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  • Essay / A Report on Standard English Proficiency for...

    Ebonics have risen to prominence in the American education system. However, ebonics continues to receive mixed responses from academic communities. The following bill proposes the “English Language Education Equality Act.” The bill would require the State Department of Education to immediately end standard English proficiency for speakers of the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) program, which encourages the teaching of "l 'ebonics' or street slang in our schools. The bill would prohibit the state, its subdivisions, and local government agencies, including school districts and community college districts, from expending state funds or resources, or applying for federal funding, for the purpose of or to support the provision of AAVE education. . The bill would require any funding already obtained for the purpose or support of the delivery of AAVE education to instead be used for classroom instruction of English language or communication skills. This memorandum contains a recommendation to the bill after identifying the main problems with the bill. I will reason from the point of view of a linguist and explain the rationality of voting against the bill. I will refute each of the assertions contained in the bill to logically conclude that voting against the bill is an effective position.• The bill states that by adopting the AAVE curriculum, teachers are incorporating slang and avoiding rectification Bad grammar in “family language” slang, as it is often conceived, is neither sloppy nor inexpressive. In fact, the slang cannot be imitated easily and is very precise and expressive than the standard form. AAVE is what African Americans have encountered since...... middle of paper ...... community. The ability to communicate in standard English will not improve your economic status or intellectual ability. Access to a politically mandated language would in no way guarantee economic success. Empirical evidence suggests that there has been a positive trend in the number of unemployed African Americans with doctorates. Knowing standard English will not make students smart nor will it teach them life lessons. Access to standard language may be necessary, but it does not guarantee success. Conclusion: In this irrelevant debate over linguistic form, we deviate from the intent and purpose of education. To educate is to make a child fully aware of his environment and open him to the act of thinking. As a well-informed society, we should learn to appreciate the beauty of each English form and integrate it into the standard form..