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Making African American Culture and History Central to Early Childhood Teaching and Learning.

2008; Howard University; Volume: 77; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

2167-6437

Gloria Swindler Boutte, Jennifer Strickland,

Indigenous and Place-Based Education

This article provides a conceptualization for including African and African American history in early childhood classrooms. An example of a kindergarten teacher's efforts to counter negative depictions and frequently omitted information in her classroom is shared. While many early childhood educators avoid discussions of history because the content is considered to be too abstract, this article suggests that the children's backgrounds, the context, and teaching strategies used affect children's understanding of the information. While most early childhood teachers respect and honor all children, it is rare to find educators who express a strong and sustained commitment to children of color. Not negating the fact that all children should be valued, far too many educators still view children of color through the lens of European American children, and thereby, fail to see the strengths and beauty that they bring, or build on this largely untapped source of power (Boutte & Hill, 2006; Perry, Steele, & Milliard, 2003). For a number of complex reasons, not inherent to the children, families, and communities themselves (but beyond the scope of this article), African American children are arguably the ethnic group with the greatest and most consistent need in U. S. (Hammond, Hoover, & McPhail, 2005). They rank last behind every other ethnic group and, as noted by the secretary of Education, Margaret Spelling, . . too many African American students have been shortchanged by our nation's schools (How No Child Left Behind Benefits, 2005, p. 1). A primary factor in the continued existence of such inequities is a pervasive and rarely examined deficit perspective used to judge children of color (Boutte, 2002; Volk & Long, 2005). It is refreshing to find teachers, and in this case a European American, who view African American children through Africentric lenses. This article showcases one such teacher who uses promising practices in her classroom and who is likely to inspire others to do the same. It is jointly written by the teacher, Jennifer, and university professor, Gloria, who have collaborated on culturally relevant teaching for several years. This article begins with a few comments about Jennifer's background and her fascination with African American culture. Next, several aspects of her classroom techniques are shared followed by providing concrete examples of culturally relevant activities and strategies that Jennifer has used. Why, some may ask, is a European American early childhood teacher so committed to teaching about African American history and culture? As a child reared in the Southeast, Jennifer notes that she was taught to critically analyze every situation. However, her parents had completely opposite visions of what the world was like or how to address individuals who crossed their paths. Jennifer reminisces that her mother, also a teacher, instilled in her a respect for diversity. Her father, on the other hand, was not tolerant of differences. Both of her parents encouraged her honesty and genuineness and to treat every experience-whether positive or negative-as a learning experience. Leaning more toward her mother's perspectives, Jennifer has tried to keep an open mind and understand that everyone and everything has a purpose. Jennifer read studies on equity and education, and was moved by Jonathan Kozol's books, Savage Inequalities and Amazing Grace. In conjunction with her mother's influence, concepts addressed in these books laid the foundation for her commitment to her life's work of liberation through education. During her first few years of teaching in with populations that were 98% African American, Jennifer witnessed firsthand the educational inequities about which Kozol had so poignantly written. Her reflections led her to realize that her African American peers whom she had grown up with faced the same type of inequalities. At this point, Jennifer began to research the work of other scholars who had written about the dualities in and vowed to make a difference in her own classroom. …