As Black History Month comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on its impact and how it affects every classroom differently at Pieter B. For example, in Mrs. Maroney's fourth grade classroom they were reading "The Watson's Go to Birmingham." This text is about a black family from Michigan who travels to Birmingham, Alabama during the 1960s Civil Rights movement. The reading has created great opportunities to have in-depth conversations about language and culture and how it affects our society today. In Mrs. Chriss's art classes, students were studying the important cultural contributions in the visual arts world. The students were studying Romare Bearden, an African-American artist, author, and songwriter and Alma Thomas an African-American expressionist painter. In Mrs. Roger's class, they just finished reading about Mae Jamison and performed important research regarding Christian Robinson, a young African illustrator.
Before I became an administrator, I taught Social Studies and African American history. I would teach my students foremost, that Black History IS American History. I'd also help them understand the importance of why we study history. History helps everyone learn from mistakes to encourage our citizens and communities to move towards a more perfect union. Celebrating the many achievements of Black Americans throughout history and present day, helps to recognize their importance in our society today.
