Hooked on Ebonics?

Originally Posted by NaklsonofNakkl

An article taken from CNN.

Spoiler:

DEKALB COUNTY, Georgia (CNN) -- While Ebonics rages as a hot topic in the spotlight of American media, so called Black English has played a quiet role in an Atlanta area school district for more than a decade.
About 600 students in the Dekalb County School District just east of Atlanta are taking a course known as "bi-dialectal communication."
Here, Ebonics is considered not a language, but a dialect. Specifically, it's called "home speech," and it's not considered appropriate for the classroom.
The course focuses on more than just the non-standard English of Ebonics. The students learn they must project, enunciate and gesture properly to communicate.
Part of the class involves critiquing a videotaped actor violating several rules of effective communication.
This is the 11th year of the federally funded bi-dialectal program. Administrators cite rising test scores in language arts and reading as evidence that it works.
Parents also seem to approve: "If I had something like this when I was growing up, I probably would have went further," said parent Jannita Hightower.
Added Gregory Maxwell: "If you want someone that's going to go places, you want to be able to talk right."
Teachers agree. Ebonics, while a legitimate form of speech at home, will likely hinder children at school and eventually their careers.
"We have a responsibility to tell them that, and I think to tell them anything beyond that may be setting them up for an unrealistic view of our society," said Kelli Harris-Wright, bi-dialectal program director.
Teachers say sometimes their students take pride in going home and correcting the grammar of their parents.

Do you believe that teaching Ebonics in school would be beneficial to the future leaders of tomorrow? When would Ebonics ever be used or come in handy and what are some of the downsides to teaching this language to students?

To me, i feel like this is just another idea that racist people are trying to use to separate themselves from blacks by allowing them to learn more about a language that would ultimately never be used somewhere like the workplace or serious conversations. Teaching Ebonics also gives the schools a bad look since schools are ultimately supposed to be a place for preparing students for the future right? Well, in the real world Ebonics is not a language that would ever be needed for anything besides casual talk between two uneducated people. Ebonics to me is a form of idiocy disguised as a language which does nothing but further continue the amount of idiots in the world and giving help to people who deserve no shut needed help (speaking of racists).

So...what do you think? If Ebonics was taught at your school (when or while you were there) would you take it or agree with the idea?

Wait huh? This article is about the school teaching formal English and correcting the students in order to prepare them for the work force. The schools acknowledge that ebonics is fine for the home, but not really in the work force. Oh well you're banned so what does it matter?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Visavi

Yes, a lot of people do speak Ebonics, but a lot of people speak internet speak and Klingon as well, so by letting Ebonics become a dialect could open up a whole new problem of people inventing their own "dialects". Granted, I guess Klingon could count as a language, even though it's just some made-up language for Star Trek, but nonetheless there is already a huge split between African American and Caucasian culture and this could create and even bigger split. Would this really contribute to unity?

You know what I don't understand? Why single out ebonics as far as dialects go? There are dozens of dialects all around the states, yet no one has any beef with them.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by PUG1911

Really? Could you educate us, or at least me since I don't know them? What are these other dialects of English which use notably different sentence structure to what is generally accepted?

I still don't understand why people would choose not to learn how to speak/write English properly when they have the option. Accents are one thing, but to butcher the language just for the hell of it.. Why?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...glish_language

Anything from the American list.

I really doubt that ebonics is out to butcher English on purpose. It was just created naturally because of the environment it's in. People like to use words that other people don't understand to make them feel a part of something.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.