknowledge Ebonics not as a language, but as slang.
Starr Carroll, a senior journalism major, is photography editor of
the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at carrolls@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.