Annotated Bibliography

Ball, Arnetha, and Ted Lardner. "Dispositions toward Language: Teacher Constructs of Knowledge and the Ann Arbor Black English Case ." College Composition and Communication 48(1997): 469-485 .

In This article the authors start out pointing out that it is very important what the teachers teach when teaching how to write and also the importance of the knowledge that they have. They also talk about how being able to assimilate the new knowledge of race into classroom practice. They talk about how this has been really hard for educators to include into both secondary and college level writing classrooms. They also talk about how one of the complex issues is changing the attitudes of the teachers and their behaviors that are going on in the classrooms. The other thing that they really get into is that there are three distinct constructs of teacher’s knowledge in writing studies and how they are all linked to the issue of race and language attitudes.



Gilyard, Keith, and "African American Contributions to Composition Studies ." College Composition and Communication 50(1999): 626-644.

The main point of this article is “to trace a line of thought form early rhetoric and scholars to contemporary researchers, thinkers, and practitioners that both emphasize critical pedagogy and values of Black culture, especially its vernacular language.” The reason why Gilyard wants to do this is because if he can draw this line then he will be able to have an easier time connecting them and therefore proving that Ebonics is good. He mentions the Ann Arbor Case in this article as well. He talks about how the Black Parents successfully sued the Ann Arbor School Board. He also talks about how at some schools/colleges there are classes that are used to teach people how to speak English better. Some of these courses are aimed at African Americans so that they can learn the correct standards for speaking White English.



Marback, Richard. "Ebonics: Theorizing in Public Our Attitudes toward Literacy ." College Composition and Communication 53(2001): 11-32.

Marback talks of why the “Resolution of the Board of Education Adopting the Report and Recommendations of the African-American Task Force” doesn’t really work. He explains that the real reason behind this is the attitude of the teachers and the students. If their attitudes change then the attitude of the public will change and it will make it all easier for them to be able to accept Ebonics. Marback points out who are the people who didn’t approve it and some of the reasons they didn’t approve it as well. He also talks about how blaming Ebonics is not changing the attitude of the people which is really the problem. He also gives some solid examples how to change the negative attitude that the people are having.



Palacas, Arthur L. , and "Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English." College English 63(2001): 326-352 .

Palacas is talking about the Oakland Resolution in this article. He is talking about how the Oakland Resolution is what coined the term Ebonics. I plan on using this site to explain how the term Ebonics came about and how it is still used. There really isn’t a lot I can use from this article about the Oakland Resolution but it does talk about how Ebonics and Standard English have similar deep structures and that Ebonics is highly variable and displays alterations along a continuum of standard, standard-like and non-standard forms. He talks about how underneath the sounds of Ebonics the structure is very similar. However, no linguist would argue that they are completely identical. I can use this as a reason why Ebonics should be allowed in the classroom.

The Way Attitudes Change a Decision

One of the many cases that plays a big role in Ebonics history is the case in Oakland California that tried to put Ebonics into the school system. However against great effort many people in the community did not let it happen. One article that describes and discusses this well is “Ebonics: Theorizing in Public Our Attitudes toward Literacy” by Richard Marback, published in “College Composition and Communication”. In this article Marback tells the reader about the case and why it didn’t go through. He also tells of the celebrities that don’t agree with it. Some of them are mentioned were Bill Cosby and Jesse Jackson. These two did not agree with the school trying to put Ebonics into school because they did not think it was the right thing to do. “Jesse Jackson initially characterized the resolurion as ‘an unacceptable surrender bordering on disgrace’”. Bill Cosby named the resolution “Igno-Ebonics”. Thomas Sowell said that Ebonics is a distraction and that it is only wanted by “race hustlers” and that it brings out “ghetto children (12).” All three of these highly looked up to people wanted nothing to do with this resolution because it was not what they saw as the best.
There were many white people that were against this resolution going through but as Marback points out it is not only white people. There are many people that are black and highly looked up to that thought it was a bad idea. Marback also talks about how it is not just that people don’t want it it is a bad attitude that many people have. He believes that if people did not have a bad attitude they would most likely support the idea more. He talks in great detail about how the ideas that people have are not what they should be. Many people think that Ebonics is bad and that it should not be put into school. These people are not really looking at the benefiting effects but just hating Ebonics and not letting it in to the school system. I think that Marback describes this very well on page 14.
The victim-blaming of Ebonics critics is cause for concern because it misdirects tour collective attention away from the mobilization of public attitudes and the justification of socioeconomic inequalities that infuse literacy education with so much significance in the struggle for civic life.
In this quote Marback is talking about how people are blaming Ebonics and that is why it is not going through. When reading what is around this quote it is very evident that he is trying to change the way that people view Ebonics. I believe that his main point of this article is to help people see that it is not the resolution is bad it is the attitudes of the people that are bad. If they did not have a bad attitude then there wouldn’t be the problem with the fact that people do not like the resolution. I agree with Marback on this point, that the attitudes are what are stopping people from agreeing that this resolution is a good thing and if they change their attitude them they will agree with the resolution.

