search-engines-web.com sends “two links about Black History Month. For those of you who wonder what this has to do with libraries, anyone who works in a public or school library knows that February is the month to anticipate hordes of students and teachers looking for materials on famous and influential Black Americans for projects and reports.
The first link,from Newsday gives some background on the month, proposed by author and scholar Carter G. Woodson, in 1926.
The second link, from the Tulare Advance Register is about opposition to the commemoration, from Archibald Grimke, of the National Association for the Advancement for Colored People, who was afraid that such a day would upset the “white establishment.”
Ghettoization of Black and other “histories”
While I’m glad that students have an opportunity to learn about Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Women’s history, I really hate how it’s not a seamless part of the curriculum. You can tell in the desperate voices of teachers calling at the last minute, looking for a video, any video, for one of these particular “units” that there’s not always a lot of thought that goes into planning. In defense of the teachers, I imagine that many of these units are written in as state standards, not giving teachers that much flexibility. Still, I’m not convinced it’s the best way to teach about and honor the contributions of diverse groups.
Funny?
Hmmm…I don’t follow.