Abstract
The paper discusses how Ebonics is not a dialect which can be passed off as an inferior form of the Standard English now taught in secondary schools across America. The paper explains that the genetic structure of African Americans presents a new insight into how different language can be, regardless of the native language to influence the cultural aspects of African American identity over many life spans. The paper maintains that there should be a basic tolerance for other cultures over all of these arguments and suggests that the white hegemonic society should tolerate Ebonics to create further integration between different races.

From the Paper
"This study will evaluate the importance of Ebonics within America's secondary and post-secondary educational curriculum. By analyzing the cultural integration that African American culture is now being implemented in American schools, one can realize the importance of learning the relationship that the English language has in a historical context. Through history and culture, Ebonics plays a large role in how interracial attitudes and behaviors influence both African American and non African American cultures that constantly inter-mesh within the educational community. In this manner, Ebonics plays a large role in providing interracial language skills, which create more culturally and genetically united policies within American schools. The debate about teaching Ebonics in American secondary and post-secondary schooling is essential to the cultural fabric of education in America."

Tags:ebonics, language, education

Abstract
The paper shows that in 1996, the Oakland School Board in California passed the "Ebonics Resolution" - a plan to accept African-American language, termed Ebonics, as the primary language of African-American students and to implement a system to teach them in their primary language as a means of assisting them to learn standard American English. The paper discusses the debate that followed involving the public and the media. It shows that while the linguistic experts in the field were in support of the Ebonics Resolution, the Resolution had a significant social impact. By comparing the meaning of the issue from a sociological and a linguistic perspective, the paper shows the real issues involved in their entirety.

From the Paper
"In the Ebonics debate the part of culture involved is language, a very basic component of our society. Language is something that is taken for granted, with the belief of the general population being that the accepted language is the correct one. The social rejection of Ebonics and the rejection of accepting it as a primary language can be seen as a form of the majority group of society asserting their own belief in their superiority. This is not necessarily representing that the majority group do not want to accept others. Instead it reflects the basic principle of society assuming that the majority group is correct."

Tags:LSA, dialect, communication, AAVE, ethnic, groups

Abstract
In December 1996, the Oakland School Board decided that it was going to accept and recognize Ebonics, or what is known as African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), as a valid dialect and would use it in teaching African-American children. This paper examines the linguistic controversy surrounding this decision, showing the pros of using AAVE in schools across the United States.

From the Paper
"AAVE is a fact of life and it is creating a linguistic and cultural disunity in the United States by allowing teachers to stereotype black students and by ensuring that black students do not acquire Standard English fluency. The introduction of AAVE as a tool language of instruction simply means accepting that fact of life and using it to correct current problems facing African Americans in the educational system." Educational psychologists, such as William Labov, have determined that the primary obstacle to academic progress for most African American students is their inability to fully understand what is communicated to them or, in turn, communicate what they are thinking in a dialect that teachers can comprehend (10)."

Tags:intelligence, dialect, ethnic

Abstract
The paper defines and discusses school vouchers, magnet schools and charter schools and examines their benefits and their drawbacks.

From the Paper
"School vouchers, magnet schools and charter schools all serve various functions in the educational system. These schools are found largely in urban areas with dense populations. Briefly, school vouchers allow students to choose a school, magnet schools attract gifted minority students and charter schools provide education outside of the traditional public school system. School vouchers allow families to select the public or private schools of their choice by redirecting the funding that usually goes to school districts directly to the family instead..."

Tags:School Vouchers, Magnet Schools, and Charter Schools, benefits, drawbacks, minorities, desegregation

Abstract
The paper discusses how in the last decade, the issue of privatization of New York schools has been heavily weighed in the political, educational and public arena. The paper points out that many proposals have been discussed about privatization that have not been implemented, nevertheless, there is the belief among community leaders that privatization related to the management of the New York Public School System is the only method of changing the failing status of students. The paper notes that Merrifield and Salisbury (2005) contend that in New York there are some schools that have become privatized because of citizen activism and local mandates (p. 181; Scherer, 2005, p. 901). The paper discusses how privatization of school management is now being considered statewide for the school system and it must be considered if this is the appropriate action for the future of New York schools.

From the Paper
"In the last decade, the issue of privatization of New York schools has been heavily weighed in the political, educational and public arena. Many proposals have been discussed about privatization that have not been implemented. Nevertheless there is the belief among community leaders that privatization related to the management of the New York Public School System is the only method of changing the failing status of students. Merrifield and Salisbury (2005) contend that in New York there are some schools that have become privatized because of citizen activism and local..."

Tags:edu, schools, choice

Abstract
This paper is a research proposal that is broken down into seven sections. The proposal is based on Washington state having to close schools because of recent budget cuts and financial woes within the state. The purpose of the study is to examine the proposal to close small schools and integrate them into larger ones within a close vicinity. It discusses the impact large classrooms can have on a student and the impact large schools can have on students. The paper contains a table for visual representation of the information. Its main thesis is that small schools have been proven to be more effective and beneficial for each individual child.

