[Moonliner]

I don't think that anyone could argue with the fact that job opportunities for individuals who speak standard English are greater than the ones for speakers of Ebonics. I'm sure in some cases you could make millions speaking nothing but Ebonics, song writers come to mind, but that is the exception and not the rule.

So teaching Ebonics would not be in the best interest of our kids. However if a large percentage of your student population uses Ebonics then I can see where the idea of treating them the same way you would non-English speaking students (Russian, French, whatever...) might have some appeal. As long as the overall goal is for them to learn standard English.

However teaching Ebonics as for foreign language is just wrong. I don't need to speak Chinese to appreciate China's long history and I don't believe that Ebonics has played such a large role in Black History/Culture that you cannot appreciate it without learning how to speak Ebonics.