| |
|
Indigo crystal children at www.childrenofthenewearth.com
New Movement: African-American Homeschooling
By Jennifer James
WE'VE ALL HEARD OR READ the familiar African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” While this sage maxim rings true in many respects, increasing numbers of African-American families are tweaking it just a bit to better fit their lives. As more African-American families abandon traditional education in favor of homeschooling they are also creating a new proverb: “It takes a family to educate a child.”
While families have been homeschooling for nearly thirty years in the United States, it is only recently that African-American families have seen the proven potential of educating their children at home. In a time of perpetual academic underachievement, the ever-stagnant achievement gap and unfettered, unequal access to quality schools and resources, African-American families are taking a dramatic approach to the educational future of their children by adopting a collective and renewed stance on family-led learning. This is of particular interest to me as I am one of the leaders in this new national movement. What simply started as a general curiosity about homeschooling quickly evolved into a national organization and network that I started for African-American homeschooling families throughout the United States.
The year that our oldest daughter, who is now six, was born, my husband and I watched, quite by accident, the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We thought aloud to ourselves how great it would be if our daughter could be educationally advanced and adept at such an early age. We cheered for those who advanced to the next rounds, felt saddened but proud of those who were mere letters off a precise spelling, and jeered at how we both would have gone home early - in the first round.
While watching the bee we also got a small glimpse of the educational method that we would eventually employ in our own home. One of the spellers was homeschooled, and as new parents who knew nothing about how we would eventually educate our children, we knew instinctively that the idea and prospect of homeschooling sounded favorable and conducive to our family. A few days later I contacted our local school board who was quite friendly about telling us where to go for state homeschooling information. And the rest - as all great clichés go – is history. It would be more years of changing diapers, getting pregnant again and potty training before I would decide to start what is now the National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance (NAAHA).
I started NAAHA in January 2003 in order to better facilitate organization on a national level for African-American homeschooling families as well as for parents who are homeschooling adopted African-American children. With pen in hand, ideas overflowing, and much enthusiasm and excitement, I mustered enough information to start a fledging website for my organization. At that time, I didn’t imagine the response that I would ultimately garner. I received tons of phone calls and scores of emails from families across the country, as well as internationally, who wanted more information about how they too could begin homeschooling.
One of the most telling aspects of home education among African-American families, I would learn, is that most of these families don’t know that homeschooling is a viable option for them. There is a widespread stigma and stereotype that homeschooling is only a choice for white, middle and upper class families. As more minority families realize, however, that homeschooling is a non-discriminating, equal opportunity educational choice, more are either pulling their children out of traditional schools or, like us, are making the decision to never send their children to school at all.
In the age of educational reform, where “choice” is the word du jour, homeschooling is becoming one of the many options from which parents can choose, even if it is one of the last options presented. As word and praise for homeschooling circulates in African-American communities throughout the USA, more families choose to commit to it.
From my vantage point as a homeschooling leader, with no real concrete statistical data to my advantage - although some sources like the National Center for Education Statistics say there are about 85,000 African-American homeschooled children in the US - I can say that the numbers are indeed rising. I hear on a consistent basis from families that have decided to homeschool because their children are simply not learning in the public schools, or are faced with the prospect of being left back a grade, or may be suspended for any of a plethora of reasons. It has been widely noted that African-American children are diagnosed and placed in special needs and remedial classes in percentages larger than their peers of other races. Typically labeled as hyperactive, ADD/ADHD or educationally slow, parents are resisting these labels and are choosing to school their children themselves.
What makes this so interesting?
With the recent celebration of the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, old sentiments and loyalties to public education were reignited. Families and children were reminded about the struggles that blacks endured in order to achieve equal access to quality education. In essence, a nostalgic look into history rekindled the drive for some families to stick to public education and try to improve it. The interesting thing here is that while many parents and educators are looking to improve public education, there are scores of families who are abandoning it altogether.
It is parents like me and my husband who believe that public education for African-American children is largely irreparable. And instead of using our children as guinea pigs for educational experiments we would rather educate them at home ourselves. We certainly are not the only family who believe this way. Nearly two years old, NAAHA has gained a membership of over 700 members, and over 30 local support groups throughout the USA. Fifty years ago, no one would have imagined that African-American families in this day would release the hold that public schools have on them in such noticeable numbers. It is the new millennium parenting that is telling parents to put the impetus on themselves to ensure their children receive a stellar education. It is this new wave of parenting in the African-American community that is, in effect, resisting all those who are telling them that homeschooling is equivalent to disrespect and disloyalty to those who fought and died for equal education. It is the new age of parenting among African-Americans that calls for more family involvement and a greater focus on education.
One example of families that have decided to educate at home is a group of African-American unschoolers who converse online and recently convened at the Grand Canyon for a weekend of camaraderie, fellowship, friendship and learning. Some traveled across the country in order to meet other families like themselves, and some were local to the area. It was one of the first organized gatherings for African-American homeschoolers and an annual event that has sparked the interest of other families nationwide. This group has now planned to meet in two areas each year to accommodate east and west coast families.
Families like these are meeting regularly in local areas to visit cultural centers and attend culturally specific plays and performances. They are meeting together at libraries and in each other’s homes to create and share heritage-based curricula and, above all else, they are getting the word out, through example, that African-American families do indeed homeschool. Although African-American homeschooled children make up less than 1% of all school-aged children in the US, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, as more families embark on home education it will soon become a normal part of our communities.
Why are African-American families different?
In recent years there has been a perpetual spotlight on African-American families that choose to homeschool. It is first and foremost a unique educational choice for African-Americans because of the long struggle it took to grant equal access to schools among all races. This alone marks a stark contrast between other families that choose to homeschool.
