Connecting With the American Dialect

Connecting With the American Dialect: "Educators say that learning a different form of English can be even more challenging than picking up an entirely new language, because students never know when the habits of a lifetime will be right or wrong. 'It's very frustrating for them,' said Dena Sewell, a dual-language assessment teacher with Fairfax County schools. 'They've learned English, and all of a sudden we say, 'You don't speak English the right way.' '
Fairfax schools have a pilot World English Literacy class at West Potomac High School to help West African immigrants. Montgomery County schools are creating a program for all World English speakers, who can include children from places as divergent as the Caribbean, Australia and Canada. Other districts are using a one-on-one approach.
A complex blend of linguistic and cultural phenomena set English-speaking students from Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone apart from other World English speakers, educators say. Most West African children learned a form of English in school and are fluent in it, but many lag in reading and writing partly because of limited or interrupted schooling. Socially, many of them speak Creole, a mix of English and regional dialects. And many have experienced or witnessed violence in their home countries, leaving psychological scars that make learning harder."

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ThePittsburghChannel.com - Education - Study: Exotic Names Don't Make Grade For Black Students

ThePittsburghChannel.com - Education - Study: Exotic Names Don't Make Grade For Black Students: "A new study suggests that black students with exotic names don't do as well in school as black students with more common names." The University of Florida study found that students with names such as Da'Quan or Damarcus are more likely to score lower on reading and math tests.

Researchers said that black students with unusual names are also less likely to meet teacher expectations and be referred to gifted programs than black students with more common names, such as Dwayne.

"This study suggests that the names parents give their children play an important role in explaining why African-American families on average do worse because African-American families are more inclined than whites or Hispanics to give their children names that are associated with low socio-economic status," said David Figlio, a University of Florida economist who did the research.

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CNN.com - Report: Obesity spreads to higher incomes - May 3, 2005

CNN.com - Report: Obesity spreads to higher incomes - May 3, 2005: "'I would caution against any attempts to interpret these data to say social differences have disappeared,' he said. 'It just shows that obesity is a general problem and it's now affecting pretty much everybody. ... But it would be very shortsighted to stop paying attention to the people who are most vulnerable.'

Yet today, the obesity remedies most often recommended for Americans in general -- eat fresh salads, go ride a bike -- are impossible for many low-income families, Drewnowski said

Exercise can be hard in inner cities, where the streets may be too dangerous after working hours. Many grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods don't stock expensive fresh produce. And people who work two or three jobs have little time to make home-cooked meals.

Robinson agreed: 'I don't want to take focus away from the serious racial and ethnic disparities in health.'

But, she said, it's likely that different factors play a role in spurring obesity among the middle class than the poor. 'We need to have a lot more research ... to tailor our interventions to specific populations.'"

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