re Re: SLSL language

[calbert at hslboxmaster.com]

jbor:

> Yes, that was one of his subsequent claims. He'd previously tried to
> argue that African-American English was not a legitimate means of
> communication, however, which is demonstrably false.

This is patently silly..........I have suggested nothing of the sort.....


 There doesn't
> seem to be much continuity or logic to his arguments, but I'll address
> his most recent post separately.

As "deconstructed" by my correspondents, I can't discern any 
logic or continuity in them either........

I have not used terms like, "superior/inferior/legitimate" - my 
argument has no use for such distinctions....I have used 
"functional", and "practical" - and this seems to stir considerable 
confusion and resentment....

The issue was originally framed in the context of the educational 
process.....as edifying as the linguistic theories about the 
classification of Ebonics might prove, they are not all that relevant 
to the debate.....the problems of integrating those students who 
may not speak the "dominant" language of a society have 
manifested themselves before, in many other contexts...


> But, again, the argument is not that African-American English should
> be taught instead of the more white bread varieties of English which
> African Americans and other language minority students need to master
> in order to be able to compete in the labour marketplace, only that it
> should be recognised as a legitimate means of communication - a true
> "home language" - which is precisely what it is.

I see this as the role of "civics" education.........Conforming the 
entire educational process to this idea is "impractical"...

 Point is,
> culturally-inclusive programs already exist in many places in the
> U.S., and did not so long ago in several others, and these initiatives
> are and were cost-effective. Expenditure on successful education
> programs actually results in manifold economic and social benefits in
> the long-term. The economic rationalism argument is a crock as well.


Geez, so suggesting that on the REAL plane that budget concerns 
generally trump fond wishes now makes of me hostile to the very 
idea of "cultural inclusivity"? The US does a LOUSY job prioritizing 
education on the federal level where the rubber meets the road. But 
that is a completely different argument.......Our public systems are 
now struggling to maintain BASIC programs which are required for 
"certification" - extra curricular programs - those opportunities for 
the non academic student  to achieve some sense of success are 
being decimated - and this is particularly so in the "polyglot" 
systems like NYC.......In such an environment it is difficult enough 
to teach readin' ritin' and rithmetic.....

> Some pertinent quotes:
> In short, literacy becomes a
> pedagogy of chauvinism dressed up in the lingo of the Great Books.
> 
> (Henry A. Giroux's 'Introduction'. In Paulo Freire and Donald Macedo.
> 1987. _Literacy: Reading the Word and the World_ Massachussetts:
> Bergin & Garvey, 1987, pp. 2-3)

While the obverse becomes what?
Literacy is also the guarantee that NO-ONE else need interpret the
"rules" for you......

> The successful usage of the students' cultural universe requires
> respect and legitimation of students' discourses, that is, their own
> linguistic codes, which are different but never inferior. Educators
> also have to respect and understand students' dreams and expectations.
> In the case of black Americans, for example, educators must respect
> black English. It is possible to codify and decodify black English
> with the same ease as standard American English. The difference is
> that black Americans will find it infinitely easier to codify and
> decodify the dialect of their own authorship. The legitimation of a
> black English as an educational tool does not, however, preclude the
> need to acquire proficiency in the linguistic code of the dominant
> group. 
> 
> (Paulo Freire. 'The Illiteracy of Literacy in U.S.' Ibid., p. 127)

Big concession, there, Paulo.........now try to cram that into the 
twin budget constraints of time and money...........at this point  a 
good number for the MINIMUM cost of publically educating a child 
in the US is 125,000 (K-12).......Given that our system relies 
largely on the LOCAL  funding of public education, where does one, 
as  a "practical" matter, find funds for Paulo's program?

love,
cfa 


> best
>