INTRODUCTION

In 1996, the term Ebonics, coined by Missouri psychologist Robert L. Williams more than two decades earlier, stormed into the nation's consciousness when the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) passed a resolution to use this new "language" to teach its African American students.   The resolution sparked a firestorm of controversy over how language arts should be taught to African American students and this curriculum's implications.

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TASK

You are an English teacher at a high school where 60% of the students are African American, 20% are Causcasian, 10% are of Latin descent and the other 10% are from other cultures. Standardized test scores at your school, especially in English, have been substandard for five years in a row. A group of African American parents and the local chapter of the NAACP have asked your school to examine the Oakland Ebonics resolution and see if your school should use Ebonics in the English curriculum. Complete a summary of the debate and make a recommendation on whether you will or will not use Ebonics in your school's classroom.

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PROCESS

• Define the term Ebonics as outlined by Williams. What two words were merged to create the term?
• Summarize Oakland's initial resolution, the immediate reaction by the media and Oakland's revised resolution.  Who were some of the notable leaders and figures who opposed the resolution? Did any of them change their minds and later support Ebonics? What support did Oakland's resolution receive.
• Find some examples of the features of Ebonics. What words and speech patterns indicate the speaker and/or writer is using features of Ebonics.
• Decide if Ebonics is a form of English, a dialect, or a different language altogether.  What did the U.S. government decide on this issue? Would federal funds be available to teach Ebonics speakers as English as a Second Language Students?
• Determine if Ebonics is something that should be taught, or is it something that students already have that can be used to teach "standard English."

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RESOURCES

• The Real Ebonics Debate

A special issue of Rethinking Schools devoted to the debate
• LSA's Resolution on Ebonics
              The Linguistic Society of America weighs in on Ebonics
• John Rickford's writings on Ebonics

Noted African American linguist and Stanford professor shares research
• The Ebonics Plague

`Black English' has been around for centuries w/ link to Oakland resolution
• Features of Ebonics

A primer on the features of Ebonics, or African American Vernacular English




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LEARNING ADVICE

A good Webquest will answer all the questions outlined above using the
resources named above. Also, defend your position on Ebonics by citing
at least five sources on the subject. For extra credit, write a dialogue between
two Ebonics speakers who are deciding what movie to see on a Friday night.