Thursday, January 16, 1997
Retain standard English
While enjoying my last few days of Christmas vacation I had the
privilege of sitting in a couple of my daughter’s classes at UCLA.
During our break my daughter, Nicole, her friend Weldon and I
discussed Jioni Palmer’s column on Ebonics (Daily Bruin, Dec. 8)
and the follow-up AP article the next day. Mr. Palmer’s heart is in
the right place, but he misses the point on why there is the
"brouhaha" over Ebonics in Oakland’s School District and the
concern over this educational mistake spreading into the Los
Angeles Unified School District.
Yes, there is a problem with low reading scores in our urban
ghettos and barrios. Any educator who teaches in these schools (or
in the Valley for that matter) quickly learns the colloquialisms of
his or her students and can ,and should, relate to their students.
However, to take one example of coded speech and elevate it to this
level of debate is an insult and patronizing to all the
African-Americans like Mr. Palmer who have mastered the English
language and use it every day in the university, government, small
business and corporate America. The same Willie Brown that Mr.
Palmer lauds for slipping into his "native tongue" is also very
sophisticated in the use of standard English. All children should
have the opportunity to survive economically with much self-esteem
in this heterogeneous culture, where the English language is both a
unifying factor and a prerequisite for success.
Any new money and energy should be directed toward the most
important period for predicting literacy  early childhood
development. Mr. Palmer is very eloquent because of the prodding of
his mother and grandmother. Reducing class size in the primary
grades is the best thing that happened in LAUSD in years. More
effort in preschool programs (like Head Start) and parenting
programs  allowing youngsters in the ghettos and barrios to
have some reading readiness before they start kindergarten Â
is far more important than trying to legitimize coded speech to the
level of standard English.
From a personal perspective, my daughter is of mixed racial
heritage. How she communicates to her peers informally is her
business. However, when she writes or leaves messages asking for
more money, I want her to be clear and precise. And when I tell her
"no" in standard English, I want her to be able to grasp my
reasoning.
Kudos to Professor Rosecrance in political science and Professor
Reiff in history. I thoroughly enjoyed both lectures.
Neal Kleiner
Class of ’67
Assistant Principal
Dana Middle School (LAUSD)
Keep abortion safe
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is another example of why even
late-term abortion should be kept safe and legal. A recent episode
of A&E’s "Biography" series attributed much of Hussein’s
bullying behavior to his unfortunate upbringing as an unwanted
child.
According to the documentary, Hussein’s father died when his
mother was seven months pregnant with him, and, at about the same
time, his brother died as well. Under these circumstances,
Hussein’s mother did not want to go forward with the pregnancy. She
actually banged her belly against walls and doors trying to induce
a miscarriage  to no avail. Thereafter, young Hussein was
shuttled between his mother’s home and his uncle’s home. A wicked
stepfather abused him and trained him to be a petty thief.
Think of how many lives could have been saved and how much
misfortune could have been prevented if safe and legal abortion had
been available to Hussein’s mother.
Jim Senyszyn
Charlotte, N.C.