Ah, the comment box. Between the three blogs I contribute to, I always get a heap of input — sometimes heated backlash — about the stuff I post. I dish it, so of course I can take it. One post sticks out in my mind. A reader couldn’t focus on the point I was trying to make in my writing for being distracted by the way I was writing it. My language choice was stereotypical and offensive to my people, she balked.
I blog exactly how I talk in real-life conversation, much to the chagrin of that commenter and others who’ve corrected my grammar, apparently. It’s not that I don’t know the straight-laced, more formal way of expressing my thoughts — I have a degree in English (gasp!) and I’m a writer and editor by trade. But Ebonics is the way my family and plenty other black folks talk. It’s familiar and comfortable. That’s why I think it’s appropriate not only for blogging, but teaching black students.
I can almost hear the murmurs of disapproval now.
Isn’t it interesting how mainstream America likes to boast about our country being a melting pot, but everybody is forced to speak standard American English in order to be considered smart, professional, intelligent, and articulate? A quick Google search of “Ebonics and teaching” drudges up all kinds of telltale, negative reactions that accuse black linguistics of being a “dumbing down” of pure English (as if any American speaks that). Now that, dear readers, is the stereotypical, offensive part.
Ain’t nothin’ dumb or lowly about black English.
Every community has its own dialect, even dialects within dialects because certainly, Puerto Ricans speak a different brand of Spanish than Panamanians, though they’re both Latino, just like black folks from the South don’t talk exactly like the ones from New York City or Los Angeles. So why should our signature way of speaking be any more low-brow and any less viable than other groups or mainstream English, at that? Especially if using it in the context of the classroom helps students who statistically do better when information is presented in a language they’re comfortable with.
There’s no one-size-fits-all way of teaching and if some kids grasp information delivered via Ebonics more easily than they do all dressed up in prim and proper standard American English, then so be it. At this point, whatever works to close the achievement gap between black and other students is something worth giving a shot.
The only caveat: imparting lessons in Ebonics can be effective but kids still need to learn how to code switch. That is, for those who aren’t familiar or never had to do it, knowing when each way of speaking is appropriate and how to be able to volley from black English to standard American English in certain situations — job interviews, court dates, or public presentations, for example. I don’t hear enough teenagers who are able to do code switching but then again, I’m not sure if they’ve grasped the importance of mastering standard English anyway.
We live in a society that frowns on “ain’t” over “isn’t” and makes suppositions about how smart somebody is based on how eloquently they can navigate a grammatically correct sentence. That means kids learning under the familiarity of black English still need to master spelling and grammar and parallel structure a la mainstream English in order to succeed academically, sometimes socially, and more importantly, professionally.
Should kids with other language backgrounds be taught in their native dialect?
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Comments 95
NO
People are generally taught in a "dialect" they are familiar with, as they are generally taught in a local area, where their teachers tend to teach in dialects they are familiar with. Should you have the misfortune of living in an area where your home "dialect" is different then what is heard outside the home, well, your child will adapt. That said, textbooks probably will never come in "dialects" and neither will standardized tests.
Parents are responsible, in my opinion, for teaching their children when it is acceptable to speak "sloppy" and when they need to clean things up. I personally work in a very country environment, and my five year old is growing up in one. At five, he understands that Ya'll is acceptable while gather cattle, and please can be substituted with a nod, and thank you may be shortened up to a mumbled thanks during lunch under a tree. But in a fine restaurant (or the closest we have in our po-dunk town) requires more proper behavior, and as he grows he will continue that, and expand it to other social situations, such as job interviews, public speaking, etc.
Your classroom is not a place to expect a teacher to teach etiquette, unless your child attends a boarding school, and truly, the argument regarding Ebonics becomes moot when you view it this way..
This isn't a "native language." Plain english is a natvie language. Now if you want to teach spanish speaking children in spanish or french speaking students in french fine. But ebonics is simply a lazy way to talk and shouldn't be taken as anything else. Teach the proper way, don't teach to be lazy.
No.
Why would we be doing more to seperate races? This is just rediculous.
No, Janelle. Ebonics isn't more lowly than other dialects; it is, however, equally as low. Please remember that the only reason "Ebonics" exists at all is that owing to our history of slavery, Africans generally learned to speak English from the lowest and least educated class of White Americans. I see no need to elevate this dialect to the point of teaching it.
You state that you believe it is important for children to be able to code switch. Where, pray, do you think they will learn to be verbally fluent in standard English if not in school? I am sure that the same children that you claim seem to grasp concepts more easily if taught using Ebonics are the same children whose parents speak Ebonics almost exclusively- not because its "familiar and comfortable", rather due to their own inability to code switch.
And yes, I am African American. And yes, I can code switch. I am also a medical professional and I guarantee you that if I had gone into my entrance interview at university speaking Ebonics, I would not have been able to convince the admissions panel to choose me over the other 400 high-achieving applicants vying for the same spot in the entering class.
Please- do not advocate that the children of our community embrace something that will only hinder them later in life. They have more than enough obstacles to success already.
And Janelle, please remember that "Ebonics" is a very fluid and dynamic dialect, by which I mean it is constantly changing. As language is a system of agreed upon symbols, the fluidity of Ebonics cannot lend itself for more than casual conversation. To attempt to utilize Ebonics for anything more substantial would lead to nothing but confusion.
I would ask you to tell me you are joking but I know the kinds of articles you write so I know you're not. Ebonics should NOT be taught. That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
Mrs.Duncan85 - "If a white person said what you said, they would be labeled a racist and banned from posting."
Oh but don't you know? Only white people can be racist. If the same bs comes out of a black person's mouth it's not racist, it's "being proud of their heritage" or something. Janelle herself is so racist it's unbelievable she is allowed to post on here.