Why Do Rosenwald Schools Still Matter?

Why do Rosenwald schools matter to teachers and students today?  To answer this question, one need only ask, does it matter how we speak to our students?  The answer is an emphatic yes, it matters a great deal how we speak to our students.  In our words and tone they sense how we see them, and because they are children they tend to take the words to heart.  I can't tell you how many times a student has recalled some teacher comment from years earlier, whether for better or worse:  "Ms. Smith in third grade told me I was good in math" or "Ms. Jones in fourth grade said I'll never be a good writer."  (Both of these are real teacher comments that were repeated to me.)

These comments might have been made in passing as a math quiz was handed back, or in a moment of frutration as a teacher saw many mistakes in a writing assignment.  They were probably quickly forgotten by the teachers, but they made a deep impression on the students.  Even the student who seems closed down, who claims not to care, latches onto words that provide a glimpse into how teachers see them.  So how we view our students matters a great deal, it shapes our words and our expectations and even determines how we feel about coming to work.  I feel I am a fortunate teacher who gets to spend my days with incredibly creative and intelligent students, helping them discover their talents, students whose families have a long history of supporting education. 

All of my students are part of rich educational and cultural traditions.  My knowledge of African American history, including Rosenwald schools, lets me know that my lower income African American students (who comprise about 70% of the school where I teach) may not have every material advantage, but they have a rich heritage.  Just a few examples:  Northern African philosopher Aesop influenced Plato, and his teachings still embody the best examples of parables outside of the teachings of Jesus.  African building, agricultural and musical influences were transferred to the Americas when enslaved Africans were brought to work here; our culture and economy would be much poorer without them.  My students' families were striving for education even before it was legal for them to do so.  Dr. James D. Anderson and others have documented that in the decades following the Civil War poor African American families sought education in greater numbers, and sacrificed more for school building, than white Americans. 

So I am able to teach from a solid perspective, I know my students are intelligent and creative and talented and, yes, both contributors and heirs to our culture.  Education is something that African Americans have always shaped and owned.