lec 4 Flashcards
general background information
- AAs described ‘involuntary immigrants” to the U.S. (john Ogbu)
- though times have improved, many AAs still experience discrimination
Former student Sharee McCoy:
- educated family in Elk Grove; she was called an N–
- N– was written in chalk in front of her house
- Mark’s friend Jack (1/4 AA, 3/4 White) harassed and bullied in junior high for being an N–
Former Student Zenzele Shakir
- in the military, other AAs told her to be “less threatening” and to “do what the White people tell you to do.”
- in the south, there are certain places that Blacks just don’t go
Hanna Mcmillian (2016; biracial) Kiandra Burney (2016) Krystal Mosley (2016)
- Dad (AA) got pulled over 2x as much as the rest of the family
- biracial; in her neighborhood, too white for the black kids and too black for the white kids
- because she speaks MAE, friends call her “whitewashed”
AAs have
- a strong work and family ethic
- unfortunately, there still remains an educational and income gap between AAs and other ethnic groups
- poverty continues to be an issue for many AA children
AA girls
- AA girls and young women are the fastest growing group of incarcerated young people in the U.S.
- crimes: stealing food and milk for children
Sacramento Bee MLK
-the income gap in CA between Blacks and
Whites has reached its widest point in decades
- today, CA White families median income is 80% higher than that of Black families
Bee continued
- white California families typically earn $90,000 a year compared to $43,500 a year for Black families
- In Sacramento, black families earn barely half of white families do
bee reasons
- discrimination
- economy
- hard to get a job without a college degree
- achievement gap in K-12 schools
- higher incarceration rate of black men
Many African Americans
- are deeply religious
- the church plays a major role in their lives
- AAs most likely to report a religious affiliation
- Many hours a week may be spent at church, including all day Sunday
- when we work w/ elderly AAs especially, it can be helpful to include the pastor, church members, friends from bible study etc.
Erica Walthall 2016
- from Alabama
- whole day spent in church on Sunday
- church is where low-ses people could get free help (e.g., w/jobs, $) from middle-SES educated church members
Education and Literacy
- AA families value education and literacy; it is important to them that their children work hard and do well in school. College may be another story.
- Latasha N. graduating from our program w/ her B.S. – friends would not attend graduation; family didnt understand importance
- most teachers are white women; there may be some cultural difference between them and AA ch. especially males.
Lautrell S. recent student
- in the oakland schools, on year they had a white teacher who didnt use the “the tone”
- The students had no respect for her
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
- people w/ a bachelors degree make 84% more $$ over a lifetime than high school graduates
- Translation: college graduate makes $2.3 million over a lifetime; high school graduate makes $1.3 million
Statistics show
- the high school graduation rate for African Americans has increased in the last few years
- Young adults w/ Masters degree, Asians earned $73,000 a year ; African Americans earned $50,000 year
The crisis in Black Education Executive Summary
- throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century and continuing today, the crisis in black education had grown significantly in urban neighborhoods where public schools lack resources
- endure overcrowding, exhibit a racial achievement gap, and confront policies that fail to deliver substantive opportunities
- the touted benefits of education remain elusive to many blacks of all ages. Tragically some poorly performing schools serve as pipelines to prison for youths
It is important to address educational discrepancies which affect AA children
- one way to do this is to provide early intervention (e.g., Head Start, good preschool programs)
- If AA students use African American English (AAE), there may be issues with reading, writing and spelling in mainstream English
We have to be aware of
the impact of use of AAE in mainstream schools where MAE is the language spoken
Worldwide dialects and languages of business
- philippines: Odioganon - Tagalog
- Germany- schweitzer Deutsh, HOCH Deutsch
- China– Taishanese, Mandarin
- U.S. – African American English, mainstream american English
A very interesting research study about AAE and school performance:Craig, Zhang, Hensel, & Quinn
African American English speaking student: An examination of relationship between dialect shifting and reading outcomes
- examines skills of 165 typically developing AA children in grade 1-5
- AAE- speaking students who learned to use MAE in literacy tasks did better than those who did not make this adaption
Questions the authors asked
- for AAE- speaking students who do not automatically “pick up” on MAE, do we teach it to them explicitly
- is this culturally sensitive and appropriate
- would it help them perform better in school?
