POSTED BY: PutUpYourDukes
I believe the proper spelling is "turkey nuggets"
This comes to me from a friend of a friend that teaches sixth grade in an inner city public school in Philadelphia. The student was instructed to write an essay on school lunch. This be hilarious.
Put Up Your Dukes 
That’s not funny. What a terrible teacher to find this amusing. Sickening.
It’s sixth grade and it’s sad not funny fucktard. ‘Who be teeching dese kids.’ They don’t stand a fucking chance but since it’s not you or your family let us laugh.
Shows how horrid our American schools are. It is funny, because it can be overcome.
I’ll say it, why are parents talking like this???? you can’t tell me this, obviously black, kids parents don’t talk like that at home. I’m sorry, i really don’t think this has to do with racism as much as it has to do with culturalism, but seriously the black culture praises stupidity, praises “being a thug” a “rapper”. I have lived in inner city Chicago, DC, Fresno, San Francisco, and Phoenix and i have been in black peoples homes in every city and without fail 95% of them dress and act like their kids, they act like idiotic teenagers who think it’s cool to be unintelligent. And then when they wonder why 70% of prisons are stocked with blacks, or why they drop out of school at higher rates, or can’t get a dang job so they leech on welfare. Seriously, can we stop being “PC” and be honest. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR COLOR OF SKIN, it has everything to do with the acceptance of stupidity as cool. That being from a culture that works hard and studies in school is lame and nerdy. Listen we need to grow up in this country and drop the crap. Africans from Africa don’t act like “African” Americans. Oh wait, they aren’t African anymore, if that’s true then I’m Irish-Scandinavian-English-Greek-Italian-American because my ancestors over 200 years ago came from those countries. You know who makes a lot of sense about this??? BILL COSBY, he is brave enough to explain this, so if you have a problem with what I’m saying, go see what the COS has to say on the subject.
This is a terrifying glimpse into the horror that is our public school system.
@shane
Have you ever thought that it might be an issue of poverty and not “culturalism”? I have personally taught plenty of white kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds that write just as poorly as this…
Sorry goes back to CULTURALISM. like i said it’s not skin color, and you are right, there are some dumb white people out there too. Money has nothing to do with it, my parents were on a type of welfare when i was a kid to help with food, but it didn’t force me to be lazy and end up in jail or forever trying to be young and cool. Stop making excuses like poverty, race, or the man.
This isn’t about the schools. This kid has been taught the right way to speak and write in school, but you can’t make them do it correctly, you can’t beat the grammar into it. It isn’t a failing of schooling, NOTHING could be done about this outside of changing the household. I work in West Philadelphia at the Welfare office. This is how people talk. This is how high school graduates in West Philadelphia fill out welfare applications, statements of disability, etc. It’s endemic in the culture which comes out of the feelings of disenfranchisement from decades of no opportunity and extreme poverty. At some point you just stop trying and revel in your ignorance because it’s something you have. That’s where the culture comes from and it’s the same in rural white areas although with a different dialect.
I hate to say it, but I completely agree with Shane above. It’s not a “black” thing, it’s a “culture” thing. A culture that is dominated by blacks, and it’s really sad. I don’t care about the way they dress, I think some of that stuff looks really good, but it’s the embracing of ignorance and the way they look down on accomplishment. I hope one day, the schools start telling these kids, “I don’t care how your parents talk, but you don’t talk that way in school. It’s ignorant, wrong, and makes you sound stupid” I’m sorry, but if you talk thuggish, there’s a reason no one will hire you, and it’s not because you’re black. It’s because you can’t make a coherent sentence, and that’s a huge sign of a person’s intelligence. Until we stop building projects and throwing welfare checks at the poor, of all colors, instead of lifting them up and providing them with an education, there will always be racism, there will always be rampant crime, and there will always be a perpetual underclass.
I agree, the trucky niggets DO be nasty. The corn that comes with them is ok, though.
Summer school is fun everyone gets laid!
I think you’ll find this is funny. Please accept your middle class station in life and get over your guilt. Hey, if you don’t like it, got and teach for free in the project rather than taking Jeremy and Sarah to little league.
I am a teacher of English as a second language and I know a bit about how learners write, including those writing in their first language.
This kid is just doing what he (she) can with the language he has available to him. It comes from his surroundings and and upbringing – the essay is a pure expression of English as he understands it.
He’s not wrong – if everyone around you talked that way when you were a child, you’d write something similar. To think this is the result of stupidity is asinine (and racist).
Conservatives made a mockery of the whole “Ebonics” thing, but these kids are immersed a version of English that is like a pidgin or creole, and they need special programs to become fluent in “mainstream” US English.
Stupidity is racist? Those god damned stupids … hogging all the… unin..telle..gence… stuff.
wtf seriously?
I agree. As I highschool student in California, I have experienced the ineptitude of inner city school systems first hand. With cut funding and difficulty in firing teachers, the quality of education has become questionable, to say the least. Even more unfortunate is the way the students are treated nutritionally. As this Philadelphian Sharswood student can attest, turkey nuggets, referred to here in criticism of their quality as “trucky niggets,” no doubt playing off both African-American and “honky” stereotypes, are the worst and are often served with corn. This no doubt revolting meal is made even more sickening by this final waste of resources, as if to spit in the face of the planet. Corn that could be used in the production of ethanol-based fuels is practically thrown away to children who will have none of it. The juxtaposition of the corn and the “trucky” nuggets adds further to the nauseating metonymy of the fall of this great nation. God bless America.
Sherman, once again you say (and racist). Have you not noticed everyone here has said it has nothing to do with the race of this child? It’s been shoved down your throat, racism, racism, racism that not even you who sounds intelligent can’t separate yourself from the tradition of calling anything to do with people of color “racism”. STOP, please stop, this is a society of excuses and you are just helping that problem. We are all so afraid of being accused as racist we avoid saying ” hey you sound like a complete idiot talking that way” because we all know it’s mainly a black thing. I have black friends that do not talk like that, and even grew up in that environment, and have succeeded in a career. We have let people like this feel comfortable, and okay with talking like this because we have created a fear of racism, a fear of being unfair. BULLCRAP. not everyone wins, not everyone deserves a trophy. lets treat the situation like it is, Americans need to wake up and slap the lazy into looking for something more and not just saying, hey sorry for slavery that i didn’t have one iota of involvement with, here’s a check just kick back, get drunk, breed like a rabbit, and i’ll throw you some free money, oh and the more kids you have the more money I’ll give you.
Donald wins.
WOW!
I agree with Shane. You know me by now though and probably saw that coming. He’s just saying what everyone is thinking and is too scared to say out loud. I’m with ya brother.
Mmmm trucky nuggets!
To expound upon this discussion a little further, the acceptance of ignorance is undoubtedly been furthered far along by the pervasiveness of mainstream “rap” and its association with black culture.
Thomas Chatterton Williams had an honest and poignant piece in the Washington Post last year, talking about the need to disentangle this association.
Black Culture beyond Hiphop
(Not the usually, ignorant broadbrushed criticism that paints ALL hiphop as negative.)
Uhuru, great article!
I would contend that the pressure transcends socioeconomic conditions as well.
And for some validation, I forwarded on the above article to my old university roommate (we’re in our late twenties now)…he, of Kenyan heritage, well-to-do and living in NYC, had this to say:
————————————————–
Not to sound like a know-it all, but this is something I’ve known and talked about for a long time.
I only wish the article had elaborated more on the “other” consequence. That is, the result of not wanting to fit in.
I was, as the article detailed, the black suburban youth. However, I chose not to conform to what was then and still is the black norm. As a result, I spent the duration of my high school years labelled a sellout, oreo, whitewash, etc.. some even went as far as to say that I hate my own race. A bit much, don’t you think?
This because I did not speak a certain way, listen exclusively to rap and r&b, carry myself in a particular manner.
You may read this and laugh but think about it for a minute. Simple details, minuscule character traits, this is the shit that has come to define what is “black” and what is not.
Blacks in America are as saturated in ignorance as the white majority’s [perception of us]. “Black power” and all that shit? We call it our inspiration and then disgrace it with ease.
Tell your friend that his friend sucks at his job.
Lawl PSSAs. I bet that school did not get much state funding.
The parents are probably ignorant trash, the teachers are probably doing just enough to make it to retirement, none of them care enough to try, look what you get…garbage in, garbage out.
Everyone ragging on the teacher and the school here makes me see what the problem is… dumb parents.
My kid wouldn’t get past first trade with that writing. And in the UK you wouldn’t pass Kindergarden with this lack of writing skill.
But the system allows the kids to go forward as long as the parent wants them too, even if a teacher says they disagree. I’ve seen it happen far too often.
