Quote:
Originally posted by Poplife:
The school board convened a public meeting on Monday, November 23, 1998 at which residents of the Bushwick neighborhood, mostly black and Hispanic, hurled racial epithets and profanities at Ms. Sherman as well as verbally and physically threatening her.
[This message has been edited by Poplife (edited May 01, 2001).][/B]
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Let me see if I understand something...did the School Board hold a special meeting regarding this? Or was the monthly School Board meeting held and this was on the agenda?
If the first question the answer, then I wonder what was the School Board's point in allowing such mess to take (the verbal and physical threats)when the teacher (from what it reads), only brought a slice of culture through the form of Literacy into the classroom. I look back on when I was in grade school, I didn't have teachers who cared enough to introduce us to anything but European Culture. I am a child of bi-cultural heritage who was always asked this dum-butt question, "What are you?" and me being both hurt/confused inside along with having a smart-butt mouth, often replied, "Human", just to make the question a lot easier to take. The only time I felt good about myself was when I was with or around my family...because I was being exposed to many cultures not just mine. While I was in grade school, if I would have had just one teacher who cared enough to bring Cultural Diversity into the classroom, I probably would have enjoyed grade school a lot more.
Did the School Board look at this teacher's Lesson Plan/Objective/Goal and see if it aligned with the State of New York's Context Standards? Did it fail to meet acceptable Curriculia? Have any teachers of color used the book as a teaching tool, if they have, what was their outcome? Why did it matter if the teacher was of non-African American Heritage to teach the children about a true, beautiful fact...some of us have nappy hair---what's wrong with nappy hair?
Last question, did the children LEARN anything from it when all was said and done?
Because sometimes, in order to give our children an exceptional education, teachers, facilitators, instructors have to draw outside the box!
Last question for real...the parents who were angry...do they volunteer time in the classrooms (not just their child's class, but classes that need extra help) and have they come up with a BETTER Lesson Plan?
PS....
I have the book, and the cover of the book is too cute!
