LaKeisha StocktonTheories of Cognitive Development

December 3, 2007

IntroductionAfrican American children in the United States

are doing worse that than other children of other races in education.

61% of 4th graders received below basic in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress

That’s compared to the 27% percent of white 4th graders who received below basic

African American children receive below basic at higher rates than Asian and Hispanic children who have English as their 2nd langauge

IntroductionWhy are these statistics

so?Professor Basil

Bernstein of the University of London’s Institute of Education stated that "if the culture of the teacher is to become part of the consciousness of the child, the culture the child must first be in the consciousness of the teacher”

IntroductionThe traditional

approach to education is not working for African American students

Ebonics…What is itA term coined by psychologist Robert L.

Williams in 1973 by George Washington University in St. Louis

A combination of the 2 words ebony and phonicsSynonyms: African American Vernacular

English and Black EnglishLinguistic educators generally agree that

Ebonics is a legitimate language variety in its own right

It is used by 90% of African American at some point

Ebonics… What is It?It is a reflection of African American history

which has traces in West Africa and times of slavery and oppression

Slavery created the need to code or disguise English from the white man, since slaves were forced to communicate in English

Slaves created a way to change meaning of their words in the conversation without alarming the whites

Ebonics…. What is it?It is Euro-American speech with an Afro-

American meaning, nuance, tone, and gesture It is a language that has retained many

grammatical and other linguistic elements from their West African mother tongue

The Oakland DebateIn 1997, the Oakland, CA unified school

district made it’s Standard English Proficiency program mandatory

Although this program had be been around for years and many teacher participated, it stirred up our country all the way to the Nation’s capitol

The Oakland DebateIt was created to educate teachers who work

with African-American children about the history of Black English

After the teachers have been exposed to the history and the linguistic foundations of black communication, the program gives teachers some techniques that may help students learn to code switch

The Oakland DebateTeachers are also given the tools to

understand what children are saying that they may not have otherwise understood

This program acknowledges the equal footing of Ebonics and Standard English both as valid communication systems.

Ebonics in the ClassroomSome outcomes of Ebonics programs

throughout the country show that when teachers are trained in Ebonics, African-American children are learning better

Teachers must have high expectations for Ebonics-speaking children

It is important for students who speak Ebonics to be willing to learn an additional way of communicating with a wider community.

It is also important for them to be motivated to learn Standard English

Ebonics and LiteracyEbonics can be used as a bridge to teaching

Standard English although this should not be its only merit

teaching a second language, Standard English, and not fixing the home language, Ebonics, that children bring to school

Ebonics and LiteracyHaving an

environment that is rich in literature helps students learn Standard English and be proud of their own language.

Incorporate works of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes who have works in both Standard English and Ebonics

Ebonics in the ECE ClassroomStudents perform better when test are

administered in there home languageOne study found that students performed better

when they were exposed to some of the techniques common for the African American community

This study also found that effectiveness of the use of these techniques depend on the experiences with and knowledge of African American culture

The use of word flash card drills, phrase drills, and sentence drills are also effective

Ebonics and Language and Literacy Developmentthe auditory

language memory of a child is set by age three or four

To distinguish effectively between Ebonics and Standard English students must hear and develop an ear for both languages

Ebonics and Language and Literacy Developmenta child’s usage of

Ebonics did not directly correlate with their preparedness for literacy development

overall linguistic skill is a better predictor of students’ reading than whether or not the linguistic skills children uses are Ebonics or Standard English

ConclusionIt is important for teachers of African

American students to have extensive experiences with the African-American culture and traditions outside the world of school if they are to be successful in connecting with their students

Teachers should embrace African-American techniques to reach African-american students

ConclusionCurrent Research on the Oakland Standard

English Proficiency is needed to this show program’s success

Some of the research presented in this essay has shown that language and learning have improved when Ebonics and African-American culture have been included in curriculum.

Some Leading Articles Anderson, P.J. (1999). The real Ebonics debate:

Power, language, and the education of African American children. Multicultural Education. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from www.findarticles.com.

Bohn, A. P. (2003). Familiar voices: Using Ebonics communication techniques in the primary classroom. Urban Education, 38(6), 688-707.

Conner, C.M. & Craig H.K. (2006). African American preschoolers’ language, emergent literacy skills, and use of African American English: A complex relation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 771-792.

Some Leading Articles Embracing Ebonics and teaching standard

English: An interview with Oakland Teacher Carrie Secret. (n.d.). Rethinking Schools Online. Retrieved November 19,2007 from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/pbulication/ebonics/ebsecret.shtml

Getridge, C.M. (1997). Our story of ebonics: A tale of language, lieracy, and learning. School Administrator. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from www.findarticles.com.

Perez, S.A. (2000). Using Ebonics or Black English as a bridge to teaching Standard English. Contemporary Education, 71(4), 34-37.

Questions