Village Method

The Importance of Culturally Affirming After-School Programs

By

There is one unprecedented feat that the COVID-19 pandemic has managed to achieve, and that is the highly unlikely reunion of both parents and educators. Although they were once separated by their numerous opposing beliefs, both have finally come to realize just how important it is to join forces in the face of an ongoing, global challenge.

Families and educators have managed to bridge the gap that once separated them. During their time in lockdown, parents have had some time to explore the vast selection of after-school programs currently available. Most working parents prefer knowing that their children are engaging in safe after-school activities after 3 P.M. Not only that, but they would also like their children to take part in culturally affirming programs.

What has caught our attention the most during the pandemic was that throughout 2020 and into 2021, after-school programs have stayed in contact with their students and their families. This goes to show just how relentless after-school programs are when it comes to their fight for equity. Considering that the pandemic practically failed to stop their efforts, it’s safe to assume that nothing will get in the way of qualitative after-school activities.

In this article, The Village Method will showcase just how crucial after-school activities have become and why it is important to find the ones that are culturally affirming enough for our youth. Read on!

 

After-School Programs Should Prioritize Family Engagement Activities

Junior football team stacking hands before a match Free Photo
Image credit: Freepik

When looking for an after-school program, it’s best that you seek one that actively prioritizes family engagement activities. Why? Because doing right by all the children is rarely the case in most schools. This is what happens when systemic racism becomes ingrained in most, if not all, institutions. 

For the most part, our kids are inculcated with self-deprecating beliefs. The side of history they are being taught has nothing to do with their African ancestry. We, as their parents and as experts when it comes to their academic journeys, are often discouraged from getting involved in various activities. 

Parental engagement is now needed more than ever before. Because of the high demand, after-school programs have taken the lead and are actively providing students and their families with the appropriate tools in order to break the cycles of intergenerational poverty and systemic racism.

Working parents are in dire need of a helping hand. Family engagement activities ensure that each parent has input on their children’s education.

Our youth must learn how to connect on a more meaningful level with their ancestral culture, traditions, and ultimately, with the African way of living. They will surely have higher chances of becoming the self-aware, successful adults of tomorrow. Therefore, they will be able to give back to the communities that helped raise them.

Parental engagement is vital, regardless of what most schools would have us believe. The benefits will start to become obvious as soon as we make the decision to invest in after-school programs that aim to fill in our children’s intellectual and emotional gaps. 

Another important step towards a better educational system is the implementation of Social and Emotional Learning.

 

After-School Activities Should Include Social and Emotional Learning

When was the last time your child learned how to make sense of society and its many challenges? Soft skills are what most employers are looking for when conducting job interviews. Critical thinking, knowing how to add value to teamwork, and developing leadership skills are highly relevant for any future college student. 

The nurturing of a healthy school culture starts with the implementation of the Social and Emotional Learning framework. According to CASEL, this particular framework helps to establish equitable learning environments. In turn, this will have beneficial effects on the students’ social skills, while ensuring their academic success.

Start seeking out after-school programs that aim to support our youth’s emotional and social wellbeing. The success of our children depends entirely on how well we address their inner motivations. We must help them develop healthy identities early on. 

The Social and Emotional Learning framework also relies on parental engagement in order to build harmonious relationships between the families and schools. Parents must participate in the co-creation of safe spaces where their children can express their healthiest identities. 

This is the only way we can change the deeply flawed curriculum, schooling system, and ultimately, the society in which we live.

 

The Conclusion Regarding Culturally Affirming After-School Programs Is…

They are absolutely necessary if we want to watch our children develop healthy skills and identities. It is up to us, as parents and educators, to break the barriers that prevent our youth from excelling at whatever it is they’re currently aiming for.

The Village Method is a community-based grassroots organization that aims to nurture and support the whole-child. We don’t offer regular after-school activities. Instead, we aim to provide children and their families with culturally responsive Youth Development, Family Engagement, and Community Outreach programming. 

It takes a village to raise a child, as the old African proverb once stated. It is up to us to build these safe, healthy villages, but only with your help. You can either donate, volunteer, or simply spread the word about our cause. Your help is what keeps us going. Explore our website today and stay tuned for more of our blog posts!

