In Remembrance . . .

I love when Dr. King’s birthday rolls around each year . . .with my students we reflect on the dream, the dreamer and the legacy. I try to remind my students that it was more than just the work of Dr. King that achieved civil liberties for minorities in this country.  No one person can do it on their own, but it was the work of several people:  regular folks and students (their age)  who protested publicly and worked to make equality in this country a norm.  I mention people like Fannie Lou Hamer, SNCC, Stokely Carmichael, WEB DuBois,  Medgar Evers, Diane Nash & Ida Bell Wells.  It was the work of these people in conjunction with Dr. King that changed our country.   I emphasize that students should use the day to serve others,  following the example of Dr. King and other activists.

In response to a question about America today, many kids suggested King would be proud of our AA President.  One of the students pointed out he be especially proud that it was not Blacks who elected him-the population of AAs in the country is not enough to have won the election for him.

At the end of the conversation on legacy, I ask:  “How would Dr. King feel if he walked into our school building at this exact moment?”

An interesting thing happens:  White students raise their hands and say he would be proud and Black students raise their hand say he’d be disappointed.

D said “Well, I think he’d cry.  So many of my friends are African Americans and we have beautiful relationships.”  And she’s right.  I think he’d love to see that!  He would be excited with all of the interracial relationships, friendships and learning he saw in my school.

A responded, “Miss Teacha, I think he’d be disappointed.  It’s not about the black/white relationships.  He would be upset with the Black students.  Look at us, look at how we act at school.  We don’t take education seriously.”  Many Black students raised their hand to agree with her, to add to her comments.  It awed me that the students made these connections without any prompting from me.   It was a very, very good conversation.  And I am impressed that my students realize that there are problems today our communities. . .it made me think about this Boondocks clip (graphic use of the N word & profanity, watch at your own risk).

Overall, I think Dr. King would be proud of our country, even with all of the work left to do.  Happy MLK Day to all!

In Loving Memory of All Who Fought for Equality:

I just never understood

How a man who died for good

Could not have a day that would

Be set aside for his recognition

Because it should never be

Just because some cannot see

The dream as clear as he

that they should make it become an illusion

And we all know everything

That he stood for time will bring

For in peace our hearts will sing

Thanks to Martin Luther King

-Stevie Wonder

Can’t stop SCREAMING!!!!

I am so proud. . . I’m so excited. . . .Wooo heee!!!!

Its going to be a rockin day at school tomorrow. . .

My AAH students are going to bounce off the walls. . . shoot, all my students will be bouncing off the walls.

In America, ALL things ARE possible!!!

I am so amazed and excited.  Wooo!!!!!

Education and the new generation

So, it’s 2:30 in the morning and earlier I was not  ready to go to bed.  I turned on HBO and watched a documentary about Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, MD.  Basically, the film describe the school plight in complying with NCLB.  I watch the film and cried.  My heart is breaking for this generation.  Specifically, for this generation of African American children . . .as the gap between the have and have nots continues to grow, so does the gap in the education of these children.  In my own district, there are schools that have similar problems and issues.  I see my own school fighting these battles eventually.  This whole thing is beyond words. . . and I feel like there are no solutions

• Where are there parents?  I listened to these kids describe their home lives and situations.  Typically, it’s one parent and or a grandparent raising a child.  Where are the parents?  Why are kids worrying about adult things?  Why are they fending for themselves?
• Where is the desire to learn?  Why don’t the kids want it?  Why don’t they care?
• How is that a child makes it 9th grade reading at a 4th grade level?
• TEACHERS:  How dare you quit in the middle of the year!  Do you know the impact that will have on these kids graduation rate?  Can you truly be this selfish?!
• ADMINISTRATORS:  Why aren’t you keeping up with your kids?  Only 200 out of more than 500 graduate?
• Our ancestors NEVER wanted things to be like this.  How is it that they struggled, fought and suffered for freedom . . .for an education . . . and then we blow it like this?  And why don’t WE demand the equality that was won after the Civil Rights movement?  Still separate . . .still inherently unequal, . . .  defacto segregation as a result of white flight & SES

One of the teachers said it so plainly, that the state had been threatening to take over the school for years, but they were not going to do it.  She said they didn’t have the money or the resources to fix the problem, but they just keep sending people to observe and “help” in order to justify NCLB.

I am really hurting for these kids.  And I don’t know what to do.  I’m hurting for some of my kids.  The kids I saw in the film are carbon copies of my babies.  How do I intervene?  How do I keep mine from failing or lost in the system & shuffle?  Am I taking things too personally?

And at the end of the film, the narrator said that a few years later, the state did take over the school.  But I’m still left wondering, were their resources enough to combat the SES of the students?  How do we do THAT?

