EBONICS
Roger Yu
English 105
Professor Gill-Mayberry
17 November 2015
(Provocative Title) A Push in the Best Possible Direction
(Hook) Ebonics, is a form of English created by people according to Jennings, author, who states, “Frederick Douglas was a freed slave who after freeing himself, taught himself how to read and write fluently in five different languages”(1). (Bridge) Jennings’s message is that no matter who created Ebonics, the speaker of the language has the potential to overcome any adversary as long as the individual put in work. (Divided Stasis Thesis Sentence)(Opponent’s claim informed by 3 sources) Although opponents of the use of Ebonics claim that teaching Ebonics can bridge a relationship between the staffs and the students, (Rhetor’s main claim informed by 9 scholarly sources) teaching Ebonics will not ensure success in the school system because (Reason/Support 1) it could be harmful to the students , (Reason/Support 2) it allows for a "dumb and dumber approach" to the school system (Rearon/Support 3) and it will not benefit the teachers to learn Ebonics .
(Narration) Leon W Todd Jr. has stated in Ebonics is Defective Speech and a Handicap for Black Children that “Public school speech embracing ebonies can lead to verbal segregation of students, and with ebonies speaking students ill prepared to complete in career market for jobs in the future.” Such incorporation of another dialect to the Standard English teaching will only limit the teacher’s ability to efficiently communicate with the students as they will be forced to learn Standard English in the future. Although many claimed Ebonics as class materials will encourage the conversation between struggling students and teachers, they failed to see the general idea that Ebonics will not be used in the social community. Spending time and financial funds to Ebonics will not only hinder the students and the teachers, but it will also hinder the school system financially. These financial gains will be better used to improve overall standard in the school system as Ebonics is not the solution for struggling students. Ebonics is a dialect embedded by their historical roots and will not be easily changed by accommodating Ebonics into class materials.
(Confirmation) Ebonics is not a necessary class material to be included into the schooling system. As Kelley stated in Ebonics 101, “The purpose of the Oakland plan... is not to teach ‘black English’ but to train teachers to recognize that the distinctive patterns of spoken English actually have deep historical roots.” Ebonics is a soul to a community, but not the soul to the general population. It is essential to recognize the needs and wants within the social community. Ebonics is historical; it should be preserved, but not eliminated; passed on, but not taught.
Roger Yu
Ebonics Prewriting
Professor Gill-Mayberry
ENG 105 8am-9:50am
“The best writing is re-writing”
Ebonics Debate Paper
1. Prewriting: Steps in the Writing Process
Step 1: Who is my audience?
My audience is those who believe Ebonics should not used in school as class materials. Those who agree with my stance should also be included as part of the audience as it will agree with those audience. This paper only serves to reach out and enforce previously held beliefs, not arguing or persuading the audience.
Step 2: What is my purpose?
My purpose is to convince those who think Ebonics should be included in school to be used as class materials.
Step 3: What is my premise?
My premise is Ebonics should not be taught on school campus for a few reasons. First, Ebonics is a dialect, not a disability. Secondly, Treating Ebonics as an inferior language is immoral. Thirdly, financial funds should not be spent into including Ebonics as class materials..
Step 4: What is my chosen quotation?
My chosen quotation is “You know, Frederick Douglas was a freed slave who after freeing himself, taught himself how to read and write fluently in five different languages. We ought to hold up the example of Frederick Douglas instead of this version of dumb and dumber.”
Roger Yu
12 Scholarly Sources for Ebonics Debate
Professor Gill-Mayberry
ENG 105 8am-9:50am
“The best writing is rewriting”
12 Scholarly Sources for Ebonics Debate
1. Anonymous, "The Ebonics Virus." The Economist, 342.7998 (1997): 26.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/224091258?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is Ebonics is hurting the students and should not be taught in classroom settings the author provides an example from Oakland, California, and providing statistics of Ebonics-speaking students “grade-point average is 1.8, on a scale of 4, compared with the district average of 24.” The author emphasized on the need of bilingual funds and providing books specifically for the students who speak Ebonics. Ebonics are difficult to change because it is, according to the author, a “speech patterns, learned from birth, that are just as hard to break.” I disagree since funding in special books degrades the Ebonics community.