Here is an idea: If you complain you don’t have enough money to move to a better school system then maybe you shouldn’t have had a kid? Or instead of blaming everyone else spend half that time helping your kid.
Not sad, just shows what a failure of a teacher they are. Yet, I’d bet he’s in a teacher’s union that will make sure he keeps his job even though it’s obvious he would serve the community much better working the grill at the local Waffle House.
Hey ‘Myself,’ how did you get “stupid is racist” from what I said before? I guess by that you meant I think it’s racist to point out someone’s stupidity and boo hoo for the poor blacks and where’s Michael Moore so I can hug him. Anyway, nice simplification of an argument.
As a matter of fact, I like making fun of stupid people. The thing is that I have no idea whether this kid is stupid. He could be a moron or he could be Einstein. All I can tell from his essay is that he can’t spell turkey and he comes from a neighborhood where they don’t conjugate ‘be.’ The most that proves is that he’s ignorant of the spelling and grammar conventions that you had learned by the time you were his age. And yeah, that would be the fault of his parents, his community, the school system, black identity issues, and American history (those ‘be’ conjugations go back to the days of slavery). Just because he’s been exposed to white culture though TV doesn’t mean he should naturally be able to speak it like you do. Without intervention, he’s obviously going to speak it like his family and community.
So all I know from the kid’s essay is that he’s black and turkey nuggets at his school taste like crap. From your post, on the other hand, it’s clear that you’re not only ignorant, but a complete douchebag. That’s wtf.
Wow – this is pretty bad all around. Poor student, wretched line of several teachers and school administrators, parents not looking after this child’s education. And by the way, really not funny.
Sherman Funk, it is the kids (and parents) that are doing the mocking. They don’t even want to be fluent in “mainstream” US English.
@ Shane:
What’s really sad is when you hear kids tell their peers who study and get good grades that they’re “acting white.”
It breaks your heart.
this makes me me sad.
and hungry.
@Shane. Your grammar and word choices aren’t much better than those in the letter. They are better but not by much. I think your thoughts are admirable and almost approach something that an intelligent person would want to read. As another commenter points out, this is an issue of poverty, both in your case and the young student’s essay. I hope that the attention this receives will encourage the development of support systems that will foster growth in writing ability in all of us.
This IS a black thing. Sorry, but it is. White kids don’t talk like this, I don’t care how poor they get. It’s the parent’s, teacher’s and society’s fault for this. But IT IS a black thing.
The chicken nuggets for lunch probably did this…
For one, the sixth grader is brainier than you.
It’s really called “trucky nuggets”. It’s their jargon and you can’t do anything about it.
Before slinging mud to their group, why don’t you teach first those hollywood hippies of your own grammar savviness.
That’s public schools for you..
I be agree’n wit Sherman. We only be know’n fo sho this kid don’t have no hold on “mainstream” Enlish. If you be sayin this kids stupid yous gots trucky niggits fo brains.
Having taught Science in a rural UK state school, I know this cannot simply be a matter of race or even urban culture. I’d love to say that it’s a new problem, but see attached:
http://holy-web.blogspot.com/2008/11/6-year-old-boy-was-learning-to-write-in.html
Why is it that with television presenting at least decent grammer all day and all night on most channels proper english and language skills don’t sink in? When you can perfectly mimic the sounds of your favorite singer, you can do the voice of the weatherman on KTLA.
Or why don’t these kids get the idea of waiting until after highschool to have children.
I don’t feel obligated to help every child who wears his hat sideways and his pants down low realize how big the world is and the opportunities it offers.
At some point you have to feel for the kids who are being held back, hindered and harmed by these “bad” kids; but we can’t take them out of the system because then we’ll seem racist.
I found this to be quite hilarious. By 6th grade, students should have a BASIC understanding of spelling, grammar, and phonetics.
By 6th Grade I was reading at levels above College Level and writing pretty close to that AND I have a shit ton of Learning Disabilities and I was writing 30 page book reports by 7th grade
I don’t find this funny in the slightest! Why doesn’t the teacher actually *teach* them instead of posting this on the Internet for a cheap laugh?
It’s clear from the writer’s use of language that they don’t have a ‘usual’ approach to understanding language..
Wow, now THAT makes perfect sense to me it does.
jes
http://web-anonymity.vze.com
teşekkürler..
“I work in West Philadelphia at the Welfare office” – Dan
Born and rasied? Do you spend most of your days on the playground, or do you like to chill out back and relax all cool?
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It’s really easy to feel superior a sixth grader, isn’t it? You must be a Republican.
Yes, the variety of English they speak is inferior, and the variety all you white folks speak is superior.
This reminds me of Talk Like a Pirate-day. (:
This is sixth grade?! Wow, this shows just how much of a failure inner city public schools currently are.
This was funny to start with. But this is not a problem only in the US. In Holland and most other European countries the problems are similar. Although the schools teach correct Dutch/English/whatever, the innercity kids but also a lot of the less intelligent kids outside the cities find it cool to speak this way. Not a problem created by the school but by the parents that don’t guide their children to a better future. I think you really can’t outsource bringing up your children to a school. That’s your job! And to be honest, this is more or less a black thing. In their culture it is admirable to speak this way not realizing that the rest of the world thinks they are gits.
When I took my son to sign up for Drivers Ed, there were 11 other kids in the room. Nine of those needed help to fill out the papers. The #1 request? “What is cursive?”
I know these kids, they’ve received the same education (at school) as my son. Yet not only can they not write their own names in cursive, the teacher told them to “just print it”.
In other words, ‘don’t bother.’
This IS funny.
Put up noticed the grammatical errors of a 6th grader. I think he should notice his own.
I think it’s hysterical the people who are freaking out. “ITS NOT FUNNY. WHAT A HORRIBLE TEACHER. WHAT AN AWFUL SCHOOL”.
Do you *really* think they learned to talk this way in school? This is not a commentary on the kid. This is a commentary on the kid’s idiot parent(s). This shit SHOULD be ridiculed. The kid should be taught how to speak properly, but the parents should be humiliated for speaking this way in front of their children.
You people crack me up. This is why *we* democrats have a bad rap as coddlers. This is a disgrace, and not because the kid’s handiwork was published on the internet.
@Kevin
Finally, someone that gets me…AMEN BROTHER.
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While I disapprove of your friends decision to send this paper around for his friends amusement, I think this is more of an idictment of the Sharswood luch program. Undercooked pizzas, trucky niggets and corn. I’m no nutritionist, but this doesn’t seem like a meal made for the educational benefit of our youth. “Some people be talking about the school lunch.” Is it falling on deaf ears? If Sharswood administration can’t see that its own students “be pukein” after their meals, I think its time they took the blinders off and made some changes. That my friend is the real “discrace.”
I hate it when all you have is a choice between pizza that be half done and cheese bugers – Ewwww
No one seems to have a sense of humour these days. : |
It is idiotic for all of you believe that everyone should conform to what you believe is the correct way. That is like saying the Asian kid is stupid because he doesn’t know how to speak English. The way that the paper written is how this child learned how to write. Unfortunately, teachers don’t really get to influence kids as much as we would like to think. They get this influence from their culture and it would be wrong to say that just because we don’t agree with their culture we should change it. The only thing a teacher can do is suggest that students should talk in a certain way. Even then it is being ignorant to suggest that theirs is only one way to communicate. It is true that children should learn “mainstream” English, if not to use all the time, but when they are in the professional world. Even then it cannot be forced on students. If students don’t want to learn it, then they are not going to learn it. It is as simple as that. This child could in fact be very smart and he just doesn’t choose to use the mainstream English.
It’s because of things like this that make me happy that I didn’t pursue teaching.
And a lot of you really need to grow a sense of humor. Seriously, I can imagine how tense your shoulders are.
But it is very funny though.
MMMmn trucky niggits.
You guys didn’t have Trucky Niggets at your school? I think this whole argument is a misunderstanding. Trucky Niggets are a treat, to say the least. But to serve them with corn? Savage.
Oh the things one is deprived of when he is growing up. I’ve never had a trucky nigget. Are they really that good?
You should submit it on failblog.org.. they appreciate a good joke when they see one.
Perry you can’t be serious. Yours is the attitude of, “everyone should receive a trophy”. Why should they have to speak and learn mainstream English? because when you speak like that and write like that no one will hire you, no one will respect you, you have no respect for yourself, you cannot teach your children any better and WE who have jobs and pay taxes end up paying for that laziness and acceptance of stupidity. I do not profess to speak English with perfect grammar, but i try to correct myself and understand how i can better grasp English grammar when i am in the wrong. unfortunately this sounds like a growing problem all over the world, and i truly feel it is due people not saying anything because they feel they do not have the right to say anything because “who am i to judge” Love your neighbor man, tell dem when dey be soundin like dey be bornin in da woods of deliberance and be missin som teef. we can thank the ying yang twins, captains of slurred retarded english.