I wouldn’t want to be anything else

So, when I got up this morning and turned on the news, I was filled with excitement! According to the news, Barak Obama will be the nominee of the Democratic party in the 2008 Presidential Election. I wasn’t excited because I think he should be president, but I was excited because this WILL BE a historic election. A Black man running for President, who would of thought? Well, I, of course, made this the discussion of my African American History class this morning. The students were surprised that Obama had won. As a social studies teacher, I AM really excited to follow this election.
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Cheerleading tryouts are. . . . . going. We didn’t have the normal big turn out that we usually have. The girls are really rough and raw. I’m sooo glad that I will not be the advisor next year. And there are lot of girls with bad grades a report cards and bad attitudes.
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I am loving answering your questions. Or maybe, I l just love talking about me    Mr. Maestro  asked me the following:

a) If you hadn’t been a teacher, what do you think you would have done for a living?
b) Describe the most inspirational teacher from your own education.

If I hadn’t chosen teaching as a career, I would do love to do something in the technology industry, be a writer or work in the non profit industry making sure people received services that met their needs. I thoroughly enjoyed working at the prison teaching classes and I believe that I might have tried to write a grant to run a school within the prison..

The most inspirational teacher I had was my show choir teacher. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She was a beautiful & kind lady. And she instilled me with a confidence that I couldn’t have gotten from anyone else. Believe it or not, her husband is a teacher at my school now. So, I’ve gotten the pleasure to thank her for all she did for me when I was teenager.

Monkey See, Monkey Do pt 2

A commenter wrote the following:

I would never put up ‘monkey’ decor. I’m white, teaching in a southern district with a large percentage of African-American students, and I have unfortunately, heard that stereotype used many times (TV, movies, whatever). My view is that if ONE student took that the wrong way, and was hurt by it, their learning has stopped and it would be all my fault. My job is to teach them, not decorate for them, and there are plenty of options that don’t have the possibility of interfering with a student’s learning process.

My friend who is considering the monkey decor wrote the following in response: 

I think she said that because of what you said. Because I didn’t have any second thoughts until you said something. I wouldn’t do it now because you’re my friend and I respect your feelings (even if I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing:) And I think you make me out to seem like a monster and it wasn’t like I was seeking to do something controversial. It’s just the latest trend by Trend and the store had a very cute and eye-catching display. You asked what I was doing in my classroom when you were seeking ideas about how to decorate your classroom. And you have to admit, my classroom is very inviting and very child-friendly. I see that a well-decorated classroom with a unifying theme makes the learning environment seem more organized, comfortable, and attractive so that children want to enter rather than dread having to come out to the cold, institutional trailer (undecorated, looks like a yard shed.) This is an elementary classroom, it’s supposed to be cute. And I don’t want to stand in an ugly environment all day. Tell your friends the spring theme is now little bees which are just as cute. BTW, do your friends know about  ”the file?” And do they know that since you started teaching this course, you are now paranoid and looking for everything to be racist? With love.

 My response:

It was my NOT intent to make you look like a monster.  I hope it didn’t sound that way on my blog.   I am open to telling my blogger friends about “the file.”  (An imaginary file she keeps of all of my comments about people all races–though mostly Black and White, like when I say I’m on “colored people’s” time or that Black women are antsy about their hair or that White people cut hair better than Black stylists, b/c the Black stylists get scissor happy–this was said after I got my hair cut at a “White” salon as a birthday gift from a friend.)  I’m sorry you consider my file so offensive, but you know I’m equally offensive to people of all races and types.    I realize you weren’t seeking to do anything controversial, but I wanted to inform you that it could be controversial if you did it, even innocently.

I have NOT been more paranoid and looking for everything to be racist as a result of teaching this African American History course.  I have gone into the course with the mindset that history is history and I can’t hold anyone in my present life responsible for the past.  I have ALWAYS been cognizant of my Blackness, my race . . .it’s apart of my identity.  What you have notice more of is my discussing my teaching strategies and discussions held with my students about the past–which includes a painful history of treatment of Blacks.  Maybe this has made you more sensitive. . . or, is it guilt?   The discussion of African Americans in this country is not meant to be one that makes others feel guilty, but to shed light.  With love

Reflection: A renewed sense of purpose

I’ve been lesson planning for the week today.  I’ve been working on video clips that I could integrate into my classroom this weeek to honor Black History Month.  I’ve still got to teach the Middle Ages and I’m planning to do that.  But, I started watching some of the things I’d saved on my DVR to use in the classroom. 

 As I watch the history of African Americans, the words of Dr. King and those who gave their life fighting for an end to segregation, I remember why I felt such a calling to teach.  Our kids need us!  I feel so torn and so frustrated . . . my mom lived through segregation.  She was a teenager when Dr. King was shot–she remembers the day vividly and tells me about it.  She remembers going to all black schools.  I don’t think she ever went to an integrated school.   She experienced racism first hand.  Because of it, she instilled in me the value of education.  She was a reader; she taught my brother and I to be readers.  Education and learning are important to her though she never got any type of degree beyond a diploma. 