Can Nonprofit Organizations Dismantle Systemic Racism?

By

The widespread influence of systemic racism is deeply ingrained in the fabric of our society. The massive cultural, educational, and historical sabotage has been taking place for centuries. The curriculum contains no traces of our real, African history. This pushes our people to seek alternatives, such as culturally affirming after-school programs.

According to the Critical Race Theory, it’s important for everyone to acknowledge the struggles of our ancestors and consciously strive for a less racist future, especially when it comes to our children. They deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and consideration, starting with their early years in school. 

However, things are easier said than done. The rampant force of systemic racism is unlikely to slow down and we, as parents and educators, have to seek practical solutions as soon as possible. There is no time to waste, especially when our children are purposefully kept in the dark about their own African culture and ancestry. 

In this article, we’d like you to become familiar with some of the best nonprofit organizations that relentlessly aim to dismantle the institutional racism that, sadly, seems to characterize our nation. 

 

The Children’s Defense Fund

Established over four decades ago, The Children’s Defense Fund stands out as a force to be reckoned with. Not only do they acknowledge the pervasive educational inequity, but they also work with Congress and the federal government in order to shed light on our youth’s various issues. Their after-school activities stand out as brilliant strategies for counteracting poverty. 

It’s important to point out just how vital after-school activities are to our community. According to the Afterschool Alliance’s America After 3 PM study, the demand for after-school activities remains high and unmet. The COVID-19 pandemic is mostly responsible for this incredible interest in qualitative after-school programs. 

What The Children’s Defense Fund promotes is something very close to our hearts. One of their many after-school programs aims to provide K-12 students with culturally relevant and high-quality books that uplift African history and traditions. We strongly believe that knowledge is power and that our children deserve to familiarize themselves with the African way of living and learning.

 

Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ)

Of course, we couldn’t talk about extraordinary nonprofit organizations without mentioning Harlem’s Children’s Zone (HCZ). Their history is nothing short of fascinating. Determined to end intergenerational poverty in the Harlem area, HCZ has managed to achieve in two decades what others could not in centuries. 

Their complex after-school programs take inspiration from the Social and Emotional Learning framework, among many other things. By focusing on the child’s mental and emotional wellbeing, the journey to college becomes increasingly easier to tackle. 

Their cause resonates with ours, at The Village Method, because it aims to connect children and their families through meaningful family engagement activities. Our young ones deserve a fair chance at getting into their dream colleges. During their K-12 years, they should set a secure foundation for their success. HCZ makes a promise to all its young scholars. They will get into college, against all odds. 

 

Comer School Development Program

This incredible program was initiated over five decades ago, for low-income and low-achievement elementary schools. Since then, the Comer School Development Program has been implemented in more than 1000 schools. This impressive milestone speaks of the program’s high effectiveness.

The school management team, children, and their parents are challenged to join forces and come up with a plan for each school’s overall wellbeing. This is an awesome example of how powerful family engagement can be. 

 

The Village Method (TVM)

Image credit: The Village Method

What makes our mission stand out from other after-school programs is that we focus on nurturing the life of a whole child. The Village Method gives traditional after-school activities a much-needed twist with the help of family engagement activities and Social and Emotional Learning.

We are strong advocates of providing children with a historically accurate outlook on their African roots. The curriculum fails to include our people’s real history. The richness of African culture and traditions is simply undeniable. Our children deserve to absorb this vital knowledge very early on. 

We are also determined to get all children into their dream colleges. First-generation college students have always struggled to find the necessary motivation and resources to fulfill their academic dreams. That is why we’ve established ScholarPrep Nation in order to help future college students and their parents along the way.

 

The Conclusion Is…

Yes, nonprofit organizations can surely help tone down the intensity of systemic racism. The fact that the Critical Race Theory remains outside the current curriculum should raise our concerns and make us think. Is the schooling system enough to help our children become the self-aware, empowered adults of tomorrow?

Qualitative and culturally respectful after-school programs are what all parents should look into. Not only are they essential for the harmonious nurturing of the students, but they also tend to their hunger for Afrocentric knowledge.

