Thanks to Renee,

> I suggest that what both of you are describing (and what many of us are
> encountering) is not "interference" but resistance.  Many of these
students
> disconnect themselves from schools in general, and from English
classrooms
> in particular, as a form of self-defense.  "Investing" in the learning of
> standard English comes at significant psychological cost to Americans
from
> certain ethnic groups.

Yes, absolutely! And not only African-Americans.

>Hypothetical career success is too distant a reward
> for the immediate sacrifice of self and group identity.

Not only that, but adolescents in general do not engage in long term
planning - or thinking. I think, also, that the weaker a teen's literacy
skills are, the shorter a term his thinking is capable of.  Living in "the
hood,"  with the added pressure of drug dealers and violence, shortens
one's time span even more.  It's no surprise that many of these students
have difficulty imagining much past "tonight" - planning a career is
difficult if you have doubts about your survival tomorrow.

Paul D.