When I reflect, I realize why teaching is a passion sometimes frustrates me.  I want my kids to have the desire to learn.  I teach at a school that is 90% African American, I can count one hand the number of White students enrolled in my classes.  We have a small percentage of Hispanic students.  What bothers me, is that day in and day out, I see these students and they seem so apathetic about their education.  I keep asking myself, how do I make them want it?  How do I help them understand the price that was paid for this education?  How do I make them care?  Do their parents care?  Do the parents know the price that was paid?  I look at their grades, the work they submit and I keep thinking what am I doing wrong that they don’t want what I’m offering.

 How will Dr. King’s dream live in me? 

Even though I am asking these questions, I feel more than ever, this calling to teach.  I believe that his dream lives in me every time I step into that classroom to share what I have learned with them.   I think Dr. King’s dream was more than ending racism and segregation . . .he wanted to cure societal ills and education is a large part of the cure.   I have a dream that my kids understand the price that was paid.  I have a dream that they will strive for excellence.  I have a dream that they won’t be lost in shuffle.  I want more for my freshman babies, even if they don’t want it themselves.  It hurts my hurt that 1/3rd of them will not graduate high school according to the statistic.  I keep think something has got to be done. . . How can I help Dr. King’s dream live on in my students?

Race: Monkey See, Monkey Do

My friend and I were having a discussion about decorating her classroom with monkey decor.  Her rationale is that the students wear monkey t-shirts and back packs, the monkeys are cute and another teacher has already done it.  She say’s “It’s JUST CUTE.”  I have told her not to do it, no matter what the kids are wearing or doing.  I vehemently oppose this for the following reasons.

1. Black people were once referred to as ape like and monkey creatures for years.   It’s highly inappropriate and may reinforce these ideas.  I’ve told her this on more than one occassion.  Remember the film produced by the KKK, Birth of a Nation.
2. She is white and teaching a large percentage of Black students. The wrong person/parent could see this as racist.

She has asked me to write about this on my blog and get the opinion of other African Americans and teachers.    She wants know:  When you think of monkeys does your mind automatically think of race? 

She doesn’t see it as wrong as the era of Jim Crow and slavery are of the past.   She is not doing it to spite Blacks, remember:  It’s JUST CUTE!  My opinion:  No matter how long ago slavery, was some images still have a sting of racism and monkeys SCREAM of racism to me. 

Maybe, I’m too sensitvie, especially when it comes to race.  Please help me to see the light.  What is your take on this discussion?

Gearing Up For Year 3: Training

Everyone knows that I have been so EXCITED about teaching African American History this fall.  I can’t wait. Today, I started the week long in-service to prep for the course.  Darlene Clark Hine was there and spent a great deal of time lecturing; this woman is brilliant.  I admire her sooooo much.   She is the author of the book that we will be using in the course.  She was the first to write a college level text book for African American History.  She is a pioneer in African American women’s history.  She amazed me today.  I took so much away from her teaching. 

However, the training was long.  We just sat there for hours listening.  Dr. Hine did encourage us to participate, discuss and ask questions to help clarify things we did not understand.   After the fact, I think that was a bad idea on her part.  As she talked about human origins, African’s initial status in this country, involvement with the Native Americans, people began to ask questions about the implications for our society today.  People asked irrelevant questions getting her off the subject and stirring debate.  I suppose these types of things will happen in my classroom; but it was frustrating b/c I wanted make sure I was getting what I needed to effectively teach this course.  It was like they were quizzing her to see if she really knew her stuff and they were trying to see what her political ideologies were.  I hated it! Ex:  Part of her discussion was the disintegration of the Black family.   First men chimed in talking about being the head of the household and how Black Women were challenging their roles. Someone even mention that affirmative action was hurting men.  But then two women chimed in stating that “their man” ran their homes.  At that point, I was ticked b/c that was not the point of the discussion.  She was trying to explain the process, about how slavery broke up families, migration patters after the failing of Civil War Reconstruction.  But the people I’m this class with took it to place it never should have went.  And b/c I’m in the Bible belt, ya’ll can only imagine some of the things said.  Too much personal information was given. 

Okay, so the parts that I loved about today: 

• We will have to address the N word in my class b/c its apart of the history.  She explained that we should allow the children to research it.   They will then have to analyze the use of the word.    

• Her curriculum is infused with popular culture for each period.  She’s even included hip hop in her book.  She stated that “richness of the African American culture” is essential to study of our history.  

• She gave her approach for such a course. . . she says this to her on students and I’m definitely going use it:  the only obligation you have to the past is to know it.  In this class there should be no “white guilt” and “no black anger.”  Your actions today can not change the past.  All you can do is know it, so that you can answer your own questions of identity.  I LOVE THIS!!!!  

After the training, I went to my school to scrape walls and check my box for stuff I’ve been waiting on.  I was able to speak with my principal.  He informed me that I will be teaching at least two sections of African American history.  One of the will be an honors’ class. I was shocked.  Me, honors?  I’m so excited and intimidated all at the same time.  I really have to be on top of my game with the smart kids.   I need to get started working now in order to be prepared them.