How is babbys formed?
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There’s no reason a person can’t talk like this. If, say, this kid talks this way because – as is probably true – people in or around his home talk this way, there’s no reason he wouldn’t or shouldn’t. What if, further, he began using Standard Written English – which is what ‘global citizens’ speak, because it’s the language of business and politics and academia (which are largely populated by white people, and that’s just a fact) – around his home and with his friends. They wouldn’t understand him. They might denigrate him, or beat him up, or even ostracize him. So he’s gonna do whatever the fuck he has to in order to stick around. Now, in school – if he’s in this country – yes, he’s going to need to learn Standard Written English (’cause that’s what the Standards and Accountability state/federally-issued D of E’s want him to use). It’s also going to allow him to pass his tests, and write his college entrance essays, and even apply for some jobs. Again, if he’s in this country, there’s no reason for him NOT to learn Standard Written English. BUT that in no way renders what he SPEAKS and or accepts as EVERYDAY PARLANCE as “wrong” or “stupid” OR EVEN INACCURATE. In fact, merely by facilitating such an idiom, he and his family/friends ARE PARTICIPATING IN A LANGUAGE. There is no such thing as a “right way to speak.” Grammar, in terms of any academic study of linguistics or ethnographic anthropology, is merely a way of categorizing and cataloging a specific people’s preferred form of spoken and written language.
AND STILL FURTHER, to (it would seem) imply that “blacks” all speak in the same ‘stupid’ lexicon is patently preposterous. I’m not trying to fall for your obvious appeal to racism; my point is, yeah, you’re right, it IS a cultural thing (not a ‘black’ thing) – BUT not in any way that you’re describing it. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of dialects and idioms in this country, and all of them are born out of a host of different sources that cumulatively can be called history – these have nothing to do with one’s race, as you point out, but they are not simply a product of cultural values. Upbringing, access to quality education (or lack thereof), stable home environments, access to quality healthcare, employment (that pays a living wage), food, # of siblings and amount of money available per capita, gentrification, what you had for breakfast this morning, how your grandmother pronounces her ‘R’s,’ in what way your brain processes dangling modifiers, whether your father reads, how often you read, what you read, can you read, has anyone taught you to read, did anyone ever bother to tell you about reading or stress its importance to your cultivation/acquisition of ANY language – and the list goes on, of course. There are many ‘white,’ hispanic, chinese, burmese, somali, kenyan, congolese, italian, irish, ukranian, etc ad infinitum who are in the exact same boat. The ‘problem,’ it seems, lies in the idea that there is some superior language to be acquired. Hell, our Standard Written English would look utterly buffoonish to the blokes of yore – and THAT’S OK. That’s called change. There’s nothing wrong with it. That’s why there are 6800 (documented) languages in the world. You probably don’t speak all of them. My guess is that you probably only speak one or two of them. Or maybe not. Maybe you speak some of the undocumented ones. Maybe you say, “Do ya’ll need anything at the store?” Or when you’re dropping knowledge bombs on the interwebs, you might throw out a “shit was ill, man,” or a “love me some Standard Written English, yessah” or what have you. You mix it up a little – and more power to you. That’s the beauty of language.
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I don’t find this funny, and it certainly doesn’t rate as hilarious. Was the teacher just so saddened by this student’s lack of progress that s/he shared this? Was the friend who put it on the internet smoking cheap crack? I don’t know that it says anything about the state of public schools, because I’m sure there are some sixth graders in that same school whose essays were fine and coherent. I think there are a lot of factors that play into a sixth-grader writing something like this and actually turning it in to be graded.
Shaking my head,
KC
This reminds me of the book Mexifornia. Mexican immigrants maintain a Mexican identity instead of assimilating into an American one. It’s very much a culture issue, which subverts all other areas of life like income or education. In short, it’s better to be a proud, underachieving Mexican than a cultural sellout.
There are a lot of issues, which Mexifornia covers thoroughly, but the underlying question is: if Mexico is so great, why are you coming here but Americans aren’t flocking to Mexico?
The same thinking applies to black culture. Assimilating is shameful, but the same people who denigrate white culture readily pass through emergency rooms without paying, take government aid, live in subsidized housing, and get free education – all the while complaining at not getting their fair share.
Just to be clear, it’s not true of blacks, it’s true of black culture. Is white English better than black pidgin English? That’s not really the issue. The issue is white culture is built on capitalism, entrepreneurial spirit and personal success. Language is an identifier of culture. Rejection of white language is a sign of rejection of white culture.
I say “white” culture, but it’s racially extremely diverse. I’d call it American, but it’s imported from Europe anyway. I’d call it Western, but really the black culture in question is equally Western.
Is this “white” culture somehow better than any other? I don’t think qualifiers like “better” are useful here. However, Western society – all the social aid, education, civic luxuries, etc. – come from common participation in a culture interested in success.
Black culture, as with Mexican, shuns and mocks contributors, and instead praises those two “play” the system, who take advantage for personal or hereditary gain.
Making fun of white speech is why this student disregards white culture. Making fun of black pidgin might not be kind in the slightest, but frankly it’s the most effective motivator.
I taught at that school last year and in no way is it “Inner City” . It’s in South Philly , in a pretty good neighborhood, which makes it even more WTF inducing.
And the 6th grade teachers there are ok people actually, not lazy monsters or anything. It’s just the state of Philly schools in general, kids don’t get read to at home prior to preschool so we’re all playing catchup. Added to that is the districts policy of “social promotion” (a la The Wire).
TO SPECIFICALLY SHANE & “PETER. PAUL & MARY”
I am very offended in regards to your statement that the child is obviously black. Thats odd to me that you would make such a generalization because I come in contact with many white kids who are this far behind grammatically and in their overall writing abilities, as well as the way they speak. I will not deny the poor performance by many students of the black race….or white race but Shane you say that 95% of black homes you visit you see this type of unintelligent reflection from the parents. I would like to invite you to increase the number of black homes you visit because clearly you have not been in enough “black homes” to accurately define a percentage that represents the black family’s structure and how we raise our children. Its generalization with a lack of well rounded research. You can say all day that it isnt about race but you made it about race when you posted your comment ….which was unintelligent in its majority. It is true and unfortunate that a lot of children from inner city neighborhoods fall victim to ideologies that hender them socially and educationally, however, they do not speak for nor represent the entire black community. The main focus of this blog was to get a glimse into the mentality of this child who is seriously lacking compared to the level he or she should be on. The focus should be on the parents and the teachers who should equally be doing their part to advance this child rather than posting this on wordpress to laugh at. It is not funnay at all. AND it definately isnt a BLACK thing. Its a situation when a child is sufferring because of lazy uninvolved parents and ineffective, immature teachers…..and that does not carry a color. I really wish people would further educate themselves about the black community and stop using movies and music videos as their primary and only source. Look at your next president, his lovely wife, and their beautiful children. They represent the black households that you dont mention Shane and unfortunately for you, you have not encountered because blacks are extremely intelligent and eloquent. Just like whites, and yes I see it way too often in the white community, some blacks dont strive in life to be more than a stereotype and statistic. I am very tired of people, especially whites, taking the liberty to categorize blacks into one large group…..defining us as wanna be thugs and rappers. Step outside of your small, closeminded existence and educate yourself. This kid just may be…..white.
Signed- Intelligent, Striving Black Woman
There is a wrong way to speak just like there is a wrong way to drive. Or let’s look around for the “different” speaking lawyers and doctors. It is the idiot parents fault for not wanted to better the lives of their children. They carry most of the responsibility here and it’s time we all learned that having 18 kids is not okay if you can’t afford to pay attention to them. These are the same idiots who don’t want sex education taught to their precious kids because, you know, they’ll want to have sex.
Shane,
By saying that any child should learn only standard English is a shame. You are insisting that these children throw away their culture. I don’t think that if you were put in the same circumstances you would be so quick as to adopt something alien to your culture. Which is just what standard enlgish is to someone who is from a different country/culture than ours.
I do agree that it is important that everyone learn standard English, because like you say it is needed to get most jobs. However, you can’t not hire someone based on what type of culture they come from.
What I find funny though is that even though people are complaining about how bad this child’s grammar is, but everyone on here seems to understand what he/she was trying to convey.
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whoever says this is not funny has no sense of humor and should be banned from the internet for eternity.
The unconventional grammar is fine. It’s not like our language is all that great in its classical form. If people want to use “be” that way, it’s no worse than “y’all,” a word that I use and encourage others to.
The spelling is shit and should be corrected. I don’t know what a “trucky nigget” is; given that this is school food, I would assume some kind of insect larvae. The point is, you can learn a grammatical dialect but you can’t learn someone’s personal crypticon of misspellings.
