Only a Liberal would Support Ebonics

A July 17, 2005 article in the San Bernardino County Sun reported that a sociologist revealed that the San Bernardino City Unified School District (California) was embarking on a plan to teach “ebonics” to their students. The sociologist stated that, “The goal of the district's policy is to improve black students' academic performance by keeping them interested in school.”

“A pilot of the policy, known as the Students Accumulating New Knowledge Optimizing Future Accomplishment Initiative, has been implemented at two city schools.”

“Students Accumulating New Knowledge Optimizing Future Accomplishment Initiative,” now that’s a mouthful. The ebonics translations could well be, “Say whaaatt honkey?”

“Board member Danny Tillman, who pushed for the policy, said that full implementation of the program at all schools may take years, but the pilot program is a beginning.”

On July 19, 2005, the school district issued a press statement that ebonics is not a part of the curriculum. That’s strange. The newspaper quoted a school board member and named two schools in which the program had already been initiated. Something is rotten here. I suspect it is the brains of the school board.