Teaching African American Youth

9 Pages 2308 Words

ning the public school system was designed by white people for white people. It was designed to socialize young children into American culture. Culture is defined as the shared perceptions, experiences, beliefs, knowledge, values, norms, and social forms of a group of people.1 At the time when African Americans entered the public school system it was the intent to civilize the population. The education of blacks was there to meet the needs of the whites. Once school desegregation occurred black children were in classroom with white children for the first time and often with their first accredited teacher. White teachers were uncomfortable with the black children in their classrooms. African American students were introduced to new standards, which are still in effect today, by teachers who did not care either way whether the children learned or not.
The majority of African American children experience devaluation, lack of nurturing, and a supportive environment. As a result of desegregation the link between family, school, and community is taken away from African American children. This is the support system that is vital to their academic success. The premise of desegregation is to provide equality, equity, and quality in the schooling of African American children. As witnessed by many it ultimately has failed to accomplish its promises.
Through time many African Americans have come to distrust the schooling system. “They believe that the success of African American children in public schools is contingent on the children acquiescing to white culture and losing vestiges of

1 Cynthia L. Jackson, African American Education (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2001) 268.


themselves.” 2 Research on the experiences of African American students has supported these attitudes. Research and observations quite often find that African Americans in the public schooling system are forced to give up their cultural beli...