An Aspect of Assimilation in Schools

Something that I wish more researchers, educators, and scholars would study and write about is the socialization and assimilation process that students go through during their “education”. For all students, this is a very difficult time and process. Recently I have spent a bit of time reading and analyzing how many African-American students manage this [...]

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More of my story….

Literacy Autobiography
 
          One of the most shocking realizations that I have come to in the last year is that I have no recollection of ever being read to as a child by my parents or siblings. I imagine that I was likely read to here and there, but it was apparently so infrequent that I [...]

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Dissin’ “the Standard”: Ebonics as Guerrilla Warfare at Capital High

Something that I wish more researchers, educators, and scholars would study and write about is the socialization and assimilation process that students go through during their “education”. For all students, this is a very difficult time and process. Recently I’ve spent a bit of time reading and analyzing how African-American students manage this period of [...]

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A few things that shaped my education…

A CursoryEducational Biography

          I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Besides visiting other places and vacationing, I’ve lived in Portland all of my life. My parents are both from Texarkana, Arkansas. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were high school sweethearts. Unfortunately for them and for me as a result, they were [...]

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Do I see a hint of internalized oppression?

I’ve already provided my take on the concept or socially constructed idea of “Standard” English (in the post below this one), but I feel it very necessary to comment on the clear-cut statements Rachel L. Jones makes.  First of all, let me assert that Jones is a very capable communicator and she represents a group [...]

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Standard English? Whose standard?

          Over the past few years I’ve realized that I don’t support the notion of Standard English. I mean, I don’t like using the term; I think it’s an inaccurate term, especially for me as an African-American. A few years ago I did a cursory examination of when this idea became socially acceptible and it seemed to [...]

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Ebonics, African-American English, or broken English/slang, what is it?

With respect to the African-American English controversy, many African-Americans and Whites see this dialect as an impediment to economic success in American society; some call it “broken English”; others claim that it is a language deficit to learning “standard” English; and others see it as slang or a form of African-American slave talk.
On the contrary, [...]

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