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Educating African American Students
And How Are the Children?
Gloria Swindler Boutte
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eBook - ePub
Educating African American Students
And How Are the Children?
Gloria Swindler Boutte
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About This Book
This straightforward and reader-friendly text provides strategies for P-12 educators who are interested in ensuring the cultural and academic excellence of African American students. It presents a careful balance of published scholarship, a framework for culturally relevant teaching, and research-based cases of teachers who excel at teaching Black children. Examples from multi-ethnic teachers across P-12 grades and content areas (e.g., ELA, science, mathematics, social studies, arts) are presented so that others can extrapolate in their respective educational settings.
This book explains Black culture, anti-Black racism, African Diaspora Literacy, African American Language, and pro-Black and actionable steps that educators can adopt and implement. Examples of culturally relevant family and community involvement are provided.
As with the previous edition, readers will appreciate a multitude of resources. After reading this book, educators will view educating African American students as exhilarating and rewarding and Black students will flourish.
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1And How Are the Children?Seeing Strengths and Possibilities
DOI: 10.4324/9781003164456-1
Proposition 1.1 There is a need to illuminate the existing strengths of African American children, families, communities, and schools and to disrupt the prevailing discourse of Black inferiority.
Proposition 1.2 Black culture is an asset and source of strength.
Proposition 1.3 Equity, not equality, is the goal.
Imagine a world in which Black children experience cultural and academic excellence daily in schools and society. Envision schools where Black culture and pro-Blackness are honored and Black children are treated in humanizing ways.
In light of the seemingly perpetual and alarming statistics about African American students, educators need to know that our work matters more than we can imagine. Nevertheless, as educators, we can also be complicit in the process of studentsâ nonsuccess, albeit often unintentionally or because we are unaware of the larger implications and influence of our actions and practices. In order for changes to occur in the pervasive, negative trends faced by Black children, doing nothing is not an option for educators who care about Black children and want to contribute to improving the education process on their (studentsâ) behalf. Acknowledging the inherent strengths, beauty, and humanity of Black students and their communities, each of us must find ways to make a positive and impactful difference and to teach for the liberation of African American students, such that optimistic educational and economic opportunities are not foreclosed for them.
This chapter, then, provides an overview of foundational ideas that will be explained in more detail in subsequent chapters. Although many educators will want to delve into âsolutionsâ and strategies immediately, the intent of this book is to provide a comprehensive conceptualization, instead of a shallow recipe and âquick fix.â Hence, some background on the issues facing African American students is necessary. Because African and African American cultures have a rich and strong storytelling tradition, I seek to honor that tradition by beginning with a story. This story has been passed down over the generations and across cultures, and its guiding question serves as the key theme of the book. It is my hope that this story and its guiding question will direct educatorsâ attention to the need to prioritize the care of children and, in this case, of African American students.
And How Are the Children?
Among the most accomplished and fabled groups of warriors were the mighty Maasai warriors of eastern Africa. No tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Maasai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn that the traditional greeting that passed between Maasai warriors was âKasserian Ingera,â which means, âAnd how are the children?â1 Even warriors with no children of their own would give the traditional answer, âAll the children are well,â which indicated that, when the priorities of protecting the young and the powerless are in place, peace and safety prevail.
This is still the traditional greeting among the Maasai people of Kenya. It acknowledges the high value that the Maasai place on their childrenâs well-being. The Maasai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions, and responsibilities. âAll the children are wellâ means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.
Gleaning insight from the Maasai, we may ask how our own consciousness about our childrenâs welfare might be affected if we took to greeting each other with this daily question: âAnd how are the children?â I wonder whether, if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country. What if every adult among us, parent and nonparent alike, felt an equal responsibility for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country, and in our world?
