Despite the substantive body of research on African American Language (AAL), designating it a meaningful, rule-governed language system and the first language of many African Americans, schools in the US have systematically failed to integrate a language policy related to African American English learners (AAELs). In this article, we employ a…

In this study, I argue that American history textbooks present discrete, heroic, one-dimensional, and neatly packaged master narratives that deny students a complex, realistic, and rich understanding of people and events in American history. In making this argument, I examine the master narratives of Martin Luther King, Jr., in high school history…

Submits that Martin Luther King's persuasiveness in his writings may be attributed not only to his structure, logic, and ethos, but even more to his creative, eloquent, and commanding use of the English language. Supports this argument with examples from King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." (RL)

Martin Luther King's speech is examined as a sermon in the Black Baptist tradition. The speech, which is a dialog between speaker and audience, has, in addition to the "message" contained in the code, a broader ethnographic meaning. The speech event itself is metaphorical in nature, signaling political protest. (Author/BJV)

This article distills from research five childhood activities typically associated with adult eminence, including working diligently, absorbing information, engaging others constructively, choosing goals carefully, and completing difficult tasks. Examples from the lives of eminent men and women are provided, such as Jane Adams, Thomas Jefferson,…

The language-based education of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has proved more productive than the earlier apprentice learning since it offers cognitive development. The first priority of a modern curriculum should be such cognitive development, and language remains the most suitable tool for this purpose. Politically, the full enjoyment…

The Mestizo (mixed ethnic heritage) Civil Rights Movement in the United States can be divided into five phases: Pre-Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Bilingual-Multicultural Education, Political Conservatism, and the current period, an Assault on Civil Rights. The paper describes how a personal research career has been influenced by the different stages…

This article discusses the inherent political nature of educational systems and the tensions that arise between this political nature and the agenda to promote education as a public good. Current debates about the efficacy of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are used to illustrate this point. Although there is promise in the goals of NCLB, the…