2. Kelley, RDG. "Ebonics 101." NATION, 264.7 (1997): 2.
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is to inform us, on the political level, what happened during the Oakland incidence when a lawsuit regarding “black English” emerged. Kelley stated in his article “The purpose of the Oakland plan, like the Ann Arbor plan of 1979, is not to teach ‘black English’ but to train teachers to recognize that the distinctive patterns of spoken English actually have deep historical roots.” Kelley provided three main points to why Ebonics, or Black English, is not a phenomenon that happens to only the African Americans. People who learned English as their second language encounters the same struggle. Therefore, Ebonics should be a matter of family and origin concerns, not the school’s concern.
3. Barton, Paul Alfred. "Ebonics: A Unique Colorful Language and Different Form Standard English." Everybody's, 21.1 (1997): 18.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/200672121?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is it is important for teachers to learn Ebonics in order for the staffs to fluently communicate with Ebonics-speaking students. Barton stated in the article, “Ebonics is a separate language from Standard English, therefore in order to teach Standard English, and those being taught must understand the differences between the two. Those doing the teaching should be able to know Ebonics so that they can show their students the differences between the two,” showing that in order to communicate in it, we must first differentiate between it. There is no need to communicate in Ebonics because it is used for the Ebonics-speaking community, not in formal school settings.
4. Gura, M. "Fixated on Ebonics: Let's Concentrate on the Kids." Educational Leadership, 54.7 (1997): 87.
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is in order to teach those who speak Ebonics, and the staffs must be able to learn how to teach these students. Gura stated in the article, “Ebonics-by whatever name-is the language many children speak; it can be yet another stumbling block to their success in school.” Gura does not believe in the efficiency and the usefulness of Ebonics in a social community where Ebonics are rarely used. Gura believes the only way to educate these students is by teaching them early and completely rid them of the dialect they are so used to over the decades or centuries. He needs to be aware of the fact that Ebonics is not a dialect created out of ignorance, but usefulness. One should not destroy a culture simply because one is not used to the culture.
5. Jennings, Stan-Joseph. "Ebonics? or Ignorance? Speakout." African American Magazine, 2.1 (1999): 7.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/210988748?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is to eliminate and avoid Ebonics as well as Black English. Jennings argued the idea that Ebonics and Black English is not the same thing and should be restricted to use in a scholarly environment. Stan-Joseph also stated in his article, "You know, Frederick Douglas was a freed slave who after freeing himself, taught himself how to read and write fluently in five different languages. We ought to hold up the example of Frederick Douglas instead of this version of dumb and dumber," indicating any African Americans have the ability to speak without using Ebonics or Black English. What Jennings failed to realize is Ebonics is a great culture created by great people and should be not eliminated by any cost.
6. Hubbard, Larry. "Ebonics' Double Standard." Black Child, (1997): 16.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/235093853?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is for the Schools to rethink their idea on Ebonics because it is not solved as easily as they have made it seemed. Larry also stated in his article, “The Oakland School Board should rethink its position on Ebonics. The average grade point average (G.P.A.) of Oakland's black students is 1.8 -- that's a D+. Absolutely, something must be done. However, the time and money used up to promote Ebonics would be better utilized to raise black students' expectations and educate them positively.” Larry has the right idea of instead of putting money into preventing students from speaking Ebonics, we should divert those financial income into better health and education for African American speaking students overall.
7. Cose, Ellis. "Why Ebonics is Irrelevant." Newsweek, 129.2 (1997): 80.
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is schools using Ebonics as their class material is wrong and should not be practiced. As Ellis stated in the article, “The problem is not that the board embraced Ebonics, but that it put Ebonics at the core of its educational strategy. If schoolteachers want to learn black vernacular, or turn themselves into amateur linguists, that is perfectly fine, perhaps even desirable, but it won't necessarily transform them into better teachers.” The problem is not in the students themselves, but rather it is with the class and course material the school is teaching. Students should not be forced to avoid Ebonics during their leisure time.
