The Culturally Appropriate Pedagogy Model for school reform is outlined in Learning While Black. A critique is offered of existng initiatives for improving the education of African American children. The current focus of school reform movements -- teacher testing, child testing, child retention and "one-size-fits-all" models of parent involvement -- amount to the same old, same old.
The solution to creating educational excellence for African American children is found in the classroom in the activity between the teacher and the child. The key to effectively teaching children lies in the instructional leadership provided by principals. And meeting the needs of diverse learners in urban and rural classrooms involves the school becoming the coordinator of support services such as tutoring and mentoring provided by concerned citizens, service clubs, churches and fraternal organizations.
In Learning While Black, educators are called on to give up their belief that the educational limitations of African American children are the reasons for the achievement gap. Principals and teachers are called upon to work with community members to monitor the educational performance and extracurricular activities for each child at the classroom level, making sure that all children are performing at or above grade level and are involved in meaningful cultural enrichment programs. There is a need for all to create the "Beloved Community" conceptualized by American philosopher Josiah Royce and evoked by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. within the Culturally Appropriate Pedagogy Model, strategies are outlined redefining the school as the Family and the broader community as the Village in which each child is too precious to be left behind.
This model places the school instead of the parents at the center of the effort to achieve upward mobility for African American children. School is the appropriate focal point because everyone is required to go to school. Everyone does not have a functional family, everyone is not required to attend church, but everyone is required to go to school.
One of the debates that rages among educators is the issue of how much blame should be assigned to parents for the failure of their children. In my opinion, the resolution of this debate holds the key for closing the achievement gap for African American children. The answer is that the state has a fiduciary responsibility to educate children. Parents are required by law to send their children to school. Parents have no legal obligation to impart kindergarten through 12 grade education to their children. Not only are parents not legally required to educate their children, but most do not have the training, skills, or materials to do so. Schools are accredited. Teachers are certified. There is no accreditation for families. There is no certification for parents.
We will only achieve educational excellence when schools accept the responsibility for achieving grade level performance for each and every child. This point has been the subject of heated debate. However, in Detroit, for example, 42% of the adults are illiterate. So, how can they be held responsible for preparing their children to read in school? How can they be held responsible for reading to their children every day, as has been suggested by experts.
It is the opinion of this writer that the focus of school reform to benefit African American children must focus on building an infrastructure that promotes success within the school. The components of that infrastructure are described in Learning While Black. Blaming the parents deflects energy away from the construction of creative strategies for success on the part of teachers and school administrators. Blaming the parents creates an intentional divide between the haves and the have nots in the African American community.
