The Ebonics Debate

The Ebonics Debate On December 18th, 1996, the Oakland Unified School District adopted Ebonics, a terms which is a combination of the words ebony and phonics used to describe the African-American vernacular, as a language. Since then it seems wether on talk shows, newspaper editorials or television news, everyone wants to offer their opinion. This paper will examine two very different points of view, and decide which arguments proves to be stronger. In Charles J. Fillmore=…

…education system. As Fillmore points out, no one is suggesting that Ebonics be taught in the classroom, they only suggest that something must be done to give these students the tools necessary to bridge the gap from the African-American vernacular to the standard American English the students will be required to speak and write in the classroom and later on in life, giving them the same opportunities the school system should provide for every American.