Is it wrong to ask students not to use ebonics or AAVE in class and for assignments?

Question

I know this is a very sensitive subject and something I am dealing with as a high school teacher. 
I'm finding that a lot of my students are turning in assignments that are so far from standard English that it's bordering on ridiculous. I understand and recognize that these dialects are considered legitimate but I'm not sure where exactly this falls on an academic level. I have students who work really hard to make sure their work is up to standard, even my students who don't speak English as a first language put so much effort into making their papers grammatically correct. I know ebonics/ aave has its own set of grammatical rules but this isn't something that most teachers are trained in so I feel like I have to grade by a completely different standard and it gets difficult. I also want to prepare them for higher education, and I know not all universities will accept papers written like this.   I'm having students right "bruh" instead of brother and saying it's their culture. 
Even answering questions in class discussions can be difficult when I have students who are giving well thought out answers "In my opinion the author was trying to say ..." Then another student will say "He be sayin ..." It's hard to accept this in an English class where I'm teaching standard English.  
The administration is trying to figure out some guidelines for me because when I ask my students to write in standard English and speak in standard English in my class I'm getting pushback that I'm being racist. I wish this wasn't the case but I can also see both perspectives. What are your thoughts?

Accepted Answer

when you take any language class, you learn the standards of that language. I took French for like 15 years in school and never once learnt dialects or slang. Even if English is your first language, in a language class I think being expected to use the standard or universal language/grammar is acceptable.

Answer

I am a high school teacher/college professor. Standard English is what we use and learn. When I have an ESL student that is learning, I grade a little different, especially if they cannot speak the language. Ebonics and AAVE is not accepted academically in my district. You aren’t being racist by not accepting it. We have regulations to follow. In college, students will be graded not on effort, but on correctness. The only devices that are used with ESL students are iPads that translate. I understand that there are different dialects but having students use and learn Standard English is not racist.

Answer

This is a good question. I definitely see both sides.
It's an English class, so yes, students should be using standard English. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, so l don't expect every student to excel in or even like English class, but they at least need to try to use proper grammar. I’d say the same if a paper were turned in with Gen-Z slang. 
I'm from Hawai’i where Hawaiian Pidgin is pretty much the main language. It's very different from standard English. People from outside of Hawai’i tell locals/natives all the time that we sound uneducated. I've been told myself a few times. I’ve even been told at a workplace to not speak Pidgin because it’s unprofessional. And I still believe that English essays should be turned in with standard English. I would never turn in an English essay using Pidgin, even if my teacher fully speaks and understands what I'm saying. There's no issue with speaking whatever dialect/language you want, but English paperwork should be in standard English.
I think everyone, regardless of race, should have the same rules. If you’re going to allow one group to use whatever dialect they want, the same leniency should be given to everyone else too.

Answer

Hi! Black woman, former teacher and daughter of an English teacher here 🙋🏾‍♀️. Your question is extremely thoughtful and highly appreciated. You are not wrong in demanding that students turn in work in American English vs. AAVE. Your question reminded me of this TikTok video I recently saw. I hope you can view it as the English teacher’s approach is sound, rooted in an understanding of diversity and inclusion, and fair. In essence, she’s preparing students for academia by correcting the AAVE in writing but not when students use it verbally. To participate in today’s world, (Black) students need to know both. I hope this helps!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNGMk64F/

Answer

Living in a country that has a diffrent dialect every little village down the road , and the dialect from one fjord to another is going from almost danish til old norse and back. I find it extremely important to be able to write normalised/grammatically correct. One thing is assignments at school, but its important to know how to read and reply to letters from the goverment or similar when you get older. How people speak is harder to "controll" but you could set a rule about answering in full sentences.

Answer

if you’re in class, I feel standard English should be used. but people speak how they speak. if they raise their hand to answer or doing journaling for class (more casual) I don’t think it should be an issue. it is useful for people to learn their audience and use both effectively through life.

Answer

You'r not wrong at all as an African American person myself it would be wrong if my teachers accepted AAVE as standard English.

Answer

I highly doubt a college is going to accept that standard of work. Your not teaching culture you are teaching the standards of the English language and what passes for grammatically correct. Im not saying the other doesn't have its place i just don't think its acceptable in an academic setting unless that is what the classes are being thaught on. I homeschool and my high-school aged son will hand me something i the word cuz on it instead of because. I don't accept it and give it back to him to correct. I know that could be an impossible task when teaching 30 some odd students a class and having 6 different classes.

Answer

This does not really add anything productive to the conversation, but just something to add. When I was in high school, many Spanish speaking students joined Spanish class thinking it would be an easy class for them. It was easier for them compared to people who did not fluently speak Spanish, but they did still struggle due to dialect differences.

Answer

Teach them the difference between informal language and academic language. AAVE is its own language with its own rules and should be recognized as such HOWEVER it is still not academic English which is also its own language of sorts with its own rules.
I would discourage from using words like "proper English" and if you haven't already read up and learn the history of AAVE it's fascinating and then you can field any frustrations of your students and show that you don't consider them less than for their language any less than white dialects would be.

Is it wrong to ask students not to use ebonics or AAVE in class and for assignments?

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