If you want to fulminate about anti-intellectualism in black culture, at least pick the right things. Ethnic dialect is a marker, it is not significant – it formalizes in some groups, gets replaced in others. Zero in on hostility toward knowledge, but bear in mind that you aren’t clean either on this count. Why is it mysteriously a good thing to us when a politician runs as an authentic, honest-to-god redneck? You ought to ask yourself that question every time you wonder why “black culture gets its values from the street.” Prizing authenticity over reality (this essentially Romantic love of belief over fact) – that’s the problem around here, and that’s not a black thing as much as an American thing.
Perry, you’re just so embracing of our differences. I think we should let the culturally stupid doctor operate on you. You know we shouldn’t fault them for their cultural aversion to education, put them in the scrubs already and let’s get you unconscious.
Firstly, to Sherman Funk & shane’s anus: Thank you for commenting and being so understanding; I completely agree with your points.
I am Black and yes; as a child I had to learn “standard” English (I was born in Jamaica; thus the Creole there is my first language). Moreover, living and growing up in Canada, I was also required to learn “standard” French at the same time. You can imagine how difficult it was when neither of my parents spoke either language fluently (as they went to college here to try and improve their English & other skills). I made “stupid” mistakes for a while.
Sherman Funk’s comments are all completely correct. In particular, the fact that the child is writing English as he/she understands it and according to the grammar and linguistics of their particular culture so it doesn’t necessarily make them wrong in a broad sense, although it does make them incorrect in regards to the grammatical practices of standard English. For example, if I were to type this message in Jamaican Creole right now, it would be correct in that sense and to other Jamaicans reading but someone outside of our culture might think I was writing nonsense.
This is something that takes time to correct although some things just can’t be overlooked; such as the numerous misspellings of words with the same pronounciation in both English dialects such as “turkey”. Should the parents take some of the blame? Definitely. Does this mean anyone has the right to overgeneralize the Black experience and assume that Black people are some sort of cultural monolith? Hell no (yeah, this means you too, Bill Cosby!).
I think the teacher should also take resposibility too because–isn’t that their job? You know, to TEACH and keep kids that aren’t improving in at recess or for a few extra minutes after school for additional lessons? Encourage the child, maybe?
I really hope the child gets the attention they deserve and are encouraged to strive for better. At such a young age great improvments are still possible and when things like this happen to children–no matter what their race, age, class or gender–it is the fault of all people and institutions involved in their upbringing and education and a great loss for all of society.
I must post again to reply to the comment by Jeremiah.
First off what is white culture? From my perspective whites have NO culture. No definition of themselves but to be greedy and take what is not theirs to get and stay ahead. So is white culture the essence of lying, cheating, stealing, killing, and destroying? I think so because these things are what lies in the history of whites. Blacks have culture, Latinos have culture, Indians have culture, Asians have culture….Whites have a collection of things that they took away from each of these groups of people. How can you denigrate something that does not exist?
You stated: “Black culture, as with Mexican, shuns and mocks contributors, and instead praises those two “play” the system, who take advantage for personal or hereditary gain.”
Wow doesnt that sound familiar. “Take advantage for personal or herediatary gain.”
Isnt that similiar to what whites did to the Indians when they came here to America and STOLE their land? They took advantage of the welcome and hospitality of the Indians and used it for their personal gain.
Or wait…..what about the black slaves who they took from thier homeland to build this entire country with their hands for the personal and monetary gain of whites. What would America be if it were not for the labor of blacks? Or what would America be if the Indians had not been tricked and deceived and were allowed to keep THEIR land?
I cannot believe how Jeremiah would make such a humorous comment about “white culture”. Some people should really broaden their horizons because the misinformed theories that are being broadcast….especially from those of the white race, should be challenged for its accurancy.
If I did not read, did not educate myself, and were surrounded by ignorant people, I probably would believe that blacks are unintelligent, don’t know how to articulate themselves, and that our “culture” is completely tainted and we get everything for free. I work for EVERYTHING I receive, I pay for my education, and I have health insurance so my hospital bills are met. I pay for my wants and necessities without assistance from the government and I pay taxes for my personal income and my business. Anyone with a brain should refrain from following the same thought process of individuals who assume the inaccurate and mirror themselves after those who educate themselves and seek an undertstanding of people based on a broad sample and not a few families they meet in inner city neighborhoods.
Interview Request
Hello Dear and Respected,
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Ghazala Khan
The Pakistani Spectator
http://www.pakspectator.com
Yeah, yeah the race card again with a “precious, deeply cultural signifcance”. Please, If the Native Americans had invented gunpowder and ocean travel, we’d all be eating maize right now and wearing mocasins. And there are still slaves all over Africa, they’re owned by other Africans. I think they say it’s their culture.
@shane
‘Irish-Scandinavian-English-Greek-Italian-American’ means ‘some white guy.’
You don’t know. Don’t talk about it, however much you think you know. You don’t. Doesn’t matter how many black girlfriends you’ve had.
How come Obama didnt sign his name?
Black people until the election of the new and literate President did not have any real connexion for the most part with White establishment culture and that includes language. What films did they see or music that they listened to was spoken in White cultural English…essentially none. Rap is not majority culture English. Correct English as white people know it is not the language of the black culture in America and all of this linguistic separation accelerated with the collapse of the coalition between white acitivists and black activists in the Civil Rights Movement when the mantra became separation but also the goals of black culture changed to reject white language, music and culture especially after King was murdered. It is not surprising but it has done a great disservice to millions of black kids whose mentors are illiterate in the main language of America. Ebonics is a patois and thus no different from any other familiar colloquial language. It is fine at home but when one wants to work in the outside world, one must learn literate English in America to be taken seriously. Hopefully President Obama will be an example to millions to learn grammatical English. Stop blaming the teachers. It is the entire social structure in America allowed to fester in separation that is the problem. I was taken aback after not visiting the US for a long time that suddenly I could not understand black people working in a restaurant as if I did not speak the language of the land. When I lived in the US forty years ago, this was not a problem and I lived in such places as Alabama and Chicago where surely I encountered what language was spoken by the locals and it was a soft accented English amongst Black communities. What I met in NYC was indecipherable to me and clearly developed very separately and rapidly in the past several decades. The lack of language compatibility can be reversed only if the Black Community wishes it so and I think now that they feel a part of the process of rebuilding America, this might happen along with feeling they are now a part of the country. I do hope so.
Trust me the slave ideology in Africa is totally different from the way whites implemented it. I dont think that beating people with whips, lynching them, seperating families through sale, masters raping female slaves ect. is the way Africans handle the slave business there. In Africa slaves are respected and in most cases they are slaves to pay off debts and in no way forced to remain slaves. Rememeber whites had it to where you were born a slave. If your parents were slaves so were you…….definately not how it is done in Africa. Get your facts straight.
Look, I was reading this, & didn’t realize a 6th grader was writing it. It reminded me of my 16 – 21 year-olds that I try & teach math to in an inner city alternative school.
I see this all day every day, & in order to survive, you’ve got to have a sense of humor. So there’s no need to take everyone to task who finds this amusing. What are you supposed to do? Cry all day & become terribly depressed? That doesn’t help you or you students. You just have to smile, make a mental note, take a deep breath, & go on teaching.
And while public school CERTAINLY has its problems, the real culprits here are the parents. Seriously guys, if you smoke crack while you’re pregnant, you’ve just screwed your kid before they even got a chance. I’m not being sarcastic here, several of my kids have crack heads for parents, and even more are parents on drugs themselves, birthing the next generation of trucky niggit haters. One mother of two yesterday said her dream upon graduation was to be a stripper & smoke till her brains fell out.
In high school geometry, I have been asked multiple times how many sides a square has. Been told a triangle has one angle. I recently spent an hour going over how to use a ruler with one student. We went over problem after problem, & he was still asking me which was bigger, an inch or a foot? There is a disconnect. Teachers need your support, & young people need parenting classes.
Phillip,
Your comment is asinine. Just because someone doesn’t talk the same way as you do does that mean that they can’t become a doctor? No it doesn’t as you can see with so many doctors all over the world who don’t speak standard English. I didn’t say that they shouldn’t get an education or that someone without proper training should be a doctor. There are multiple ways to communicate and it is wrong to say that there isn’t.
Oh em GEE, this is really sad. This shows that out school system in America is not working. This shows that “No Child Left Behind” is bullshit, and it needs to be modified. Revamping “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” would help somewhat, but we also must recognize that we need to talk (in our daily lives) in a proper tone. Sixth grade students are going to pick up on articulation and pronounciation from those adults around them. Personally, I think this is just sad, and in pains me to think that a teacher would find this amusing. Its sad, and shows the failure that a lot of schools are experiencing these days. It makes me sick.
