March '97
Feature
Central Community Debates Issue of Ebonics
By Shanna Melton
Support of the study of ebonics by the Board of Education of Oakland, California has led to a national debate. At Central, discussion and debate of the issue was facilitated by Mrs. Patricia Anekwe, a teacher of African-American studies.
In the minds of some Central students, ebonics, a term derived from the words ebony and phonics, demeans the purpose of school. "I always thought that the whole idea of attending school was to learn how to better yourself in speech and behavior," said Carol Collins. "Ebonics is a very creative idea, but it is a waste of time. School is not a place to help further the development of street lingo," added Khandi Wilson.
Others applaud the efforts of the Oakland Board. "Since more than half the black students in Oakland drop out before they finish high school, officials have to do something. If you can't hook them on phonics, it's certainly worth trying to hook them on ebonics. The intent is not to teach kids how to speak black English but for teachers to accept ebonics as a native language and teach students to translate into standard English rather than demean them for speaking wrongly," countered Erika Chiluisa.
Mrs. Anekwe agreed. "I have concluded that the Oakland School District really needs to be pitied, not made a mockery of. The problem is low tests scores at a time when tax payers are demanding more and more from teachers and school districts. I sense that the Oakland School District was at wits end in searching for a creative solution to motivate and educate children from environments where standard English is not the norm. The Oakland District did not intend to elevate ebonics to English 101, but intended to use ebonics to help students understand standard English. Their intent was good, but the strategy got them the negative publicity," said Mrs. Anekwe.
Conversely some people think ebonics is a put down of African-American students, making them feel like they are unable to learn as well as children of other cultures. "It's almost as if we were foreign exchange students and have no knowledge of the English language. Training schoolteachers to learn the black vernacular won't make them better teachers. ebonics is useless and it stereotypes blacks," argued Lisa Blaine.
One of the biggest questions among teenagers is how is ebonics going to help students prosper in the future. Are employers going to accept ebonics as a suitable language for the business world?
"Ebonics may help black students through high school, but it will only make them embarrass themselves on the job market," said Collins.
As the debate subsides, the problems underlying the issue remain. "I hope the media will pay the same level of attention to the needs of school children in this country and possibly help bring about creative solutions to the problem facing many school districts," said Mrs. Anekwe.