The Village Method is here to provide its scholars with high-quality after-school programs that uplift the African tradition. Our incredibly rich cultural heritage requires its rightful credit. We invite you to explore our cause by visiting our website, volunteering, or simply donating. We believe that your ongoing support will benefit many children, and we invite you to stay tuned for our next blog post

Changing the World, One Child at a Time

By

The educational system has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. There was not one child in the world left unaffected by the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chaos and confusion loomed over our families for the longest time. That was until we gathered our remaining strength and decided to do something with the time at home that was imposed on us.

During the lockdown, we had the rare opportunity to watch our children attend their virtual classes, do their homework, interact with their peers and educators, and deal with the challenges of remote learning.

The importance of family engagement activities was unexpectedly highlighted, offering both parents and educators the chance to come together and motivate the students during these uncertain times. 

We, at The Village Method, have always been ardent supporters of after-school activities with a culturally empowering twist. We were also deeply aware of the importance of family engagement activities long before the pandemic struck. 

To watch the world adopt these practices has been wonderful so far. In this article, we’re looking at how we could change the world, one child at a time. Read on!

 

Reimagining After-School & Family Engagement Activities

Because we love elevating others’ causes, we’d like to introduce you to Harlem Children’s Zone. This iconic organization has managed to bring academic excellence to the children of Central Harlem. 

Their restless fight against intergenerational poverty has even reached President Barack Obama’s ears. This incredible, Black-owned initiative has managed to change young people’s lives for the better. 

The youth’s road to college was safely paved by Harlem Children’s Zone. They remain a long-standing inspiration for all education-oriented organizations, including our own.

Once again, we can all agree that effective and culturally responsive after-school activities have the potential to pull several communities out of the quicksand of poverty, systemic racism, inequity, and discrimination.

We also believe that our youth should attend extracurricular activities that enhance their Social Emotional Learning skills. 

Also, it is imperious that our children are encouraged to explore the rich African heritage that is so massively overlooked by the school curriculum.

Only by getting to know your culture and history can you have an impact on the world’s current trajectory. We believe that this is the ideal foundation on which schools should build upon.

 

Drawing Inspiration from the Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Happy kids at an elementary school Free Photo
Image credit: Freepik

The Critical Race Theory is still an underrated source of inspiration for all educators who are determined to break the systemic racism that runs rampant in our schools. 

The Critical Race Theory is here to remind us that our people are still being treated as second-class citizens, regardless of the apparent advancements that our nation has managed to achieve. 

Systemic racism has deeply permeated our society. This is a fact that we must come to terms with.

When it comes to education, the Critical Race Theory also recognizes that the current curriculum disregards the history of our people and instead pushes a white narrative upon our children. 

We are also perceived through a deficit-tinted lens, which makes it almost impossible to elevate our youth via powerful family engagement in schools. 

It might seem like the gaps are perhaps too wide to bridge and they surely are. However, if we make it our mission to educate parents, educators, and children on what the Critical Race Theory is, we might have a solid chance to diminish the impact of racially segregated education.

 

Lending Working Families a Helping Hand

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the inability of most working families to tend to their children’s educational needs. All educators should be determined to provide families with safe and culturally affirming spaces that aim to elevate respectful family engagement activities.

Parental engagement is difficult when most educators perceive parents of color as uneducated, distracted, and unwilling to offer their children a chance at a better future. 

The tacit discrimination of parents can have disastrous effects on the academic journey of a child. Our youth deserves to witness harmonious relationships between their parents and educators. They deserve to partake in wonderful, memorable parental engagement activities.

The pandemic has taught both working families and educators how to leave aside all differences and come together. The young ones are inclined to perform better academically when their parents are involved every step of the way.

Isn’t it what we all dream of? To watch our children graduate college and lead happy and healthy lives? This is easier said than done and depends entirely on what we choose to do with the time and resources that are given to us right now.

 

The Conclusion Is…

In order to change the world and infuse it with equity and compassion, we need to inspect the tools and strategies which we currently possess. 

Once we decide that our children deserve better, we will do whatever it takes to watch them grow into dependable, powerful, self-aware, and proud African-American citizens. 

We, as their parents and educators, must provide them early on with the best programs available. That way, we will secure their shot at a successful life. 