8. Royston, Reginold. "Learning with or Without Ebonics."About ... Time, XXV.3 (1997): 14.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/198088130?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is the study and use of Ebonics during class and on campus. Royston stated in his article “Schools across the nation are looking to stifle plans to use Ebonics as a tool to teach Standard English. The Los Angeles school district has decreed that Ebonics methods will be barred from the classroom, and a resolution has been introduced into the House of Representatives to keep money from schools that try it out.” Schools should take notes of what Royston has to say because schools are not responsible for teaching and avoiding Ebonics in class in order for students to achieve high standards in the future.
9. Graves, Earl G. "The Ebonic Plague." Black Enterprise, 27.8 (1997): 11.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/217885840?pq-origsite=summon
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is African Americans should not rely on Ebonics to give them an advantage in the real world As Graves states in his article, “Our children must be prepared to compete in a world that does not trade in Black English. They must not be placed at further disadvantage in the competition for higher education and jobs by being required to learn Ebonics, while children of other ethnic backgrounds are mastering Standard English.” Ebonics should not be a way for the others to understand Black English as they are informal and considered a form of Black English. Providing African Americans with Ebonics as a solution to what they have endured in the past is a disgrace to mankind and should not be allowed. Graves has a point here where student should be able to talk in Ebonics but it is not a class teaching material for the staffs to communicate to the students with.
10. Todd, Leon W., Jr. "Ebonics is Defective Speech and a Handicap for Black Children." Education, 118.2 (1997): 177.
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is allowing Ebonics to spread is not beneficial to the society as well as the Ebonics-speaking students. Todd Stated in his article Todd Jr. stated, "Public school speech embracing ebonies can lead to verbal segregation of students, and with ebonies speaking students ill prepared to complete in career market for jobs in the future.” Todd agrees to the fact Ebonics are hurting the African American more in the long-run as the society does not recognize Ebonics as a real language in the common workplace, giving the Ebonics-speaking individuals a huge disadvantage when it comes to jobs and the career markets. These are the reasons why Ebonics should not be taught in school as they will inevitably hinder the success of the student's future in their workplace and job markets.
11. Billings, Andrew C. “Beyond the Ebonics Debate: Attitudes about Black and Standard American English”. Journal of Black Studies 36.1 (2005): 68–81. Web.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027322?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is Black English should not be relied on as the future of the African American Community because Ebonics cannot stand on its own against the harsh community critics. Billings’ article stated “the acceptance or rejection of Black English (BE) dialect has been a societal dilemma for many decades; numerous studies have convincingly shown that BE speakers are rated as ‘less credible’ than speakers of standard American English (SAE.)” Because of its origin, Black English has been viewed as a non-credible source. The suppressed African American community has given off the atmosphere of distrust except within its own community. Therefore, this dialect should not be taught in a school environment and should be restricted from being used as a class and course material.
12. Ndemanu, Michael. "Ebonics, to Be or Not to Be? a Legacy of Transatlantic Slave Trade." Journal of Black Studies, 46.1 (2015): 23-43.
http://jbs.sagepub.com/content/46/1/23
After reading this article, I have learned the thesis of this article is the study of Ebonics already exists, therefore it should not be taught as a class in a school environment. Michael stated in his article “There is an inherent higher status that is ascribed to English that implicitly and explicitly creates a stigma on the other nonstandard varieties of English. The study employs Niger-Congo languages to define Ebonics as another variety of English that has been influenced by West African languages.” Not just Ebonics, all forms of dialect spoken in all types of different cultures are count as the variety and inferior to our Standard English. These other forms of dialects are not included in the everyday class, and therefore Ebonics should not be included in a school environment.