Reaching African American Students

Abstract

In the public school systems of America, what gets attention is that which is trending at any given time. However, one trend that seems to be maintained (while piles of money are made off fads and mostly worthless professional developments) is that Black children are at the bottom of all of the tiers that are measured. Although Afrocentric education has received largely negative press from the mainstream, no argument can be defended against the notion of designing an education that is centered on the needs of those children who come from communities that have been intentionally disorganized by America (and Europe) for many years. Much is known about the problems that have come from the aforementioned historical happening, yet little is known about solutions such as Afrocentric education. This article presents a profile of an Afrocentric teacher who is dedicated to educating the children in his community. Findings include the need to focus on teacher transformation as opposed to students simply learning the Three Rs.