What are they teaching our kids in school?

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by Ronnie Tyler | on January 23rd, 2008 | 7 comments

Around the holidays our kindergarten daughter came home with a handout from school. It was about Kwanzaa. That was the lesson for the day. It started off by saying in big bold letters – Kwanzaa is an African holiday … hold it! That’s not correct, my wife brought it to my attention, the weird thing is the Principal is black so I wondered if this was something being circulated through the entire school or just in her class. I was reminded of this last week when I read an article about a school in Colorado where they only send the black students to a field trip assembly about Martin Luther King Jr. What message does that send? It seems like nothing has changed since I was in school and most schools still don’t know how to handle Black holidays or Black History Month for that matter without rehashing the same MLK, Frederick Douglas materials over and over. That’s why it’s so important for us to teach our own children at home about their heritage. Have any crazy stories about what you or your kids were told in school? Tell us…

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and their latest documentary Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

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Comments (7)

Big J Thursday - 24 / 01 / 2008 Reply

I don't have any crazy stories but I completely agree that children need to learn first in the home and second at school. Most of what makes me who I am I learned at home at the feet of my father. The public schools are not designed to induce real thought, but to produce corporate conformists. My baby is 8 weeks away - I'm right behind y'all!!
Misbeehavin Friday - 25 / 01 / 2008 Reply

My kids are not old enough to be in school yet, but when I was there I felt they didn't teach alot of black history.
Claude Saturday - 26 / 01 / 2008 Reply

Most of what the schools have is out of date. For example, for MLK study package my 2nd grader got it said that they might make a national holiday out of his birthday. So, we just make sure we create the spin at home. The most important thing, I tell my kids, is not "what" they learn but that they learn "how" to learn. I like the idea of your blog.
TheDad Saturday - 26 / 01 / 2008 Reply

Claude that's crazy. Don't tell me this was anytime recently.
Claude Saturday - 26 / 01 / 2008 Reply

Yup! I think it was mimeograph paper! :-)
in my opinion Friday - 01 / 02 / 2008 Reply

My children attend a predominantly white religious school. They attend this school because I firmly believe that what is taught in the school should reflect what is taught at home. I fully expected them to come home and talk about God etc., but what happened on MLK day could have put tears in my eyes. My 5 yr. old came home and told me ALL about Martin Luther King. He chatted up what he did, and how he died and why we celebrate this day in his honor. I was so proud of him AND the school. As far as Kwanza, I have a hard time celebrating a made up holiday. As far as public schools, I believe that you get what you pay for….
Zhana Sunday - 16 / 08 / 2009 Reply

I agree that Black history education needs to begin at home. African American children need to learn that we are all African people. Our ancestors were taken from Africa, but they never stopped being Africans. I learned Black history first from my mother, but unfortunately, many Black parents are not aware of our history or do not have the resources or skills to share their knowledge with their chidren. So the schools still have a role to play.