It has always been taken for granted that, as parents, we would remain blindly loyal to public education because it took us so long to get there. As mentioned, however, times have changed, and so have the ideas of parents and their desires for their children’s education. With public schools continuing to fail African-American children at alarming rates, it is no wonder that families such as mine rely on other models of education.
African-American families that homeschool are also unique because they take into consideration the way in which they want their children educated from a cultural standpoint. Many say that conventional schools lack the curricula that accurately portray black history and blacks in history. When parents decide to homeschool, they then have the opportunity to teach their children with quality heritage-based curricula, texts, and children’s books and novels. They are able to incorporate the educational materials they deem important in the lives of their children. For example, instead of simply receiving a scant history of blacks that lightly touches on slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, with an emphasis on notable figures like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, parents can teach their children about the lesser known but equally important people and events in black history. Providing a more culturally-enhanced education for their children is one of the primary reasons that African-American families homeschool.
Aside from these two issues, African-American families face the looming nemesis of the large and seemingly widening achievement gap. While educators place blame on parents, and parents place the blame on schools, African-American homeschoolers can place the blame on no one. When African-American families decide to homeschool, they essentially place the ball in their own court. This means that if their children fail, then they too have failed as educators. There is more pressure on African-American homeschoolers to achieve a certain level of educational improvement and even academic parity with their peers of other races. While this isn’t the sole motivation for African-American homeschoolers, as sizable numbers of families begin to homeschool, there will undoubtedly be a microscope focused on the relative achievement of African-American children at home. Studies have conclusively shown that homeschooled students fare better academically than their public school counterparts, but how this relates to African-American children has yet to be determined.
What does the future hold?
No one really knows what the future holds for African-American homeschoolers, but from my vantage point, I can relay a few paradigm shifts that will probably come about.
More African-Americans will certainly decide to homeschool. This is evident. Homeschooling proves to be an inexpensive avenue to a quality education, and as more options in homeschooling become available, such as co-opts and instances where two families share the responsibility of homeschooling, even larger numbers will find home education appealing. And as the black middle class continues to grow, so also will families who decide to educate at home.
One thing that concerns me, however, is the growing prevalence of federally funded charter and virtual schools created for homeschoolers, and how these schools will affect African-American families. African-Americans have already experienced poor results from the public education model as well as the lack of equal resources among all schools. When African-American families decide they want to homeschool, the reliance upon government schooling is broken, which probably will result in greater academic outcomes for African-American children. If families get reeled back into the mindset of reliance, then I am afraid that academic achievement among African-American children will not have the opportunity to improve statistically and individually. And I am also afraid that homeschoolers will eventually be lured into receiving free computers, texts and supplies, for example, but may not receive quality supplies as is representative of the current state of public education resource allocation.
Overall, however, the future does look bright for African-American homeschooled children. Increasing numbers of families are doing the right thing and are taking the education of their children into their own hands. This has caused a notable change and highly recognized movement in America. The growing number of African-American homeschoolers means happier, smarter, well-educated children who are more connected to their families and communities. Despite a tough road ahead for African-American families that homeschool I, for one, am happy to be a homeschooler, and so are my kids.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer James, the mother of two, is the Director of the National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance. She has been featured on BET Nightly News and the Korean Broadcasting System and has been interviewed by Reuters, The Boston Globe, Newsday and the Chicago Tribune. She can be reached via www.naaha.com.
Resources:
The National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance
www.naaha.com
African-American Unschooling
www.afamunschool.com
Diversity Otherwise (UK)
http://www.diversity-otherwise.tk/
Afrocentric Homeschoolers Association (Canada)
www.geocities.com/blackhomeschool
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Untitled Document
Check
out the contents of the Full Online Version of Our Most Recent Issue of CHILDREN
OF THE NEW EARTH MAGAZINE Below
To ACCESS the most recent
issue of CNE Magazine click on the
photo above
|
Highlights from our
Online Magazine
|
|
|
Below is an example
of some articles that have recently been added to our archives
to access them or see more, click
here
DON'T MISS OUT ON ALL THIS GREAT PARENTING INFORMATION - CHECK OUT OUR ARTICLE
ARCHIVES NOW!
CHILDREN OF THE NEW EARTH
MAGAZINE
Cover layout designed
by Damian Keenan
Keenan @ t-online.de
_____________
DISCOVER
THE MAGIC OF
MATRIX ENERGETICS FOR KIDS
To find out more visit www.matrixforkids.com
or call 425 776 1441 to register
to learn more about Matrix
Energetics visit www.matrixenergetics.com
_____________
Recommended
Book of the Month
CNE SEAL OF EXCELLENCE WINNER
The Land of Smaerd
The Land of Smaerd (dreams spelled
backwards), is a story about a world where all things are possible; a place
where dreams live while they are waiting to come true. Through simple, yet powerful
ideas designed to cultivate imagination, Smaerd beckons us to a place where
we are free to soar...where children are invited to express their creativity,
where dreams are allowed to thrive. The Land Of Smaerd promotes purposeful optimism
through it s assurance that... No dream is impossible, too big or too small;
any dream can come true...any dream at all!
Buy it now from Amazon.com
_____________
HOW
NEAT IS THIS?
CNE
COLUMNIST, DR. STEVEN RICHFIELD'S PARENT COACHING CARDS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AS
A DOWNLOADABLE APPLICATION FOR YOUR iPHONE & iTOUCH!
You've
read his articles. You may even have used his cards.
Now you need
never be at a loss for a sound solution to a challenging situation
with Dr.
Steven Richfield's Parent Coaching Cards! Parent Coaching Cards provide a
truly portable tool to coach social and emotional intelligence to children.
The tool is currently in
use in thousands of homes and hundreds of schools throughout the world.
Visit www.parentcoachcards.com
or check out the iTunes page that features them here...
_____________
|
| |
|
