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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
reading, writing, grammar, content knowledge, it's all deliverd in the OTHER language that's not your vernacular; at the same time you don't learn any science math or say geography (?) in your own vernacular. the problem with this is that it interferes w/ your whole cognitive development and schooling as your brain tries to straddle both language systems. if you are offered some curriculum in your own vernacular & then "proper english" gets introduced, it's much easier to adapt-- that's what the research shows.
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Sorry, but that still doesn't fly with me (I know I'm probably being obstinate now). We've come full circle back to Glice's question, which is how drastically Ebonics differs from standard English. Again, I don't care how you deconstruct it, the difference is far from drastic enough to pose a learning problem.
You are taught in standardized English from the moment you begin schooling which, for the most part, is around 4 or 5 years old. As Savage Clone pointed out, children whose first language is one other than English, but who are educated at a relatively young age in English, adopt English in a flash.
In fact, a friend of mine whose native language is Polish moved to the States when she was four. She speaks Polish in her home, her parents speak no English whatsoever, but, because she began schooling in America as a child, speaks English as fluently as if it were her native language. More significantly, she has a lot of difficulty writing properly in Polish, and speaking it "formally," despite it being her native language. She simply does not have occasion to do either of those things, and therefore never learned.
She is now in medical school after having graduated Cornell with honors.
Talk about differences in language!
I will boldly state that those who use Ebonics and claim they or their children cannot adapt to standardized English are, plain and simple,
JACKASSES
and it's an insult to try and pass that shit off as a race issue.