This digest discusses the different dialects children bring to the school environment and how U.S. schools deal with these differences. Reference is made to the Ann Arbor (Michigan) case in which a group of African-American parents sued the local school system on behalf of their children, claiming the school was denying their children equal…

Despite three decades of research on African American English (AAE), educational workshops aimed at improving the academic achievement, particularly the literacy achievement, of African American students still emphasize differences between Standard English and African American English. One result is that teachers may overlook the linguistic…