February is Black History Month

We have Carter G. Woodson to thank for Black History Month.  An African-American historian who earned his PhD from Harvard in 1912 (the second African-American to do so after W.E.B. DuBois), Woodson established the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASAALH)  in 1915 to record and preserve African-American history.  In 1926 he established Negro History Week, the second week of February that would fall between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass' birthdays.  Although Woodson passed away in 1950, ASAALH continued its work.  In 1976, ASAALH expanded Negro History week to Black History Month, and to this day assigns a theme to the month.  This theme serves as a focus for schools and community organizations that would like to plan events around the month. 

This year's Black History Month theme is "Black Women in American Culture and History".

For a list of future and past themes, click here.

Why Some Children Learn To Hate School--Their Teachers Hate Them

Male African-American children more likely to receive harsh punishments in school for minor offenses than their peers, according to a report from the National Education Policy Center.  The "discipline" that these children receive does not instill "good" behavior, but often leads to more frequent disciplinary action as these students advance through their K-12 education, reduced academic performance, and early dropout rates.

A UCLA based study revealed that students were aware of ethnicity-based stigma as early as second grade.  Ethnicity-based stigma in school made students more likely to experience academic anxiety and not perform to their potential.  At the same time, ethnic minority children were more likely to be motivated learners in school than their white counterparts--in particular, young African-American students.  

A major human rights crisis exists in our K-12 environment.  No matter what federal and state laws say about providing equal opportunities for education to all children regardless of race, religion, etc etc etc in the United States, there is not one federal or state law which states that people must prove their cultural sensitivity before embarking on a career teaching children or adolescents.  While many state teacher certification programs may include a course or training session on multiculturalism, anyone can learn how to pass a class.  The question is, can someone apply cultural sensitivity and acceptance in their own classroom just because they learned about it in a class?

Fifty percent of new teachers in the United States leave the teaching profession after five years.  It is a difficult job to be sure, often for low pay.  Reasons for leaving the profession include difficult working conditions, lack of support and mentoring from senior colleagues, and a realization that teaching in "the real world" is not the same as student teaching.  What many of those former teachers do not mention is that they, too, may experience some form of prejudice from their colleagues, or may be disgusted by the acts of prejudice that they see their colleagues perform.  Some new teachers are asked specifically if "the black students" are giving them a hard time.  Some new teachers are told specifically to just send certain students (often students of color) to the principal's office if they as much as walk into the door of their classroom.  Many teachers believe that students who are seen and not heard do not hear them use ethnic, homophobic, and transphobic slurs on school grounds.  Even with a new generation of teachers arriving on the scene, a generation cited as more accepting of diversity than previous generations, blatant discrimination against certain children in K-12 schools has not decreased.