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Leaders of Tomorrow! FEBRUARY 1997 MBC Wolverine OBSERVER 5
separate language.
I think the whole Ebonics debate
has gotten out of hand and the issue
is still not being dealt with. In my
opinion the issue that needs to be
addressed is - can this Ebonics be
used as a meaningful teaching tool
or is this a mere attempt to remedy
a dismal situation, proposed out of
anguish. Whatever your stand on
the issue, in the long run it is our
children, the future of this
nation in general, and our people in
particular that will benefit of suffer
as a result.
I am concerned about using
Ebonics as a teaching tool, only
because of 2 issues. One, who will be
the persons training teachers (of all
cultures, bearing in mind that not
only Black teachers will be teaching
Black children in some school
districts, and that not all Black
people speak Ebonics) Ebonics; and
two, where do we draw the line in
terms of the various “onics” that
exists across the country. When I
was exposed, in high school to
foreign language study, we were
taught French, Spanish, Latin and
German in the traditional manner.
No use of any kinds .of “onics” were
used and we had to learn these
various languages. There are many
Americans who are not native
speakers of English, but they have
struggled, studied hard and
mastered not only the language but
the culture as well.
Cynthia Tucker and John Head
(Atlanta Journal Constitution)
perhaps both share my concern and
opinion on the matter. The Oakland
School Board has the right
intention, but perhaps went about it
the wrong way. Legitimizing Ebonics
is a mere substitute for academic
excellence. I am still terrible at
Latin and German, but I was at one
point tri-lingual, speaking fluent
English, French and Spanish. I don’t
think it was because I was an
exceptional student, but because I
wanted to be a diplomat and knew
this was one of the requirements of
being a successful diplomat. Our
greatly to the culture, but ethnic
dialects and languages are not
legitimized to teach that particular
country’s official (European)
language.
Dekalb County, I think,has the
right approach with its Bidialectal
Communications Program. Here the
emphasis is on appropriateness of
expression, in terms of “home
speech” versus “school speech”. The
county has been doing this for 10
years, without the debate and
fanfare as is the case with the
Oakland Unified School District’s
proposal. This is the same scenario
used in Jamaica and other countries
where various dialects and
languages abound in a country that
has another “official” language.
Emphasis is placed on appropriate
ways of self expression without
getting into debate about “Ebonics”
or any other kinds of “onics”. Dekalb
comity is very culturally diverse like
Oakland and this Bidialectic
approach does the same thing as
was intended for Ebonics.
Ebonics is not new, and neither is
the dilemma of teaching foreign
languages or English to our
children. What we need is excellence
in education, and parents to take
responsibility for the education of
their children. Neither of my
parents spoke French, but next to
English it was my next most fluent
language, and my parents assisted
me the best way they could. This
society puts too much emphasis on
materialism rather than on
education, and we tend to blame too
much on racism especially us
Blacks, and we are going to continue
paying the price. Our children need
to learn to speak English, and in a
global society - eventually other
languages. Using creative methods
like bidialectics, computer
technology is great, but the bottom
line is we must realize there is a
time and place for Ebonics and a
time and place for standard English,
we just have to work hard with our
teachers and students to ensure our
Black children learn English.
Carvel Bennett, Director Student Activities & Student Publications
Black children must understand
that English is the language of this
culture and though I do not
subjugate Ebonics to a lesser role I
do not see it as an effective teaching
“Ebonics” to the American culture -
in jazz, blues, negro spirituals, hip
hop, etc., and I agree. Jamaican
dialect has contributed greatly to
the culture of the island, but Patios
What we need is excellence in education, and
parents to take responsibility for the education
of their children.
tool for English. How then would
you use it to teach other foreign
languages?
Ron Emmons, an assistant
English professor at Los Angeles
City College, mentions in his article
the rich legacy of Black English
(the native dialect) is not used as a
method of teaching English - the
official language. In many African
nations, where a European language
is the official language (thanks to
colonialism), there many and
various ethnic groups contribute
You can get your
“eat on" at the
Snack Bar in
Hickman Student
Center.
specials are:
Hot dog, Fries,
and small drink
$999
Chicken Wings, $a.99
Fries, and small drink ■#
Gulf War Ill
Cover-up
or Rumor?
by Miquiel Banks
T he Soldiers are complaining
that there is something
that they’re sick. The
government says this is not so.}
What are we, the civilians, left to
believe? We must rely on history to 3
find the answers. First, this is the
same government that conducted
the Tuskegee Experiment. Also, this
is the same one that allowed Pearl
Harbor to be bombed so that it could
have an excuse to bomb Hiroshima.
I will present the data as I have
found it and allow you, the reader,
to be the judge of this question; Is
there really a Persian Gulf Illness?
The government is excluding all
sick people that did not go to the
Persian Gulf by calling it the
Persian Gulf illness. However, the
chemicals used were impregnated in
the equipment of the
veterans, such as the tents
and even duffel bags. As a result,
it was being spread to everyone that
came into contact with the chemicals
causing the Persian Gulf illness.
This is one of the biggest lies this
country has ever told us.
They have not even told the
public that between 10,000 and
12,000 veterans have already died.
The chemicals used in the Persian
Gulf were made in Houston, Texas
and Boca Raton, Florida. They were
also passed through the CDC and
through companies such as
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