There is no other way to do this but to encourage them to become attuned to the wisdom of our African ancestors. It takes a village to raise a child, said an old African proverb. This is what we, at The Village Method, have always strived for.

However, our mission is made impossible without your help. We need you in order to change the world. Help a child by either donating, volunteering or simply spreading the word about our non-profit organization. 

We are deeply thankful for your support and look forward to nurturing future generations of intelligent and culturally aware adults.

Building African-American Communities Matters

By

Have you ever heard of Dr. Asa Hilliard III? He was a highly esteemed teacher, psychologist, and historian of color. He chose to dedicate his life’s work to the betterment and enlightenment of our community. This incredible man’s work serves as a testament to the struggle that our people have had to endure throughout the centuries.

The Village Method is a community-based grassroots organization that draws its inspiration from scholars such as Dr. Asa Hilliard. We find ourselves resonating with his view on pushing an Afrocentric curriculum in schools. The Critical Race Theory is also fundamental in our eyes.

To put it shortly, Dr. Hilliard made it his mission to point out the intentional and therefore calculated alienation of our people. He believed that all people of African descent have been forced to accept European superiority through the deeply flawed educational system. 

In this article, we’re going to take you through some of the main reasons why African-American communities should be built and nurtured. Are you ready to dig deeper in the topic?

 

Uncovering The Underrated Importance of Family Engagement 

The curriculum in schools continues to underwhelm our youth. They are unaware of the historical achievements that we, as people of color, should be credited with. How do we counteract the lack of African education and tradition in schools? By fully embracing family engagement activities. 

Because family engagement in schools is practically unheard of, we find ourselves in a position where we must actively seek out solutions for our children’s wellbeing. By signing up our young ones to wholesome, culturally empowering after-school activities, we’ll begin to notice plenty of positive changes. Our children’s behaviors and outlooks on their academic journeys will improve significantly.

It’s been proven that family engagement activities can help dismantle educational inequities. However, it’s important to mention that this is made possible only when they’re aimed at providing our children with historically accurate information. Too long have our people suffered at the hands of their oppressors. It’s time for a definitive reform. 

Parental engagement should aim to bring our youth closer to the richness of our ancestral African culture. Since family engagement in schools is still an underrated concept, we highly encourage you to look into Black-owned after-school programs that aim for this type of collective awakening. The greater the fear and ignorance, the longer the battle with systemic racism.

 

Supporting Family Engagement Activities Based on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) 

African family spending time together Free Photo
Image credit: Freepik

Social and Emotional Learning is one of the best educational frameworks currently available. It enables equity and excellence for all students, regardless of their economic backgrounds. Its main aim is to help bridge the gap between schools and families by creating a sense of community between the two.

Family engagement activities are largely based upon the Social and Emotional Learning framework. By nurturing healthy relationships between educators and parents, we’ll be able to finally face the rampant, systemic racism in schools. Our children deserve to be fully equipped with the tools that will enable them to pursue academic excellence.

The families’ expertise and cultural capital are hard to overlook. Every single parent is an expert when it comes to their children. Educators should be eager to understand and assimilate the parent’s expertise. Sadly, this is rarely the case. However, parental engagement activities based on Social and Emotional Learning manage to counteract this unfortunate reality.

 

Studying the Critical Race Theory (CRT)

The Critical Race Theory has been under attack in many states of our country. Why, you might wonder? Because silencing us is much more convenient than coming to terms with the irreparable damage caused by a consistently racist curriculum.

An academic concept that has been formulated nearly four decades ago, the Critical Race Theory aims to affirm the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of our people. Imagine a world where CRT is taught during one’s K-12 years. We like to think that racism would become endemic at that point.

The unabridged history of America is not a heroic one, as the curriculum might have us believe. In fact, it is imperious that we bring forth the truth with the help of the school curriculum. The earlier our children know the truth, the better it will be for people of color everywhere. 

 

The Conclusion Is…

African-American communities can only be built and nurtured through equity-based activities. Family engagement is a crucial component, along with culturally affirming after-school activities that bring forth the real history of our people. The Critical Race Theory alongside Social and Emotional Learning will set the foundations for strong, indestructible communities.