Outline:
Research proposal
Statement of of problem
Purpose of study
Significance of study
Methodology
Literature review
Findings of the literature review
Recommendations

From the Paper
"The work of Trevor Cobbold (2005) entitled: "The Interaction of School Size and Socio-Economic Status on Student Performance" states that there is a great deal of research regarding the impact that school size has on achievement of students and findings generally relate that students in small schools perform better than do students in larger schools. It is also related by Cobbold (2005) that the greatest part of the research tends to ignore the idea that the size of the school may be causative in the different outcomes for students and particularly those from diverse backgrounds. New research studies demonstrate that small school size is "...unambiguously good for students from socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds and communities with relatively high levels of disadvantage. Student from low SES backgrounds achieve better results in smaller schools." (Cobbold, 2005)"

Tags:washington, schools, economics, budget cuts

Abstract
The paper relates that High Schools That Work (HSTW) functions at each of the school, county, district and state levels, and this is because the program calls on all stakeholders within the education system to participate in creating an environment that prepares students "for careers and further education by improving curriculum and instruction in high schools and middle grades" ("High", 2007, sec. 1). The paper notes that the program began with the collaboration of the Southern Regional Education Board and 32 states ("High", 2007, sec. 1) and the goal and objectives were to focus on methods of ensuring that students were capable of a successful transition from middle to high school levels, with a continuing growth in learning that would support positive educational outcomes. The paper mentions that over time, the program has progressed in its intent to not only address "key issues" pertaining to "transition from middle grades to high school, raising performance standards...[and] raising standards in career/technical education" to focusing on the preparation of "new and emerging school leaders" ("High", 2007, sec. 1).

From the Paper
"High Schools That Work (HSTW) functions at each of the school, county, district and state levels. This is because the program calls on all stakeholders within the education system to participate in creating an environment that prepares students "for careers and further education by improving curriculum and instruction in high schools and middle grades" ("High", 2007, sec. 1). However, the program began with the collaboration of the Southern Regional Education Board and 32 states ("High", 2007, sec. 1). The goal and objectives were to focus on methods of ensuring that students were capable of a successful transition from middle to high..."

Tags:high, schools, work

Abstract
This paper argues in favor of charter schools. It discusses problems faced by today's schools. The paper expands on the creativity and educational objectives of charter schools and its ability to make curriculum changes. The author also explores the empowerment of parents.

From the Paper
"Today's schools face problems that go far beyond what schools have traditionally had to deal with in past generations poor morale, low educational standards, lower-caliber teachers in some instances and student behavior problems ..."

Tags:charter schools, school reform, argument essay

Abstract
This paper describes ways to implement changes in schools, and which changes specifically need to be made in the school system today. Schools today use the same teaching styles and failings that were in practice decades ago. There are many suggestions for reforms which have been decided on but the trouble does not seem to be with the programs themselves, but rather with their application. This paper details ways to successfully initiate a process of change within the schools such as :actually assuring that one gets about to initiating the change in fact as well as in concept, make new goals for the school based on information regarding the programs success and failures, slow and firm change, and more. It gives a step-by-step detailed guide to deciding what change to make and how to make it.

From the Paper
"Between federal, state, and popular mandates, schools have overwhelmingly heard a demand for change. Society is both more technologically advanced, and more sociologically varied than it was 50 or even 20 years ago when most of the programs in use today were being conceived. Many reforms have been talked about, and many schools have been ordered to implement them. Some have even tried. Despite all this, the effects of change are neither widespread nor readily visible. To the contrary, the number of at-risk students "now constitutes thirty percent of the school population" (Hord, 1990). It appears that all the best intentions in the world have left school with much the same teaching styles and failings that were in practice decades ago. The main problem, however, does not seem to be with the programs themselves, but rather with their application:
The regular demise of this multiplicity of programs led to the judgment that the innovations themselves were not effective, because they produced no appreciable student outcomes. In most cases, in fact, the programs were never incorporated into the day to day operations of classrooms and could be found in bookshelves gathering dust (Hord, 1990)."

Tags:Schools, reforms, change, teaching, implementation

Abstract
This paper first explains that, although many cultures and dialects of languages are spoken in the United States, the most historical and controversial dialects are American Southern English, Acadian (Cajuns) and Black English (Ebonics). The paper then describes the accented English of each of these three officially recognized dialects and their cultural and historical backgrounds. The paper underscores that the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, as interpreted by the 1979 court case "Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School Children, et al., v. Ann Arbor School District" , made the nation aware of the validity of dialect language barriers in cultures within the U.S. country.

Abstract
Culture and Language
American Southern English
Acadians or Cajuns
African American English or Ebonics
The Equal Educational Opportunities Act
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Speaking from personal knowledge and experience, I can personally state with complete confidence that American Southern English is spoken primarily in the southern United States. Most prominent are the people of Appalachia which encompasses primarily the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Residents of these areas speak with a definite accent that includes a slower rate of speech, a nasal twang and a manipulation or deletions of vowel sounds. For example, the words, "over there" often become "over thar"."

Tags:community, appalachia, intermarriage, reluctance, barriers