Friday, January 23, 2015

No Room For History in Our Public Schools:


Last night, I gave a lecture on the history of the Vietnam War to a cross section of Catholic high school students from Bergen County who had joined together to put on a performance of the musical "Miss Saigon." This was the fourth history lecture I had given to high school students in the last two years. My other lectures, where the topic was the multicultural origins of Bronx hip hop, were given at West Catholic High School near Hartford Conn, at Trinity School on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and at Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn.
If something sounds strange to you think about this: Only one of those three schools was a public high school! Is it that the subjects of these lecture, the history of the Vietnam War, and the history of Hip Hop, have no interest to public school students? I think, if you spoke to public high school teachers, that the opposite is true. Public high schools students would love to talk about these subjects.
So what is getting in the way? TESTS! Public high schools, especially those in working class and middle class communities, are so desperate to have their students score well on standardized tests- under the threat of closure- that they simply have no time to have lectures on subjects which may get students excited about history, but will not translate into higher scores on high stakes tests
This situation is in huge contrast to what I experienced 10 years ago when I joined with scholars and community leaders to launch the Bronx African American History Projects. Within three years of the projects founding, I was invited to give lectures, presentations and tours to students at more than
20 Bronx public schools. Among these were lectures at at least five Bronx high schools, including small schools located at Evander Childs,
Taft and Morris High Schools.
These lectures, some of which were attended by upwards of 500 students, were incredibly well received, in part because I affirmed cultural traditions the students there viewed as their own. Students were clapping, shouting, joining me on stage, I even got invited to speak at one high school graduation
So what happened? I haven't received an invitation to speak from a Bronx high school in more than 6 years
Testing happened.
School grades happened
School closings happened
And a whole generation of Bronx high school students, and their teachers were made to feel that the only thing that counted in their education were scores on their tests.

44 comments:

Kuldeep said...

PSEB 12th Date Sheet
RBSE 12th Date Sheet
Raj University Result

Unknown said...


Odisha 12th Class Arts Result 2016
Odisha 12th Class Science Result 2016
PSEB 12th Class Result 2016
PSEB 12th Class Science Result 2016
PSEB 12th Class Commerce Result 2016
PSEB 12th Class Arts Result 2016
MAH 12th Class Result 2016
Maharashtra HSC Class Commerce Result 2016

sultana said...

I am really enjoying reading your well written articles.
It looks like you spend a lot of effort and time on your blog.
I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work..
Java Training in Bangalore
Java J2ee Courses In Bangalore
Java Course Institute In Bangalore
best big data training in bangalore
hadoop classes in bangalore
hadoop institute in bangalore

Mettu said...

tamilrockers

thanks for sharing us

mp4moviez

singa said...

best body massager

gbwhatsapp apk said...

friendship whatsapp groups

Fasts News said...

Thank you for share this article

슈어맨

슈어맨

Coast Guard Day Images

National Grandparents Day Images

Ultratech4you said...

Poke Meaning In Hindi Poke ka Matlab Kya Hai
UltraTech4You
Get Into PC
Parvez Alam
Apk Moder

Basudev said...

telegram group links

Gaming Fan said...

pubg mobile free skins - No VPN Trick

gauri said...

Superb Post. Your simple and impressive way of writing this make this post magical. Thanks for sharing this and please checkout this best wifi names

nowfirstviral said...

very nice amazing website your website is wonderfull thank you very much sir 먹튀 검증사이트

nowfirstviral said...

very nice and great work
kann nicht schlafen

Admin said...

Thank you for sharing the valuable information. Thanks for providing a great informatic blog, really nice required information & the things I never imagined. Thanks you once again Snapchat App Download

Susmita Sen said...

very nice amazing website your website is wonderfull thank you very much sir
CCC Question Paper

Susmita Sen said...

good h ji bilkul good Swachata par Nibandh

Admin said...

Thank you for sharing valuable information. Thanks for providing a great informatic blog, really nice required information & the things I never imagined. Thanks you once again Tank Stars Mod Apk

steve said...

Best Web design company in Brampton
Best Website Development service company in toronto
Webaxis - Canada’s Top SEO organization puts stock in developing our customer’s business using White Hat SEO, an inventive and creative methodology that helps in bringing increasingly significant traffic that converts into leads.

BagMafia said...

Hello Guys,
If you look like for a brand new and stylish in 2020 Top Handbags for Women, Best Luggage Bags For Travel, Best Bags For Men, School Bags For Kids, Please Check Buy Best Bags

Sonu Kabir said...

Thanks for sharing information awesome blog post Online Education Quiz website For Exam Follow this website Gk in Hindi

Fresh Talk said...

camscanner app
meitu app
shein app
youku app
sd movies point
uwatchfree

Unknown said...

pubg-mobile-frost-festival

Birwaz op test said...

FREE FIRE HACK thanks ....

FREE FIRE DIAMONDS UNLIMITED thanks ....

Click Here For Visit My Site thanks ....

Temp Mail Mod thanks ....