 

The Village Method has always emphasized the vital importance of creating communities with like-minded individuals who are eager to give our incredibly rich cultural heritage its rightful credit. We invite you to explore our cause by visiting our website, volunteering, or simply making a donation. We thank you for your ongoing support and invite you to stay tuned for our next blog post!

The Dismantling of Systemic Racism Starts at Home

By

Systemic racism is not going anywhere. In fact, we still have to confront it in our day-to-day lives. It’s a deep-rooted problem that has been lingering on for far too long. Although we might expect our children to become immune to several acts of injustice, this cannot happen overnight. 

They urgently need our assistance.

Our children deserve all the support and information they can get. They have to  become familiar with our people’s plight, traditions, and enormously rich cultural heritage. We, at The Village Method, have made it our main mission to empower and enlighten numerous families by implementing intensive family engagement activities.

In fact, every single African-American deserves to study and take pride in their own people’s history. The struggle to form an identity starts at a very young age and it needs to be properly tackled by both parents and educators. The dismantling of systemic racism can definitely commence at home. We’re here to show you how.

In this article, we’d like to uncover the immense importance of parental engagement and how the implementation of family engagement in schools can help us fight against the systemic racism that has been plaguing our nation for centuries. 

 

How Can We Teach Children Our Real History?

It should come as no surprise that the current curriculum does not include the unabridged history of African-Americans. 

There is no mention of the impressive history of educational self-help, neither of the fact that separation does not entail equality, nor of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education landmark. In fact, our youth is purposefully kept in the dark by a schooling system that simply refuses to acknowledge our ancestors’ fight for equity. 

As responsible parents, we must tend to our children’s gaps in knowledge directly at home, or by encouraging them to join culturally affirming after school activities. Family engagement activities are some of the most effective tools when trying to dismantle centuries of systemic racism. After school activities are also an excellent way to connect our children to the consciousness of truth. 

By engaging with our children in a fun and historically accurate manner, we’ll offer them the chance to finally break free of the predetermined agenda that the schooling system continuously enforces. The white schooling system’s main goal was to subjugate us and make us oblivious to the noble fight of our ancestors. This has in turn kept many first generation college students from achieving academic excellence. This has got to stop.

The self-aware adults of tomorrow need someone to guide their steps. The parents and educators must join forces and stand together against the adversity of systemic racism. It’s never too late to learn about one’s honorable ancestors.

 

Why Is Family Engagement Important?

Image credit: Freepik

As the Carnegie Corporation of New York so eloquently puts it, the invisible gap between home and school has been bridged in a way that is unprecedented. Suddenly, parents and educators have had to come together and help our youth overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve had to collaborate in a newfound way that enabled children to achieve better academic results.

By doing this, the parents got to notice the way in which their children usually interact with their educators and peers. They’ve also had the rare chance of watching the educators’ manners of teaching. It’s needless to say that family engagement activities have become a necessity nowadays. 

The relationship between parents and teachers is gradually strengthening, all thanks to this unexpected reset that the pandemic has imposed. This will also have a positive effect on first generation college students’ ability to finish their academic journeys with stellar achievements.

It’s important to mention that development programs had adopted parental engagement activities long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. A wonderful example of such an initiative appears in the book titled Families and Educators Together: Building Great Relationships that Support Young Children. 

The executive director of such a development program had implemented a weekly event called Parent Coffee Hour. Basically, parents were invited to enjoy a cup of coffee, along with a selection of yummy donuts and pastries that could be found in the lobby. As soon as they were done dropping off the children, they were kindly invited to sit down and savor a cup of hot coffee while discussing significant matters with the staff members.

The importance of family engagement in schools is tremendous. It’s the only way to stop the pandemic of systemic racism. Educators should be encouraged to embrace each family without biases and acknowledge their cultural backgrounds. 

Our youth deserves to be celebrated and in no way belittled. Our first generation college students need to be constantly empowered. The elders have fought for our emancipation relentlessly and we can’t afford to lose our hard-earned privileges in this day and age.

 

The Conclusion Is…

Systemic racism can become endemic only if we take education seriously enough. The undeniable richness of our culture needs to become a part of the curriculum. Until we achieve this, we must implement family engagement in schools to bridge several gaps. After school activities are also a great alternative with proven benefits.