How to Teach Black Students to Write in Standard English

So far in unit three we have been discussing many of the different was to teach black students how to write in Standard English and even if Black English is worth being taught. One of the readings that we have read was by Judith Nembhard. This article entitled “A Perspective on Teaching Black Dialect Speaking Students to Write Standard English” is about some of the techniques to teaching SE. Nembhard believes that black students should still learn SE even thought it is harder for them. She explains how she would teach SE to her students and why these ways work.
The ways that Nembhard says to teach SE is by using prewriting, writing and reformulation to make it so that the students understand SE. These techniques that she suggests are very similar to how the white students would be taught how to write in SE. She also made the argument that teachers also need to distinguish between oral and written speech. The teachers also need to talk about how there is a proper place and time for SE and BE. If the teachers do not make this point known then the students could get confused and use the wrong one at the wrong time. Their goal with this is so that the students have effective communication skills so that they are not limited to only speaking their only their home language. To encourage this learning of SE teachers have to have high expectations of their students and also grade fairly with the same requirements for all of the students. Nembhard gives all of these tips to help teach black students to write in SE.
Nembhard discusses scholarship of AAVE/AAL a little bit in her article. I think that she thinks that when writing a scholarly essay, article, or any piece of writing people should be using AAVE. She does not think that people should be using AAVE in academic works. Even though she says that she does not think that AAVE should be used in academic works Nembhard does not say that AAVE should not be used. She encourages it being used she just says that there is a time and place for AAVE. She doesn’t agree with AAVE being used because it is hard for some scholars to read. Nembhard is pro AAVE in the right situations but is otherwise pro SE.
I think that she does make a good argument about the use of AAVE in composition studies. I think this because Nembhard thoroughly explains why there should be a switch between AAVE and SE in writing. She says that even though AAVE is good in oral communication it should not be used in academic writings. Nembhard uses good examples and explains all of her argument really well.

IAR Analysis of “Taking Black Technology Use Seriously: African American Discursive Traditions In The Digital Underground” by Adam Banks

What is invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
To create the text Banks had to find how AAVE is appropriated. One of the ways that he did this was he went on to Black Planet and look at how the people who had a page wrote in AAVE. He also had to do research on how AAVE is properly used by researching the grammatical and rhetorical features of AAVE. In order to find all of this Banks had to research scholars and sociolinguists including Smitherman, Powell, and Holmes. He also interviewed old-timers who didn’t understand why students needed to go on to such sites as Black Planet.

What is being invented? (What ideas, practices, arguments, etc. are created by the text?)
Banks is creating the ideas that websites, like Black Planet, are a good way for AAVE to be appropriated. Also these websites are an underground network where AA don’t really have to worry about being politically correct. They can talk in AAVE and it is even highly encouraged. Even though the internet should hypothetically be place where race doesn’t matter it still does. Also that AA need to be better represented on the internet.

What is being arranged? (What is being put into relationship to what?)
The internet is being put into relationship to AAVE. Then AAVE is being related to the “underground” internet. The Underground is related to the digital divide. Then to Blackplanet.com. Then to feedback form peers. This then leads to the rhetorical features. The finally the rhetorical features is related to how AAs use their own language.

What is arrangement? (How are things being put in relation to on another?)
The text is related by giving examples and then discussing those examples. Then the discussion brought up more examples that needed to be discussed more. The discussion and examples brought out the problems with the internet and the solutions to those problems.

What is revised? (What is the writer trying to change e.g. what ideas, practices, etc.?)
Banks is trying to change and get rid of the digital divide. His best attack on this is just making people aware that there is a digital divide. He also wants to change the fact that even the internet is geared at white middle class men and not everyone. He wants Black to be able to use the internet and also be able to use AAVE.

What is revision? (What strategies are engaged specifically to help the writer achieve the revisions?)
The activities that Banks engaged into the help achieve the revisions was to go to sites that appropriated AAVE. One he found these sites he quoted them and he used quotes from scholars to back up what was on the websites. He talked about his solution to bridge the gap in the digital divide.