Thursday, January 16, 1997
EDUCATION:
Program insults African-American students, some critics sayBy
Tiffany Lauter
Daily Bruin Contributor
Low test scores and grade point averages among African-American
students have prompted leaders from the nation’s urban schools to
analyze programs which are assisting students in achieving academic
progress.
One controversial program known as ebonics focuses on training
teachers and developing classroom materials to assist students in
making the transition from African-American English to standard
English in a "non-demeaning" fashion.
While the program has been around for more than 20 years in one
form or another, the Oakland school board decision garnered the
attention of the world  including the Los Angeles Unified
School District.
In the wake of the Oakland decision, Los Angeles school board
member Barbara Boudreaux brought a motion to the board suggesting
an increase in funding of the district’s ebonics program.
The motion was forwarded to a committee Monday after a series of
clashes in the board room and hallways outside.
Despite the frenzy over the controversial issue, and concerns by
some of her colleagues, Boudreaux remained optimistic that her
motion would eventually be successful.
"It will be hashed over a little, … but I’m optimistic it will
pass," Boudreaux said.
"Los Angeles Unified School District will not be teaching
ebonics in the classroom. Our teachers will not be required to
teach it, the goal is to move education to the higher level,"
Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux’s draft resolution acknowledges ebonics  the
combination of ebony and phonics first coined in 1973 to describe
African-American speech patterns  as a distinct language.
At least three of the seven board members have said they would
not support Boudreaux’s motion.
Others said they expected the motion to be amended to ensure
that all students struggling to master English would receive the
same special instruction.
Whether ebonics should be taught to African-American students at
all is a question that has many linguistics experts and
administrators guessing.
Opinions of the program vary widely. Many African-American
community leaders consider the program demeaning, while other
educators laud ebonics for its apparent ability to raise test
scores.
Dr. Marcyliena Morgan, a linguistics professor at UCLA, agrees
that there is a negative reaction to African-American English being
considered a second language. She does not have a high regard for
neither the term ebonics, nor Oakland officials’ assertion that
it’s a matter of genetics.
"I, as a linguist, know that it is not a genetic language," she
said. "In contrast, it is a dialect. For most African Americans, in
a social situation it is easy to speak the vernacular form of
African-American English.
"At work, you can never imagine it to be spoken. Most African
Americans code switch, they adjust their speech to the situation,"
Morgan said.
Anthony Jackson, a second grade teacher at 99th Street School,
shares a similar perspective, noting that all languages and
dialects are equally valid.
While in certain social circumstances one language may be more
desirable, Jackson notes that one language is never better or
superior than another.
"It is important to not elevate one language over the other.
However, recognize they are different," Jackson said.
According to Jackson, teachers at 99th Street School have been
acknowledging ebonics as the language of many African-American
students for the past five years.
During that time, the school’s language development program has
made great strides in raising scores and has been nationally
recognized for its efforts.
"We have accepted and recognized African-American English as a
distinct language, but we just didn’t pass a resolution regarding
it," Jackson said.
Regardless of its apparent successes, critics claim that schools
are establishing language programs in order to acquire more money
for their budgets.
Harsh criticism for Boudreaux’s plan came earlier Monday when a
group of African-American activists called for Boudreaux to
resign.
They charged that her motion sold African-American students
short in order to capture state and federal funds for bilingual
education.
"There’s no such thing as black English, this is the most
insulting, disgraceful thing they could do to our black children,”
said Ezola Foster, a teacher at Bell High School and founder of a
non-profit group Americans for Family Values, at a press conference
outside the district. "Black children are being used as pawns for
money  that’s shameful."
Latino groups have also opposed Boudreaux’s proposal, saying it
could drain money set aside to teach Latino students English in
bilingual classes.
Boudreaux denies that funds will be siphoned from any other
bilingual programs, but said she intends to push to receive state
and federal funds.
Educators who have seen the program’s results, however, say that
it is far from a ploy to capture additional funds from the
government.
"We are about student achievement. This program is not a willy
nilly device to receive additional funds. It contains instructional
methodology to attain a second language," Jackson said.
He contends that acknowledging African-American English is
simply to recognize that these students are "language different"
from "mainstream" American English.
Jackson believes that the original backlash against the decision
came from those who did not fully understand the Oakland
decision.
He recalled Jesse Jackson speaking out against the program prior
to a meeting with the Oakland school board, only to change his
opinion after being presented with the educational goals of the
program.
But language may not be the only culprit leading to lower test
scores among African-American students. Morgan believes there are
more pressing issues responsible for the failure rate among African
Americans than language.
"We know (the problems) have something to do with the school.
But, also that parents need to read to their kids more and more
involved in their studies," she said.
"This is a very complex issue without an absolute solution,"
Morgan added.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Professor Marcyliena Morgan