The Village Method provides culturally responsive youth development, family engagement, and community outreach programming. Pastor George M. Gaskins Jr. of Bethel Baptist Church in Union City, California has made it his life’s mission to empower our youth and provide them with the necessary tools so that they can one day give back to the communities that nurtured them. 

Find out more about us and our mission by visiting our website and learning how you can help our community-based organization thrive and change.

Parents and Educators, Come Together!

By

If this pandemic has managed to teach us one thing, it’s that family engagement is crucial for our children’s academic success. We, at The Village Method, are passionate advocates for the implementation of family engagement activities both in schools and after-school. Our rich, cultural heritage should be a pivotal part of our children’s curriculum. 

The problem is complex and requires tactful tackling. Parents and educators often have strained relationships. The educational system is flawed and built on faulty foundations. This is caused by several misunderstandings regarding our culture and African traditions. Unfortunately, this ends up affecting our children’s academic journeys, to say the very least.

In this article, we’d like to invite you to take a closer look at the complex and ever-changing dynamic between parents and their children’s educators. Read on!

 

Why Is Family Engagement Important?

According to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, family engagement is one of the most important factors when it comes to the educational outcomes of our children. It dismantles centuries of educational inequity and brings forth a new reality based on mutual consideration and respect for one’s cultural background.

Things can change drastically the moment we connect with educators in an efficient manner. More so, educators should make the conscious decision to stop perceiving African-American parents through a deficit-based lens. Instead, they should decide to engage with them openly and honestly through attractive family engagement activities. 

Most parents meet their children’s educators a couple of times a year. Given the context brought forth by the COVID-19 epidemic, things have changed to an unprecedented extent. We have had the remarkable opportunity to get a glimpse into our children’s way of learning. 

We’ve also connected with their teachers and we are finally able to witness their way of educating our children. We also intervened when we felt it was necessary and helped our children tackle various projects, as well as their homework.

Family engagement in schools is of the utmost importance because it motivates children to do a better job at school and therefore has higher chances of getting into their desired colleges along the way. First generation college students will also notice great benefits from the implementation of family engagement in schools. 

 

Parental Engagement As a Culturally Responsive Tool 

Image credit: Freepik

All parents have busy schedules. However, when parents and educators join forces and come together as a team, the benefits are hard to ignore. We highly recommend that you read the book Families and Educators Together: Building Great Relationships that Support Young Children. It emphasizes the vital importance of building a so-called bridge between the home and school. 

When educators aim to adopt a culturally responsive and respectful framework in regard to family engagement activities, the children will become more in tune with their culture, traditions, and history. As we all know, the real history of our people has been downplayed and erased almost entirely from the current curriculum.

When educators make it their mission to research our people’s history, our children’s self-confidence will increase and they’ll be much more likely to prosper as adults. It’s our duty to let their educators know exactly what it is that we want our children to learn. 

We should be the most valued collaborators of our children’s teachers. After all, we are experts when it comes to understanding their needs and we should always have the final say when it comes to their education. We should always make time during our workday to get in touch with educators and exchange valuable ideas alongside them. This is always well-spent time. 

 

Are After School Activities Truly Necessary?

In 2019, 1,385,680 children would have been enrolled in a summer program if one were available to them. This is highly telling of the need for after school activities. It’s been proven countless times that the implementation of after school activities decrease the chances of children getting in trouble. 

Also, working families need plenty of assistance when it comes to their children. What better way to keep them active and safe than by enrolling them in after school activities? 

The Village Method is also known to provide so much more than regular after school activities. We have made it our mission to provide each child with the necessary programming that will enable first generation college students to get into their dream colleges and end up giving back to the communities that nurtured them early on.

 

Parents and Educators, the Conclusion Is…

Parental engagement is a crucial part of our children’s harmonious mental and emotional development. Without it, our youth would be less motivated to achieve academic excellence and, instead, they might end up prone to delinquency, confusion, low self-esteem, and a lack of direction in life, especially for those who want to become first generation college students.

The Village Method is an innovative, Black-owned community-based organization that specializes in offering culturally responsive youth development, family engagement, and community outreach programming. We are dedicated and relentless. However, we need your help! You can either donate, volunteer, or simply share our cause with as many people as possible.