Dr. Flava Flav, pagine Dr. Flava Flav. You’re talking nonsense. Like the people who want to do a way with dodgeball so kids don’t encounter competition. Drs around the world speak (I would bet) whatever the standard language of the academically learning is for their country. And please laquinta, I’ve been to Africa, they call them slaves because they are dehumanized and degraded, otherwise they’re called good help cheap. Don’t try to wash it to suit yourself. My people built the pyramids, I know what slavery and prejudice is about.
But enough about the race issue…Let’s talk civil rights…Is everyone at your church in favor of gay marriage or are these rights to differences only applicable to skin tone?
And Perry, wrapping everyone in bubble wrap only serves to perpetuate ignorance. Assimilation is the only way to progress.
Shane-
I read what you said, and I gotta be honest, “culturalism” is the problem? Did you make that word up? You sound like a white person that doesn’t approve of black culture, and as a logical consequence, black people, even if you have stepped foot inside the homes of some. You sound like my friends from Northeast Philly and Fairmount, who are, in fact, racist.
That is not funny, it is actually really sad. The parents have to take a more active role in this childs life and help him learn. Very depressing. 😦
In our school (back in the ol’ days), Wednesday was “barbecue buns” day, which was really just hamburger boiled in some kind of ketchup-based ‘barbecue sauce’ and slopped on a hamburger bun. Totally devoid of any nutritional value, but it was our favorite and everybody ate in the cafeteria that day, no bag lunches on Weds.
Looks like things haven’t changed much in the last 40 years, ‘cept maybe they aren’t teaching grammar anymore.
Horrible! I don’t think this is funny at all. It’s great you posted it but the sad state of education in innner city schools should have been the focus following. It’s just racist to say “this be hilarious” in the description of the post.
I don’t see it funny at all, not a single word that is funny! Who should feel ashamed here? You, your friend, and your friend of a friend. Especially, shame on the teacher!!!
Wow. A whole lotta freakin’ out be goin’ on up in heeah.
Seriously, though, some great comments amidst the unnecessary freaking. “shane’s anus” pretty much nailed it, I think. Gets my vote for deepest & most relevant insight, anyway.
Look, it’s really quite simple. The kid is where he is, and it’s not gonna change overnight (if ever). The essay is funny because it’s so different from what more literate people are used to. It’s sad more because of how people react to it than for its own existence.
You can read a lot into this, and it can stand in as an exhibit for whatever your pet worry of the month or decade is, but in the end, it’s just part of the reality we all have to deal with. Be nice to people, keep an open mind, and always try to keep multiple perspectives in mind when dispensing advice. And for gods’ sakes, stay away from the damn trucky niggets!!
Actually, this is not the worst essay I’ve seen. When I was in college, one of the football players, recruited from the inner city, asked me to proofread his term paper. It was complete gibberish, like somebody had thrown a dictionary in the blender and pasted words together randomly. There was not one coherent sentence with a subject and a verb that you could understand. This guy had been at college for three years. It was the most shocking document I read in college because I immediately understood that the admissions office was corrupt to admit him and his professors were corrupt to keep him in school.
You can at least understand what this sixth grade kid is saying, even though it is pathetic. His parents are to blame for raising him to be marginally educated. Reading his essay, you can bet that there is not a book in his home. He probably was not read to when he was a toddler. His parents probably do not have a photo of him. It’s doubtful his birthday has ever been celebrated at home. And his parents probably have no idea what his grades are.
Oh, and in case I didn’t get my point across: There is no correct response to this. You don’t have enough information to pass judgment on any party involved, and neither do I. Meditate on it and see what useful insights you can glean. Ignore the ranters & haters… ’nuff said.
just because its sad doesnt mean its not funny–which it is.
the corn be with the trucky niggets.
lighten up jess. your horse is ugly.
ashamed sure, but the funny outweighs it.
“It’s just racist to say “this be hilarious” in the description of the post.”
the only thing racist is you assuming all inner city kids are of a certain race.
To those that feel this is about poverty, I feel compelled to step in and say that I don’t buy it. I’m sure it is a contributor but I can guarantee that my father grew up way poorer than the kid that wrote that letter. In fact, both of my parents were children of THE depression. My father started working as a 5 y.o., washing clothes with his mother. He was part of the ‘no shoes’ people from days of yore. He did not have the internet, a TV, an ipod and quite frankly, I can guarantee not only did he not have a school lunch, there were days when he didn’t have meals at all. What my father did have was a drive bred into him by his hardworking father and mother and he had siblings that also busted their butts to get where they were going. Each boy joined the service, my father became a commanding officer in the Marine Corps, clearly had to get a degree first, got his Masters and so on. Success and the drive to succeed is in your DNA. Success is a product of hardwork. If as a child, you’ve never seen people reap the rewards of hardwork because they’ve never been around good examples of what hardwork can bring, well, they’re pretty much doomed. This kid be doomed.
Oh, and happy Veterans Day, Dad.
this isn’t funny. if the teacher thinks this is acceptable than they should fire him. frankly, i feel bad for this boy.
Should be “who teaches school.”
It would be funny if it weren’t true.
Whether black or white, rich or poor, no 11+ year-old should be writing this poorly.
The teacher(s) responsible should be fired, and the rest of us should be given a refund of our education dollars.
laquintaeldridge,
Thanks for the reply.
I think you’re speaking from the same viewpoint I am, more or less, because of what you said here:
“I work for EVERYTHING I receive, I pay for my education, and I have health insurance so my hospital bills are met. I pay for my wants and necessities without assistance from the government and I pay taxes for my personal income and my business.”
This is my point: you’re assimilated. You’ve left behind the destructive elements of the black culture I’m describing. There’s another black culture I’ve lived in personally, one where hard work and integrity are paramount.
My experience is, it’s the culture of a past generation. The thug lifestyle, the hero figure of the pimp, these are the glorified models of young black people – just like the rock star was to white kids twenty and thirty years ago (and often still is).
Unfortunately, this model has come to define black cultural outlets, especially in the media. It sets a standard to follow.
Let me make a complimentary example from white culture – casual sex. We glorify it beyond almost all else. It’s contradictory to the values that brought society out of the depression. I believe it’s a gateway to objectifying people.
I think maybe this is where we got off track. You brought up a lot of historic white injustice, but I’m talking about current generational culture. Just as American whites haven’t maintained a single culture more than two generations, American blacks haven’t either. It’s not a racial superiority thing – I can’t apologize enough for a lack of less misleading labels than “white” or “black” – it’s about cultural shifts.
I believe any culture rises to greatness through adversity. American whites showed their strengths for entrepreneurialism – not without flaws like bigotry – after the depression and World War II. Blacks have shown powerful strengths through the civil rights movements – also not without flaws. These are only recent examples.
I hope I responded well enough. I believe you demonstrate the kind of values and capacity for assimilation into society I’m trying to praise. I also believe we’re seeing generations and cultures with no interest in assimilation, who instead look to be provided for as though society were just a caretaker instead of a mutually-maintained infrastructure.
Once again, our public schools have clearly failed. This is hilarious, and really sad. That student is going to have little to no chance of doing ANYTHING with him/herself academically. Sigh. Poor kid.
Human translation:
Sharswood Lunch: A Disgrace
Lunches provided by the Sharswood school are, in a word, nasty. So much so that some individuals have, in fact, become physically ill to the point of vomiting. As such the school lunches are the topic of much discussion. Occasionally, the lunch consists of turkey nuggets. These are, by far, the worst option in the lunch menu. The half-baked pizza would come in as a close second. The chesseburger however, is a delightful break from the pattern and easily the best choice on the menu. I broached the topic of the pizza with my fellow students who had partaken of the rice and chicken for lunch. They found that particular item to be the most entirely inedible meal they’d ever been presented with. The lone standout on the menu, the piece de resistance, was the corn served with the turkey nuggets.
Philip,
I’m not saying put everyone in bubble wrap. No one should be afforded special treatment. I’m not saying that this child is smart, but intelligence is not something that can be measured globally. Someone who can be claimed as being smart in Africa may not be labeled as smart in America.
So you are saying that everyone should be the same? That people in the future could learn about their past cultures through book? You can’t just do away with these peoples cultures, that is what I have been trying to say. By forcing someone to adapt to a different language you are forcing your culture upon them.
i be amused.
i be ashamed.
i be confused.
i be to blame.
yes he be learning dat at the cribo..
Ok seriously I hate to say this are you sure your friend is that great of a teacher. Sure it is funny at first but it is so sad that these are the kids who will be running our world one day.
Lol I frankly find it pretty funny to be honest, and it really raised my moral- my writing skills weren’t THAT bad when I was that age. Thank you little illetare tyke!
