Ravenwood - 07/19/05 06:45 AM
It looks like San Bernardino County (Calif.) is going to start teaching ebonics.
Mary Texeira, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino, commended the San Bernardino Board of Education for approving the policy in June.UPDATE: And of course if you want to read this article in 'Jive', just click here.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. [...]
"Because Ebonics can have a negative stigma, we're not focusing on that,' [Len] Cooper said. "We are affirming and recognizing Ebonics through supplemental reading books (for students).' [...]
Teresa Parra, board vice president, said she worried the new program would have an adverse effect.
"I'm afraid that now that we have this the Hispanic community, our largest population, will say, 'We want something for us.' Next we'll have the Asian community and the Jewish community (asking for their own programs). When will it end?'
Parra said the district should focus on helping all students who are at risk.
"I've always thought that we should provide students support based on their needs and not on their race,' Parra said.
Tillman disagreed with Parra, saying programs that help Latinos already exist in the district. He cited the district's English- as-a-second-language program.
Texeira urged people not be quick to judge the new program as socially exclusive. She said people need to be open to the program.
"Everybody has prejudices, but we must all learn to control that behavior,' Texeira said. She said a child's self confidence is tied to his or her cultural identity.
She compared the low performance of black students to starvation. "How can you be angry when you feed a family of starving children?'
UPDATE 2: Ebonics in action: Boo got shot. (As requested by Steve S.)
Category: Left-wing Conspiracy
Comments (6) top link me
English-as-a-second language for Hispanics has been successful only in ensuring we have another generation of gardeners and maids who speak bad Spanish and worse English. Teach in standard English and the kids will learn standard English. Teach in any other language, and you are handicapping them linguiustically far more than missing a few months of math and social studies lessons while they learn English will.
Posted by: markm at July 19, 2005 8:09 AMWhat this says to me is that these teachers are racist and think that black people are too stupid to learn how to speak proper English. Liberals have come so far in the last 50 years. They have "progressed" from pushing for equality and justice to defending and supporting policies that keep people ignorant and stupid. They should be proud of themselves.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam at July 19, 2005 8:23 AMIt is not racism it is greed. They even tip their hand in the article:
"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."
By treating English as a second language for these kids, the teachers see a substantial increase in pay. This is a function of the enticements developed to lure ESL teachers into troubled schools in the '80s and '90s. The entire "ebonics" debacle has already been outed, I am just much to lazy to find a link.
Posted by: Nick Bourbaki at July 19, 2005 9:26 AMThat 'translation service' is hilarious. A bit awkward, but still, LMAO. I almost lost my coffee when I saw that the comments had been translated also.
Thanks for the treat.
As for ebonics, if I were a dyed in the wool racist, I would wish exactly that upon black school children. Americans in general are falling behind other nations in educating our children due to the unchallenged liberal strategies in our school systems. But ebonics is positively racist because it will shackle only the black children, who already are learning identity politics in place of dignity through learning.
I respect teachers less and less each year as they refuse to stand up to their leaders.
You let these people near children?
Second thoughts I bet the people behind this haven't taught children in years and would probably run a mile if challanged to take a class.
Posted by: Chris at July 20, 2005 7:46 AMThis story is just begging for link to "Boo Got Shot"!
Posted by: Steve Scudder at July 21, 2005 6:23 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