Ivy, Masterson: Acomparison of oral and written English styles in African American students at different stages of writing development.
- studied use of oral and written AAE in 3rd and 8th graders
- question: did kids use AAE less ad they got older?
Ivy, Masterson (cont)
- use of AAE was comparable for oral and written language in 3rd graders
- however, 8th graders used more AAE in oral language and less written language
- children who speak AAE eventually learn to switch to MAE in their writing
ASHA Johnson et al. Impact of Dialect Use on Student Writing
- they studied 141 2nd-4th graders at two title 1 elementary school in Northeast Florida
- 95% of the children were eligible for free/reduced lunch (welfare)
- they got written language sample from these students
Findings of the study
- the more the students used AAE, the poorer their editing skills on a writing task.
- interventions that implement bidialectal education may be useful in helping AAE users switch to MAE in academic settings
Gaitlin, Wanzek (2015). Relations among Children use of dialect and literacy skills: A Meta-analysis
- 19 studies consisting of 1947 participants in grades K-^ (typically developing)
- the more children used AAE, the lower their overall literacy skills-especially reading
- could not attribute this to poverty
Recent research concludes
- discrepancy between spoken AAE and oral and written MAE may contribute to the literacy achievement gap between AA and mainstream ch
- however, AA children who are better at codeswitching
- -> better literacy skills
Health care and disabilities
- a major problem for many AAs is lack of health insurance
- AA babies are more likely than babies from other races to be premature and to die from nutritional deficiency
- Older adults who have neurological disorders may have difficulty getting therapy
Low-SES African American children are susceptible to
- lead poisoning
- asthma
If children are diagnosed w/ disabilities
- many AA families are accepting
- they tend to have intergenerational support as well as strong religious beliefs
Family Life
- extended family members are very important in AA culture
- Although many homes are headed by single women, there is intergenerational support. Grandmas are often very involved in ch raising
- child-raising styles in AA families tend to be more authoritative than in other groups; may employ increase use of corporal punishment
Lautrell S. shared w/ the class
- lots of physical punishment -belt- last spanking at age 13
- for punishment, when lautrell was 16, her mom took her bedroom door off its hinges
- Lautrells brother was born when their mom was 15; at 42 years she is a grandma
- Lautrell’s friends – how dare you speak white? (she has to codeswitch)
Communication styles
- traditional turn taking during interaction may not occur; interrupting is acceptable and expected
- confrontation and hoesty are typical
African American English
- use of AAE is impacted by many factors: SES, education, geographic location, and others
- AAE is NOT a substandard form of Mainstream american english (MAE)
- it is rule-governed and predictable
Assessment and Treatment considerations
- we have to be extremely careful when we assess the articulation and language skills of AAE speaking students
- many tests are biased
- language samples are encouraged; picture description can be especially effective
- AA boys are overdiagnosed w/ ADHD they tend to be quite physically active
Implications for professional
- address family members formally - use titles. pronounce names correctly!
- incorporate movement into therapy
Helping students learn the difference
- between home talk and school talk
- important for pramatics, morphology, sytax
- some experts: elective intervention
Remember Larry P. vs Riles
- began in 1971
- AA parents in SF filed in federal court
- they claimed that their children were wrongly placed in the EMR (Educable mentally retarded) class
The parents claimed that
- IQ tests were culturally biased and discriminatory
- AA students were disproportionately represented in EMR classes
- AA= 28.% in gen ed; 66% EMR
Judge Robert Peckham…
- SFUSD prohibited from using IQ tests (or their substantial equivalent) to place AA students in EMR Classes**
- Decision upheld on appeal in 1984
- in 1984, the court expanded the ruling for all of CA by banning use of IQ testing for all AA students for any special ed purpose
So what does that mean for us?
- we cant used SLP tests if they directly or indirectly profess to measure IQ
- CA dept of ed: in lieu of IQ tests, use alternative means of assessment – language samples, etc
The CA Diagnostic Center said that possible OK tests might be
- CELF-5 (clinical evaulation of lang. fundamentals)
- Diagnostic Evaluation of lang variation (DELV)
- Preschool lang scale-4 (PLS4)
- comprehensive test of spoken language (CASL)
Diagnostic Center of California
-The only test for which we can report standard scores for African American students is the DELV-4
