Herb,

It's good that a lot of future teachers are being required to take 
linguistics and language-and-society classes, but there is a big 
disconnect once they get out of college and into schools. Their 
grammar-teaching materials take no account of dialect differences 
whatever (leastways not those published for use in CA), and simply 
state that one does something this or that way, period. So, "verbs must 
agree with their subjects", and only one way of doing this is 
presented. There is no qualification "This is how verbs agree with 
their subjects in _standard_ English". The only mention of dialect I 
have found in the majority of K-12 teaching materials relates it to 
literature, usually refers merely to "groups" or just regions, and 
treats it as a way of making literature more "colorful" or a character 
more "authentic". (One high-school book, I think it is the senior-level 
text, and I think the publisher is Prentice-Hall, has a section in each 
unit on language, including the history of the language and dialect 
variation, etc. I think it was written by John Algeo. It's the only 
linguistically-informed patch I've seen in any of the materials CA has 
approved (and I have looked at them all). However, the grammar 
materials that go with the book are the usual prescriptive stuff.)

And, as I have said before, numerous grammar points are covered with 
the sole purpose in mind of correcting the language habits of children 
who speak nonstandard English. This is the only reason to have lessons 
about double negatives, "hisself", irregular verbs, and so on in these 
materials. They are treated as mistakes (often using that very word), 
not as alternative ways of doing things in various communities of 
speakers.

When these new teachers get into the schools, they will have as their 
judges and superiors people who have not had the education about 
dialect and language that they have had. Those who care about grammar 
at all will be those who believe in what the textbooks teach. To what 
extent will the new teachers be able to buck the system? The Ebonics 
controversy showed just how ignorant of these issues most Americans 
are. Now we have the added pressure of No Child Left Behind, 
standardized testing, and rabid anti-bilingual movements.

Many of my students remark on how eye-opening my lectures on dialect 
prejudice are, and many also tell me how, since the lectures and 
readings, they have arguments with those of their friends and family 
who correct other people's grammar all the time. A number also often 
tell me that they used to correct other people all the time, but now 
realize how snobbish and offensive that is. But for them to play a role 
in reforming grammar instruction, they will need both materials and 
support. A new teacher is overwhelmed enough with the teaching load, 
the number of students, the lesson planning, grading student work, 
etc., without having to both create supplemental grammar materials 
_and_ have arguments with the head of the English department about how 
to teach grammar.

This is why I keep saying that we have to get the attention of the 
powers that be by implementing reformed practices wherever we can and 
demonstrating their effectiveness through _higher test scores_. The 
Ebonics flap taught us that the authorities are not going to listen to 
linguists just on the merits of the facts linguistic science has piled 
up. We have to find other windows, other ways in. Most teachers love 
their kids and want them to succeed, and most now realize that 
prejudice is a form of disadvantage. They need to be made aware of the 
fact that language-based prejudice is built into the current grammar 
curriculum, then be given ideas and materials for doing it better. We 
need a sort of ten-point PR plan. It is very important for us to work 
with practicing teachers as well as trainees.

Something I plan to do this coming school year is to write to our 
state's Superintendent of Education (who used to be a state 
representative from my district) about the possibility of closing the 
achievement gap for African American kids partly through introducing a 
different way of handling language arts for them. I'm going to bug him 
until he agrees to talk with me about it, and I'm going to tell him 
about the various places this is being done.

Dr. Johanna Rubba, Associate Professor, Linguistics
Linguistics Minor Advisor
English Department
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel.: 805.756.2184
Dept. Ofc. Tel.: 805.756.2596
Dept. Fax: 805.756.6374
URL: http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba

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