languages

From: Mike Ford <mikeford_at_socal.rr.com>
Date: Thu Mar 9 15:33:41 2000

>> Well, throw-in-the-towel is known (at least the acording
>> phrase is in wide use in Germany - just most don't know
>> the orgin), but what is Ebonyx ?
>
>Ebonyx was the attempt by some boards of education in California to establish
>the slang associated with Black culture as a language so they could get
>funding
>to teach english as a second language. It was always a brazen attempt to get
>funding, nothing more.

A good part was politics as well. It was NOT throwing in the towel, just
the opposite they are seeking recognition of ebonics as a language so that
teachers would not be allowed to "correct" students who used it in class.
The idea was that it is better to allow a student through school speaking
nothing but local slang than to damage their self esteem and racial pride
by forcing them to learn english and use it.

A telling point was the general refusal of the proponents to offer examples
of ebonics as it would be used in a class setting. My guess is that it was
an effort to eliminate all teachers without native ebonic speaking
abilities.

California has made the correct choice in dropping the whole english as a
second language program in favor of english immersion. The sooner you learn
english and become proficient, the better students do in general. This
isn't to say that ebonics or any other cultural language doesn't have
merit, but points out the peril of "too much" local control in a polical
setting. This is like offering "creation" as an alternative to "Darwin",
the problem being once you declare "God created the heavens and earth" you
have branched off from the next 10 years of scientific education to a path
that leads to what?
Received on Thu Mar 09 2000 - 15:33:41 GMT