A curriculum built by and for our Black youth should help close the achievement gap and restore educational equity. However, school hours fail to cover the magnitude of our real history. After-school programs can succeed when the curriculum fails our children. The Village Method is here to support families and act as a community of like-minded people.
If you’ve read The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 by James D. Anderson, you would already know that our people took great pride in accessing educational resources and ending illiteracy once and for all. This desire for academic excellence has deep roots. Our children deserve to explore their history and be aware of certain social patterns.
In today’s article, we will look at some of the reasons why we’re seeing such a high demand for quality after-school programs. Find out how we can respond to this growing enthusiasm for addressing systemic racism in education in our article below!
After-School Programs Lend a Hand to Working Families
The Black-White achievement gap is an issue that stems from a lack of deeper understanding. Academic support is rarely given to our youth. Instead, they are being stereotyped and perceived as much more likely to get into trouble and perform poorly in school.
According to the Afterschool Alliance, 4 in 5 Black parents agree that after-school programs provide working parents peace of mind. Pairing academic excellence with the ambition for Afrocentric knowledge can promote educational equity.
After-school programs that prioritize the African way of learning and living can be extremely empowering. Every single community that has struggled to escape systemic racism in education will
We all want our children to reach academic excellence and become fully empowered individuals. First, we must look into after-school programs that provide this kind of learning to their participants.
After-School Programs Promote Family Engagement
Young people need continuous care and nurturing. They require after-school programs that acknowledge and target the very nature of systemic racism in education. Also, they need to connect with teachers that are respectful to minorities and adamant about implementing family engagement activities.
Educational equity can only exist when teachers find innovative ways of getting the parents involved. The students’ leadership skills and overall development are critical to their college success.
Challenges that once seemed impossible to surpass can now be solved as soon as parents participate in family engagement activities. Not only does family engagement contribute to learning, but it also contributes to a healthier dynamic between the teacher and our children.
After-School Programs Target Systemic Racism In Education
Ignorance is not bliss. It is a perpetuation of the achievement gap issue. The parents must be recognized as authority figures when it comes to their cultural acumen. Every school district should encourage its educators to adapt their curriculum according to the preferences of both parents and students.
Our youth’s mental and emotional wellbeing is at stake. Did you know that after-school programs are introduced as resources for Black males? We all know that young boys learn rather prematurely how to survive in a world plagued by senseless violence, poverty, discrimination, and lower chances of them achieving academic excellence.
The K-12 schooling system is rarely interested in finding prevention measures against the discrimination of young men of color. After-school programs offer our youth resources that motivate them to stay in school and eventually give back to the community that kept them away from delinquency.
After-School Programs Prioritize Social and Emotional Learning
A Wings For Kids study has shown that Social and Emotional Learning promoted skills such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and decision-making in kindergartners and first-grade kids.
The benefits of Social and Emotional Learning are overlooked most of the time. Instead, this framework should be widely recognized as one of the best resources that our youth can access. In order to minimize the dangerous effects of systemic racism in education, we must insist on the implementation of the Social and Emotional Learning framework.
Kids should attend after-school programs that amplify their skills. Their behavior within the community will also significantly change for the better. As for their mental health, it will finally be addressed correctly.
Are Culturally Affirming After-School Programs Worth Investing In?
The achievement gap can be closed, one child at a time. It takes a village to raise a child. Together, we can provide our youth with the correct tools and resources that will enable them to give back to the community that was there for them ever since the beginning.
The Village Method is not one of those regular after-school or summer programs that you might have already heard of. Unlike many after-school programs, we offer each child the opportunity to grow and be proud of their African origins.
Family engagement and Social and Emotional Learning are central to what we do. However, we cannot dismantle systemic racism in education by ourselves. We need your help!
We would be more than grateful if you could get involved and help spread the word about our cause. The more, the merrier. Our youth deserves it.