Like Ebonics? As i-if?

[Kathleen Fitzpatrick]

At 22:28 -0500 30/12/96, Tom Stanton wrote:

>But the leap from rap as poetry to ebonics as a legit
>language is a stretch for me. I agree we have to reach out & I agree
>that English probably is a second language for street kids, but up
>where I come from (Detroit) many black civic leaders are up in arms
>& decrying Ebonics as a step back into a highly "white" version of
>English, with its roots closer to poor Southern whites than to the
>street.

Don't know whether this is really all that interesting, but I was struck
by it over my early a.m. coffee.  The Washington Post this morning has
an article in which Jesse Jackson is clarifying his position (at first
strongly against the use of Ebonics in the classroom), which makes
it clear that the Oakland school district is *not* attempting to
declare Ebonics a second language but rather a distinct language
*pattern,* and that they aren't arguing for the teaching of Ebonics but
the use of Ebonics as a tool through which to help teach standard
English.

For what it's worth --

Kathleen

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Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Coordinator, Computer Division
Expository Writing Program
New York University
kqf3143 at is2.nyu.edu
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