Presently, I am teaching in an elementary school where over 90% of the students are African American, with the remaining group composed mainly of Hispanic/Latino students, with only a few who are white or Asian. My class of 25 students reflects these percentages. My students vary in age from those who have just turned eight to those who will become ten before the school year ends. They come from a variety of social-economic backgrounds and home situations. Their academic ability and the level of their general knowledge also vary considerably. Some are members of families with multiple problems. Few of their lives are without difficulties. Due to a variety of factors, many lack a strong feeling of self-esteem, are deficient in basic skills, and have little confidence, or even awareness, regarding their abilities. Though on the outside they often swagger and boast, they are generally unsure and conflicted regarding their worth.
A curriculum area where this personal uncertainty often emerges, revolves around the history of African Americans in the United States. Learning of the struggles faced by African Americans beginning with slavery and moving up to the civil rights conflicts still existing today is not an easy route for many students to follow. It is extremely difficult for many, if not most, to understand how such oppression could have occurred. A superficial examination of historical events leaves them wondering why there was not more resistance. "How could African Americans have allowed themselves to be treated that way? Why didn't they fight back more? I wouldn't have let them do that to me!" They fail to understand both the power of the oppressor, along with the strength and bravery of the resistance, often subtle, sometimes overt, which did exist throughout these periods.
