Monday, July 18, 2005
Where is John McWhorter When You Need Him?
San Bernardino County Sun - News: "Incorporating Ebonics into a new school policy that targets black students, the lowest-achieving group in the San Bernardino City Unified School District, may provide students a more well-rounded curriculum, said a local sociologist.
The goal of the district's policy is to improve black students' academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups in the district, black students go to college the least and have the most dropouts and suspensions.
Blacks make up the second largest racial group in the district, trailing Latinos.
A pilot of the policy, known as the Students Accumulating New Knowledge Optimizing Future Accomplishment Initiative, has been implemented at two city schools."
Top companies in the country have exhibited year after year that they need employees who speak properly, write well, and have a well-rounded education. This program ignores that in full. Oakland, CA may view ebonics as a language, but corporate America does not. If we want kids to get educated and prepared for good jobs (and the American dream), this disallows that for these kids. It makes acceptable the simplest reason why many of these kids cannot succeed our country. It sets them apart in a way that destroys their hopes. If we really want what's best for the lowest levels socio-economically (regardless of race), then we should teach them proper English. We should encourage them to assimilate verbally, not stick out like an uneducated sore thumb.
The goal of the district's policy is to improve black students' academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups in the district, black students go to college the least and have the most dropouts and suspensions.
Blacks make up the second largest racial group in the district, trailing Latinos.
A pilot of the policy, known as the Students Accumulating New Knowledge Optimizing Future Accomplishment Initiative, has been implemented at two city schools."
Top companies in the country have exhibited year after year that they need employees who speak properly, write well, and have a well-rounded education. This program ignores that in full. Oakland, CA may view ebonics as a language, but corporate America does not. If we want kids to get educated and prepared for good jobs (and the American dream), this disallows that for these kids. It makes acceptable the simplest reason why many of these kids cannot succeed our country. It sets them apart in a way that destroys their hopes. If we really want what's best for the lowest levels socio-economically (regardless of race), then we should teach them proper English. We should encourage them to assimilate verbally, not stick out like an uneducated sore thumb.