@PUYD –
WOW. You really know how to start a shitstorm. Lol! Aww, see, I knew this blog would be famous someday. That’s why I’ve been hanging in here for the long haul!
I agree that posting this online is in very poor taste. Propable not as bad as the Chicken and Rice those student had to endure, but I digress.
Dumb knows no color.
I’m going to agree with those here who have theorized that it is a lack of parental involvement — not some ridiculous counterculture, not failure on the part of his educators, not even poverty — that is responsible for his obvious failure to grasp basic grammatical concepts.
The overwhelming majority of my teachers in high school were there to collect a paycheck. None of them were particularly motivated to impart upon me or my classmates a burning desire to learn; therefore, it was up to us (with our parents’ guidance!) to extrapolate whatever we could from the lessons. To do the homework. To write the papers. To do more than the bare minimum, because by god, the stuff isn’t going to teach itself. Am I making a case for retaining unmotivated, apathetic educators? Of course not. But in the face of low pay and dealing with children whose parents could not possibly care one iota less about what they’re up to all day, as long as they’re out of their hair, that’s just about all you’re going to get. And if they don’t start out that way, they’ll get there eventually. Burnout’s a b*tch.
Trust me; I know.
After my parents divorced, my mother struggled mightily to make ends meet until I finished high school. We were never more than a paycheck away from losing everything we had, but she made sure we knew she was there for us. She read to us, helped us with homework, went to parent-teacher meetings, all on top of working a full-time job and attending classes at night, herself. No, I suffer no illusions that this is the ideal situation, but I think it certainly proves that with enough will and determination, anyone can rise above their circumstances to give their children some hope for the future.
And yes, this sh*t do be hilarious.
Sorry.
It’s not funny. It’s tragic. I lived in West Philadelphia. There isn’t a whole lot going on there if you’re not an uber-rich whitey at Wharton learning how to milk the system to keep you and yours rolling in it.
These kids need and their parents/families/communities need huge investments of time, money and resources to even have a chance at the so-called American Dream.
All you ‘bootstrappers’ ought to take an honest look at your privileges before you start telling other people how to live their lives.
I have to say, being a teacher, if you can’t laugh at an essay like this, you would cry.
This reminds me of “The Wire” on HBO. And it’s sad because this isn’t a joke. The public school system “in general” isn’t bad. (I’m a product of public schools) But when you have extreme poverty and drugs in concentrated areas they have different challenges that demand a completely different approach.
“Inner City Schools” is also code for poor/drug infested areas. It’s seriously fucked up. It is close to living in a war zone, and kids of all ages won’t put any emphasis on learning when they have to go sell drugs or stay alive for the rest of the day.
The problem isn’t the schools, it’s how we, the government/the people, handle poverty and drugs. Or how we don’t…to be more specific.
It’s so fucking bad that no one wants to even go near it.
Watch the Wire. It’s a shocking side of this country that we ignore.
My wife is a teacher and brings home stuff like this all the time.
And I, too, hate Trucky Nuggets. The mudflaps get caught all up in mah teeth.
I can understand how the Sixth Grader’s teacher must be feeling right now…
Deep down the concerned teacher was merely trying to share a problematic student with a close friend about the student’s unique daily usage of spoken/written English as accepted (politically wrong or culturally correct, maybe?) by the surrounding environment of the student’s lifestyle and family background.
I am an Asian living in a Third World country, filthy-rich enough for our Government to provide the best education for all citizens.
I came from an ‘inner-city’ like situation, in fact even worse then when I was young, and I still consider myself as poverty-stricken in more ways than one. Still, I don’t mind to sacrifice financially to send my two kids to a private Chinese school in my country where they could learn how to speak and write Chinese (Mandarin). I communicate with them in English although my mother tongue is Malay (which is a dominant language in Southeast Asian nations of Brunei Darussalam where I come from, Malaysia and Indonesia). My kids’ mother (my ex-wife) is from the Philippines and speaks to my kids in both English and Tagalog (which is the Filipino lingo).
In school, most of my children’s subjects are taught in English. I believe they could master English, Malay, Chinese and Filipino whereas I am only bilingual — Malay and English. When playing tennis in their club, my kids socialize with other expatriate children their age from the UK, the Netherlands, France, Venezuela, Brazil, etc. So they are also exposed to British accents (although through Hollywood’s global influence, my kids are PRO-American slangs!) and bits of Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese, etc.
Since they have cousins living in Canada and the US, my kids dream of going for further studies in North America (more financial sacrifices expected from their poor daddy!) 😦 So I hope they could compete with their American peers for places in the Ivy League colleges soon… 🙂
The point I wanna raise in here is this English piece which was written by my 10-year-old daughter (same age as the US President-elect’s First Daughter, Maliah Obama!) who is in Fourth Grade now:
“My Own Poem — Colours
Red is the colour of anger
welling up inside of me.
Orange is the colour of fun,
and all my happy energy.
Yellow is the colour of the sun,
which makes me feel happy and warm.
Green is the colour of giggles, laughs and life.
Exciting and dangerous.
Blue is the colour of calm and cool,
like wading gently in a swimming pool.
Purple is the colour of creative ideas,
crayons, paint and pencils.
Pink is the colour of love, kisses and hopeful wishes.
Although black lacks the brightness of other colours, it gives you a sense of mystery.
Colours describe how we feel everyday and
it expresses what we feel inside.”
Like her American peer, Maliah Obama, my daughter (I named her Tara Alanna because in Arabic Tara means “You see” and Alanna means “I sweeten it”, literally) loves all things American e.g. as in High School Musical, the Kardashians, Hannah Montana, Britney Spears, etc and Korean pop artistes! 😦
Here’s the deal: If I were the next President of the USA, the first country I would visit as an Official State Working Tour would have to be an oil-rich nation with the Richest and longest-reigning Monarch in the world — the Sultan of Brunei. And President-elect Barack Obama should really try to learn about FIRST-CLASS National Education System of the 21st Century from a Developing country like mine instead of creating more havoc and chaos in the Middle-east, Afghanistan and god knows where! 🙂
Who knows our wealthy ruler may just be generous enough to sponsor the educational needs of inner city kids of the US! 😉
@Abby
I think the blog has officially exploded. Remember when I predicted this?
@The Masses
Welcome to all the new readers, I hope you come back to see us. This discussion is intense!
Oh by the way, you’re most welcome to read my considerably poor English writing standard compared to my much-more highly educated countrymen who studied in British universities, in my no-frills, unfancied and terrible weblog: http://peacelovekindness.wordpress.com
You can read an essay by my 14-year old boy in my blog and my BULL’S EYE prediction of Barack Obama’s historic 2008 US Presidential Election victory, too. Republicans may wanna shoot me to death if they read my take on it! 😉
I don’t know why are people criticising the teacher. The kid is clearly an idiot. If he took a half-hour out of his day to read a book or ANYTHING that’s printed, he’d be able to write like a civilised person.
@PUYD-
Ah, there it is. I remembered you saying that but I couldn’t find it and was too lazy to really look. Lol. This post was on the front page of WP when I logged in as the #2 hottest community post. LOL! Aww, you guys ARE famous! I even saw that people are going through the old blogs too and commenting. Cute! haha
Ha, beautiful. We all can simplify and generalize now, and it’s NOT racism or ignorance? Fuckin’ sweet, then here I go: Okay, YOU americans know shit. YOU ALL (sorry, it’s the we-generalize-it-all-and-make-also-fun-of-children-post, so I can write that) are so dull and jaded. You can’t even look beyond your own nose. Because all of you have just this biased media that fucks with you, and that’s because all of you don’t even speak a second language to get maybe information that goes beyond your own biased world-view. The young generation of YOU americans thinks, at least at the Westcoast, you’re so european and sophisticated. Rrrrrright folks. Ever been to Europe?
Yeah, all of YOU baby.
Because in this thread, you can totally judge a whole culture on those people who stick out through stupidity, race doesn’t matter.
Ever thought about how hard it must be to keep up, if it’s always you who lives in the Ghetto, if you grow up with the prefab opinion against you? Wouldn’t you give up, too, especially when you’re a kid? Why would you try to orient yourself on those people who always look doen on you? As a kid, you might not have this farsightedness, and later, it might be too late? Ah, no, ALL OF YOU don’t think about that, because ALL OF YOU are Americans. And Americans are stupid and don’t even have a culture, sorry, but that’s what Europe thinks about you. ALL OF YOU (it’s the generalizing post, remember?). And now get offended, because you americans can’t get ironay, too. NONE of you.
You stupid ass Americans are as ignorant as the letter written above. You all say you are not racist but all your comments are full of racist comments. Bunch of dumbass/racist/ignorant comments, but not suprised.