PUBG MOBILEHACK thanks ....

pubg mobile esp hack thanks ....

Click Here For Visit My Site thanks ....


Click Here For Visit My Site thanks ....


Click Here For Visit My Site thanks ....


Click Here For Visit My Site thanks ....

Bestmart said...

tecktak Really infomational and educative article thanks publisher for sharing this wonderful info i have shared this article on my blog flippzilla
and whatsaup, and Best smart tv

onlyblog said...

Nice Blog. Thanks for sharing with us. Such amazing information.

Only Blog

Guest Blogger

Guest Blogging Site

Guest Blogging Website

Guest Posting Site

Best Buy Gift Card Balance said...

Thanks for sharing this information. I really like your blog post very much. You have really shared an informative and interesting blog post with people..

Best Buy Gift Card Balance
Check Best Buy Gift Card Balance

Locas watson said...

Thanks for sharing the details. I simply wish to let you understand that I really looked into your site and also I found it fascinating and useful.
Sephora Gift Card Balance Sephora Gift Card Balance Check

Unknown said...


Instagram captions in hindi
Hindi captions for Instagram
Sassy captions for Insta

Free CSEET Online Classes said...

Great opportunities are coming this time because our institution is offering you a CS executive classes and a free CSEET classes . We are here to test your skills and improve your skill level. Interested people don't feel hesitate to contact us or visit our website at https://uniqueacademyforcommerce.com/

savas said...

더킹카지노,퍼스트카지노,더나인카지노,예스카지노,샌즈카지노,007카지노,코인카지노,더존카지노를 추천하는 CASINO-KOREA는 100% 검증을 거친 가장 안전한 카지노.온라인카지노

kishor said...

nices information thanku so much
kishorsasemahal
click here

Tamil novels said...

Thank you for sharing this valuable information.
Tamil novels pdf free download
Ramanichandran novels PDF
srikala novels PDF
Mallika manivannan novels PDF
muthulakshmi raghavan novels PDF
Infaa Alocious Novels PDF
N Seethalakshmi Novels PDF
Sashi Murali Tamil Novels PDF Download

Asha Kaashiv said...

The information you gave is useful for us click here for further details please

full stack developer course near me , online internships for ece students , online internship for electrical engineering students , online internship for ece students , online internship for cse students , online internship for b.com students , internship for eee students , internship for cse 3rd year students , ethical hacking internship

Perfumes Dubai said...

this is the one i am searching in google to read, if you wish to buy oud perfumes in dubai check our website. we are the best perfumes seller and manufacturer in UAE.

periyannan said...

I am really enjoying reading your well written articles.


what internship is all about
where to do internship
what internship should i do
How will internship benefit you
internship providing companies in chennai
internship program in chennai
How internship works
internship permission letter
internship with training
internship meaning in tamil

ritiksingh said...

Good Job, Thanks for sharing such a nice post. I loved it
Hindi Lyrics

periyannan said...

Nice Blog. Thanks for sharing with us. Such amazing information.

internship mail format , What internship means , internship hiring companies , internship without degree , internship without experience , internship acknowledgement , internship 2022 summer , internship training online , internship websites in india , internship completion certificate

Unknown said...

Hi, this is really amazing article, thanks for posting and sharing this article. we offer Projects in various domain for all. click here for further details please best final year project in information technology , final year project , final year project cse ,final year project in computer science , final year project topics , final year project java , final year project web development , final year project ideas for it students , final year project on cloud computing , final year project for information technology

sindokht said...

تبلیغات اینفلوئنسری ایسنتاگرام چیست؟
https://mobito.ir/instagram/
چهره های شاخص بسیاری در فضای اینستاگرام حضور دارند. تبلیغاتی که چهره های مشهور انجام می دهند، تبلیغات اینفلوئنسری اینستاگرام نام دارد.

Jumma Mubarak said...

khwaja garib nawaz urus mubarak
khwaja garib nawazchatti
syed baba tajuddin
ya syed ahmed jilani
labbaik ya rasool allah hu

Anonymous said...


করোনা প্রতিবেদন লেখার নিয়ম
and প্রতিবেদন লেখার নিয়ম ও উদাহরণ
also read সড়ক দুর্ঘটনা প্রতিবেদন লেখার নিয়ম.

APK SHALA said...

It is very easy to make some good website with the help of blogger.com, so if you want to make a website then you can take example of this one APKSHALA.COM
Here you can check apk blog post that will help you to boost your traffic also, the plus point of this blog is that you can all these services for free.
ThopTV APK

Noah snap said...

One of the Best patient care services in India working with leading hospitals and doctors providing safe & compassionate care at its best for everyone.
Top Nursing bureaus in Gurgaon | Best Nursing Bureau in Gurgaon
Home Patient Care Services in Gurgaon
Home Care Nursing Services in Gurgaon
Elderly Homecare Agency in Gurgaon
Best new born baby care services in Gurgaon

Admin said...

মোবাইলের ব্যাটারি ফুলে গেলে কি করতে হবে?