In all of my "classes" for education where they addressed the cultural needs of minority students, the problem was not lack of empathy, lack of concern for student success, etc. The problem is that it all ends in excuses. The real problems are never addressed and the end result is that it seems that the whole world wants teachers to undo these things that are so deeply embedded in these youth that we'd have better luck picking the next winning lottery numbers. Yeah yeah, every youth is an open receptacle for knowledge, blah blah blah. Shut up and sit down, Peter Pan. I have difficulty accepting that anything that is done in public schools will change the increasingly dominating perception that intellectualism is a negative trait. It makes you an assimilationist, sellout, whitey, pussy, or whatever other Ebonics term appropriate.
What is our objective? How many countries are we? What society are we preparing students for? I know it's a weird situation with the Hispanic groups in the US. They seem to survive pretty effectively as a separate society within a society. Is that what it's like with our Black population as well. Is a similar situation desired? Should there be some type of separation of services? Isn't this what everyone was fighting against in the 50's and 60's? I am really perplexed on this one.
Mostly, I have difficulty understanding how one shows mastery of a language based in wrongness to begin with. Is the textbook like Spanish texts where instructions and translations are in English?
Johnny: Whitey, I'm ax'in you a quexshun.
Teacher: Sorry, Johnny. The correct answer is "Yo honky, I be's ax'in you a quexshun, yo!" You need to work on your usage of the word "yo."
Well, to be fair and balanced, this site is now available in Ebonics.
Update: It seems like Thomas Sowell reads my crappy posts and then makes them about eleventy-billion times better the very next day.
4 comments:
From the Ebonics text book:
to be (inf)
I is
You is (or is it you be?)
He/she/it be
We is
Ya'lls
They be
Well, at least it's about as internally consistent as standard English.
You know, pretty much everywhere else in the world, students bust their ass to learn English as a second language. As is often the case, people here don't realize what a tremendous advantage we have just to have it as our first.
Your last two sentences verily prove that you never took a single education class. Statements like that make everyone look at you as if the next thing that you are planning to do is show them your GOP and KKK membership cards. I know from experience.
ahem..
www.gizoogle.com
Sorry, Anonymous. That link got it's arse kicked by the school district's firewall. It must be something educationally relevant.
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