No mor cheezeburgers until you write a legible paragraph young man!
Dan, you are a dweeb. The American mind is the finest in the world. Pure laziness and complacency have slipped in but one day (God willing) true minds will rule again.
To Jeremiah….
Very well put and with all honesty I accept your explanation of your point. It makes complete sense and my purpose it to help these children….and adults who are comfortably living in ignorance, wanting nothing more for themselves than to be the mirrored image and/or the cause of what this poor child suffers from. Lack of Knowledge.
much to say:
1. nice blog …
2. jmu as in james madisone univ.?? i know a few jmu grads …
3. “this be hilarious” is not proper black english …
4. i used to work in philly public schools … and yes, it is this bad. philly kids don’t bring books bags. never have pencils. and teachers, principals, and counselors alike lock themselves in their offices and never ask kids to bring supplies. teachers are scared, overwhelmed, burnt, tired, underpaid, never respected, and often, incompetent. i have seen 7th graders in philly watch the rated R movie, swordfish, during class time while the teacher sat there. i have seen teachers use their cell phones and read newspapers during CLASS time while the students ran around. i have seen 7th graders set up TWO play stations in one class during CLASS time and then play with them. i have seen 7th graders play cards during class time while the teacher sat and watched them thanking God that they weren’t at least fighting. i have seen 9th graders who want to learn and teachers who can’t teach them so they cut school.
no one else seems to care. and many think it’s the kids fault. and even more americans just laugh at the kids and how they can’t, read, write or spell.
—loveinOTHERplaces.com
@loveinotherplaces
yes, we are most definitely graduates of THE James Madison University. we hope you keep dropping by!
@The Thread
Let me be clear that the teacher of this student had absolutely nothing to do with this post. I received this third-hand, so any flak for posting this on the internet should be directed towards our blog. I only apologize for not taking greater steps to conceal the identity of the school.
amateurpol.wordpress.com
You have a friend of a friend “who” teaches sixth grade in Philadelphia. I’m most appreciative that you were not teaching grammar to my kids.
Can we stop with the hysterics. My son wrote every bit as bad when he was in 6th and when it was right and with support from his parents, his writing improved and he graduated, graducated from college and actually wrote reasonable college level papers. Put away your middle class judgements and guilt and, if appropriate go volunteer in your neighborhood school
I agree with everyone who notes that it’s horrifying, not funny. Definitely.
However, laquintaeldridge perhaps needs to consider that it is difficult to have a defined “white culture” when whites are supposed to continue feeling guilty forever and a day and be ashamed of ourselves. There seems to be quite a lot of aggression there, just to keep white people feeling guilty forever…? That sort of attitude does nothing to help working away from prejudice.
Signed intelligent striving white woman.
Wow, there is a lot of bullshit around here! And a lot of rather smart comments too.
Here is the bottom line from my perspective. Yes, the kid is talking in a dialect he uses at home. Yes, this is a failing of both his teachers and his parents (mostly parents IMHO). Yes, it is virtually impossible to force kids to learn unless you apply a lot of time and resources – as a parent or a teacher. And yes, this is to a large degree a black thing, because of the black inner city culture and poverty in which they live in.
However, at the same time, the poverty itself is also a result of poor education. This is a chicken and an egg thing. People with low education grow up poor, and don’t force their kids to study. Which in turn grow up poor, etc.
Furthermore, the purpose of a school is to increase opportunities of a student when he or she grows up. That’s why school curriculums have math, english, and many other subjects – because learning those things will increasae the chances of a student succeeding in life. Therefore, it is absolutely correct to attempt to force the students to speak and write traditional English. Not because of racial or cultural issues – because it will be better for the kid in the end.
Prioritizing culture over education is rather stupid and irresponsible. Culture will not put food on your table. Proper English however does have a direct impact on your chances of getting a good job, food, etc.
Oh, forgot to add – IMHO it is absolutely correct to point and laugh at this. We should not respect lack of education – instead we should attempt to put social and peer pressure on people forcing them to learn. So in a way it is our duty to ridicule this sort of thing.
Rather than prolonging this soapbox rant, why are we not doing anything about? We’re bloggers. We can it here all day, ranting and raving and disproving each other’s arguments, how about we volunteer to tutor a couple of a kids? I’ve tutored kids for over 5 years, and believe me it works. The penmanship or the colloquialism may not improve, but the kids will love the one-on-one attention.
Sherman Funk
why is it always (seriously always) about conservatives? if you are an english teacher i really would hate to think that you believe it is ok for this child to be writing in ebonics. is it not your job to teach them what you are calling ‘mainstream’ english (what a joke, what if this child wanted to be a writer some day? how far would ebonics get him/her?)??? as a teacher how can you stand for this? i am also a teacher in a low-income area and i would never allow this.
Wow!! This is the HAWT post on front page! Weee! I took a screen shot to keep for the “PUYD Scrapbook of Awesomesauce.”
@Abby
Were you with us for the “Area Code Rating System” craziness? It was kind of like this, but not quite as HAWT with controversy.
/basking in the 15 minutes (part 2)
Actually, the more I think about it, and I did that for the last hour, the more it pisses me off. Is there really a post up displaying and making fun of a child that obviously doesn’t know better? That obviously, why-ever, but for sure not out of his own fault, doesn’t get proper education? Is it even legal (in other countries it for sure wouldn’t be) for your friend to share this, and for you to post it? Is it in any way fair? I don’t want to be more catholic than the pope, or overly poloitical correct, in fact, usually it annoys me, but here it’s about a child. And it’s not only about the paper itself, but all the racist comments that are made of it.
It’s nice that you guys get a lot of traffic for your post now, but I hope you know it’s because of a child which (who? not my first language) has probably not much of a future. And this is exactly why your country is in the state it’s in. Because no one cares anymore, except it’s for fun or as a political chesspiece.
http://paulasmuniverse.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/the-countrys-cardiac-arrest/
[…]Elim Garak:Oh, forgot to add – IMHO it is absolutely correct to point and laugh at this. We should not respect lack of education – instead we should attempt to put social and peer pressure on people forcing them to learn. So in a way it is our duty to ridicule this sort of thing.[…]
Forcing children by shaming them? I’m german, and, wait, I’ve heard that before, when was that? Oh, yeah, I remember.
@Bowz –
I like how we just ignore everyone and talk about our own stuff.
The blog I actually found of yours was “Confessions of a School Teacher” which I found by just using the “->” at the top right, which takes you to a random blog. I read it out loud to my co-worker, who is a Social Studies teacher, and she cracked up. She’s the popcorn popper, BTW.
I did enjoy the Area Code Rating System, which I missed the initial 15 minutes of.
@The Thread –
Meh. It’s not like you didn’t know this shit was going on. Lol. Seriously, have you never seen Dangerous Minds? Geeez.
t,
I think I said that this kid needs intervention. In fact, I mentioned Ebonics specifically because I believe that inner city kids can benefit from ESL-style training in mainstream English conventions.
As you may recall, the concept of Ebonics was mocked until it died a pitiful death. The spin that the Rush Limbaughs of the world put on it was that bleeding-heart liberals were trying to make Black American English into something that would be taught in schools like Spanish and German.
This was one of those completely invented stories that got people all worked up about the leftys, tree huggers, feminazis, spotted owl lovers, PC fascists, blah, blah, blah, let’s elect idiots into office and run our country in to the ground because gays want to marry dogs.
What people were really trying to do with Ebonics was set up programs to train inner city black kids in the differences between the English they spoke and the English spoken in mainstream US culture. The goal was to remove one of the biggest impediments to their upward mobility, and to do so without insulting their heritage. As usual, silliness got in the way.
Wow, heavy. Is it the teacher’s fault alone?
I have some funny stories about teachers, you may visit me at http://segundina.wordpress.com
@Marieke – Yes, it is called peer pressure. Or social pressure in this case, since we are not his peers. I think that lack of such pressure is part of the problem.
If the grades were public, then kids would know how well or how badly everybody did, and there would be another pressure type. It is just another motivator.
It is the lack of this type of social pressure led to lack of education becoming “cool”.
To Graciad,
Personally it is not my responsiblity to adjust the way I feel about history in order to “work away” from a prejudice society that isn’t doing enough in my eyes to be changed. AND to be honest if I were apart of a group who caused the suppression of another group I would be feeling guilty forever and a day and being ashamed of myself. But then again that is just my intense existence of a concience. I am not saying that every caucasian person is respsonsible and accountable for what happened in our painful history, that would be untrue, but I wish more people could take a moment and switch places with others like me. Listen to some of the stories or read some of the books that give an accurate account of the horrible things that were endured. I am very aware of what did happen and what happens today. Sorry if I dont just get over it, Im sure you wouldnt either. By the way….I will be taking this energy and using it to tutor and mentor a child who may need just as much help as this child needs….courtesy of jdiener (Good recommendation)
Also, Elim Garak….it is not a black thing. It’s an “underperforming, attention deprived, educationally hendered child” thing. You never know what race this student is but you posting that generalized statement makes you no more intelligent than the child.