Imagine what it would be like if heads of government (e.g., presidents, governors, mayors) began every press conference, every public appearance, by asking and answering the question: âAnd how are the children?â Envision beginning every faculty or school meeting with the same greeting. It would be interesting to hear their answers. I wonder if they could truly say, without any hesitation, âThe children are well. Yes, all the children are well.â
Indeed, in some settings, the answer to this compelling question may actually be, âThe children are well.â However, if we asked, âAnd how are the Black children in the US,â the answer would not likely be a promising one in most schools and would more likely be a resounding, âThe children are not well,â in most cases.
Sustained interest in the welfare of Black children is rarely seen outside circles of Black families, communities, and professional groups. Would we, as a country, tolerate the same dismal trends that Black children face, for White children?
I really hope no white person ever has causeTo write about meBecause they never understandBlack love is Black wealth and theyâllProbably talk about my hard childhoodAnd never understand thatAll the while I was quite happyâfrom âNikki Rosaâ (Giovanni, 1979, pp. 58â59)
The joy of Black lives is seldom acknowledged in schools and society. Early in their lives, many Black children hear (and learn) the endemic societal message that they are devalued (Perry et al., 2003). For example, I am reminded of the childrenâs chant:
If youâre white, youâre alrightIf youâre brown, stick aroundIf youâre yellow youâre mellowBut if youâre black, get back.
I have found it difficult to engage a sustained and non-deficit interest in Black children from people outside Black communitiesâand sometimes, even within the community. Metaphorically, my efforts have been like those of a doctor trying to convince a person to diet or exercise for their own health benefits. In either case, the person has to give up something that he or she likes (unhealthy food) and has to exert more energy. In the long run, however, the benefits outweigh the sacrifices. In the case of transforming schools to meet the needs of Black children, educators will have to relinquish aspects of white privilege or internalized racism in order to retool and transform their teaching. Nevertheless, the end result will be beneficial to them, as teaching African American students will be viewed as rewarding rather than cumbersome, and the children will be well. Indeed, if we are to build a just and equitable world, we must begin with the children, as they are the key to our survival and the barometer of how we are doing as a society.
What Does All of This Mean for Educators?
So how does all of this translate to changes in the classroom? What do teachers need to effectively teach African American students? In order for African American studentsâ negative performance trends to change, educators typically need to transform their (a) existing knowledge bases, (b) dispositions, (c) instructional strategies, (d) curriculum; (e) assessments; and (g) school policies. Recommendations for addressing these six components shown in Figure 1.1 will be integrated in subsequent chapters. A brief description of each component follows.
Figure 1.1Key Areas of Change.
Note: Pie chart divided into six slices. Words on the slices (beginning top right) are knowledge bases, instructional strategies, assessments, curriculum, dispositions, and school policies.
- Knowledge bases: This book makes relevant existing bodies of knowledge accessible to teachers and teacher educators. This includes frameworks for thinking about educating African American students which demonstrate how to engage aspects of Black culture as an asset versus a liability.
- Dispositions: In order to effectively teach African American students, educators often have to reframe what we think about students and their homes, as well as how we view ourselves, our social identities, and our roles in the educational process. Because of endemic racism in schools and society, many educators may have difficulty in recognizing existing strengths among African Americans. An explanation and accompanying exercises in Chapter 2 will make this point clearer. Additionally, understanding how oneâs own cultural perspectives, experiences, and preferences influence teaching and learning is essential.
- Instructional strategies: This book explores instructional strategiesâsome conventional and some nonconventionalâthat have been shown to be effective. The role of teachers is pivotal, as the relationships that they have with students, families, and communities are important parts of this process. Recommended strategies in this book are elastic enough so that they can be adapted for educatorsâ respective classrooms and educational spaces across content areas and grade levels.
- Curriculum: This book demonstrates ways to make the curriculum relevant for African American students. An emphasis is placed on, not only building on what students know, but extending their perspectives, knowledge bases, and worldviews as well. A case is made that, by providing multiple and global perspectives, educators will meet and exceed existing standards. It will be important for educators to recognize an...