@Elim Garak, I know what that is, I was kidding. I don’t know if you’re a teacher, I know that there were a lot of teachers replying?, but let me say as a psychologist, this concept is absolutely wrong, and breaks confidence (something that kids need in ordr to learn successfully). Forcing through shame creates frustration, and frustration only in the long run, thus it’s useless. I’m not saying a certain kind of strictness is wrong, and we just should hug those kids and hope for the best. But shaming is the absolute wrong way, it never works, unless you want frustrated, aggressive kids who eventually bring their gun in school. Or simply just fail.
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While this post does have some kind of humour within it, I must say that this is rather insulting to the teacher himself/herself!
Perhaps the reason this kid’s parents haven’t taught him or her better is because then they would have to admit that they aren’t particularly satisfied with their lives and that they could have done better for their family had they worked harder? I suppose the ultimate source, then, would be a sense of pride.
Just a thought.
I don’t think they even served turkey nuggets back when I was in school. I think my favorite lunch was pizza. 🙂
i found it pretty funny….although i’m not quite sure what turkey nuggets are…
Hey! I was conceived in summer school! 😡
wow – it just reaches out and takes over your senses. right now, i am totally feeling like having a whole mess of trucky niggets, a cheese bugger, and maybe even a slice of pissa.
p.s. this letter from an 8 year old girl would go with this nicely….
http://www.losingtouch.co.uk/gallery/v/funny-pictures/funny-pictures-general/Letter_To_Pilot.jpg.html
hilarious!!!! shame, but funny as hell.
and throw all that racism at me. we all laugh at others’ shortcomings, and the first person who says he doesn’t is a liar and a hypocrite.
oh, and stop blaming the teachers; blame the parents.
It’s not (usually) the teachers. As a teacher in a very poor Hispanic school I can say that much, if not all of that behavior is learned at home. Parents are much more responsible for their children’s education than the teachers. We give them knowledge, but what they do with it is not up to us. Parents should be involved with their child’s education, but usually they aren’t. If a child does not get read to at home, or actually do homework, it makes it very difficult for a teacher to teach.
Quit blaming the teachers. We often buy supplies out of our own meager paychecks.
If parents don’t help their children, and actually raise their children, then letters like this are what happens.
Also, we are a cultural of self-esteem and refuse to hold a child back in school if they just don’t get the material. This child should not be in the 6th grade. They should be sent back for remedial reading and writing. As should their parents.
It’s the PARENTS, stupid.
If, as the media has indicated, 90% of blacks voted for Obama, myself not included, this explains a lot about how he won the Presidency.
@Marieke – Ah, no worries. Nope, I am just a crazy Russian. The Russian school system worked in part that way – or at least there were such elements in it. Grades weren’t secret, etc. Seemed to work out, although parents had a lot more to do with it.
wow lighten up people! do you really think the sixth grader was taking this assignment seriously? do they take anything seriously? it be an essay on school lunches! i thought it was funny, clearly it’s slang, shit! suburban white middle class kids have their own version.
I’ve worked with inner-city school kids helping them take standardized tests…some of these kids needed so much help, I may as well have take the test for them. And almost none of them had real problems, just no one at home to help them and it was very very sad, because I could see that many of them had a lot of potential, but there’s no way any one teacher could possibly take care of that many students…
Parent’s will continue to suck, or just be plan apathetic about their kids… This just breaks my heart because this kid is either going to end up dead or in jail…
@Elim Garak : 🙂 A friend and I actually sued the State of Germany at court 2 years ago, in order to enforce that a Russian Student who lived on the streets there gets ayslum in Germany, because of the methods in his ‘boarding school’, and the following military service. We won in last instance.
We take care now that he finishes school in Germany. We’re strict, but we don’t shame him. Ever. He’s been to enough.
@inappropriateone: […]Parent’s will continue to suck, or just be plan apathetic about their kids… This just breaks my heart because this kid is either going to end up dead or in jail…[…] No, those kids will become parents pretty soon. And if the system doesn’t change (more money maybe for social workers in low income areas, and more and better teachers? Anyone?), it’s the next generation with kids who are lost. Does no one thinks WHY this even is a problem? Gosh.
One Child Left Behind
i really have a problem with this, i am not a parent, or teacher, merely a social worker, but my mother would have never let me walk out of the house with a paper like this let alone hand in anything that resembled trucky niggets, cheese bugers or half done pizza that be nasty.. lets all point the finger… is it teachers or is it our first and most important teachers, our parents… hmmm. What happened to parenting kids.. do parents do that or is it a teachers responsibilty to not only teach but parent? But hey lets make it about racism thats so much more fun..
oh by the way thought this to be extremly funny! I want me some trukey niggets and corn for thanksgiving!!! Bring it on with a side of rice and chickhen that be nastey!
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How come we can’t insert tags into the posts. I vote for “trucky niggets”!!!
I bet that “trucky niggets” becomes a classic at my house….
@InfoImp
yeah, you’re right. “trucky niggets” tag has been added.
No child left behind my left butt cheek
Here’s an interesting observation:
I live and work in real estate in Metro Philly. So, I am pretty familiar with the demographics throughout the city.
Sharswood Elementary is located in a predominantly white neighborhood of South Philly. In the last few years, this particular area has experienced revitalization and increasing property values.
To assume the author of this essay is a poor, black kid is stereotypically presumptuous and racist.
I believe this essay was posted by the teacher of this child. However, I don’t think it was out of amusement but as a testimony of our failing education system and lack of parental involvement in this “GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD” of ours.
Whomever posted it for whatever reason, I am greatful as it has surely caught my attention as well as yours!
That, and “trucky niggets” just totally tickles my funny bone 🙂
Ok, I’ve waited this long to post on this b/c I wanted to see what everyone else said.
And, WOW.
I agree with many of these folks (and our buddy PUYD) in the idea that this is largely a poverty issue. More than that however, it really is the parents. Why can’t people understand that when you have a child, that it is probably the most important thing that will happen to any of us. More important than having a dog, or a demanding career, or a wife or husband. More important, probably, than most people with kids even understand early on in their parenthood. With this, comes the INSANELY HUGE responsibility of making sure that the child has all of the opportunities that are available to them in order to succeed, and hopefully be more successful than their parents. And the fact of the matter is, regardless of where this child is from, he has the OPPORTUNITY to do well in school. And without his parents help (at least some help for godsake), he doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Now, the issue with a lot of your comments is, largely, “it’s this child’s culture” to speak like this. While that may be the case, the fact of the matter is, society does it’s business in correctly formatted language and grammar, and largely judges success by how well a person can communicate intelligently. And the problem is, this ability to communicate starts in grade school. Certainly the teacher of this child’s class didn’t sit at the front of the room lecturing on how this type of language is acceptable. Maybe he’s not the best teacher (I know I had some bad ones in middle/high school), but he’s not teaching the spelling of turkey as “trucky.”
This, unfortunately is all the teacher can do: show them the correct way. After that, it really is the responsibility of the parents to step in and say, “OK junior. You know what the teacher was saying? Well that really is the way you need to speak and write.”
I’m sorry, but fill out a job application in a language that even approaches some of the butchery in this 6th grade essay, and get in line for food stamps.
Oh and Marieke, lighten up. First of all it isn’t illegal. No one was singled out here. We don’t know whether this kid was female, male, black, white, asian, pacific islander, hispanic, martian, whatever…you think this kid is in his mom and dad’s house surfing wordpress blogs? Chances are, probably not.
The point of this whole thing is what you said exactly, people (parents of some children) just don’t care in this country anymore.
Wow. I haven’t been here for a while but to come back to this hullabaloo is awesome! Nice work PUYD! It’s interesting to see sooo many comments on education and quality of education and then see how many classrooms are without teachers…
Keep up the good work PUYD!
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thanks
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It’s not at all about color, its all about personality. These days children dress and act “black”, or as most call it “wigger”, and children learn from other children, or grown adults. And females do that too,i believe its stupid. The way the language is used, and how some write it. Also it has to do with some what texting, some people use text instead of English, for example;” ur kewl ilu g2g ttyl”. So i believe that many people have changed over the years, and some children have just become more perverted,more involved in sexual acts and well more stupid, and most likely , its the way the parents always teach the children.
Your aritcle is very helpful for me,good job!
Lol. Niggers. XD
Get over it.
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Man ppl b gettin to upset bout truckey niggits