In Honor of Black History
Throughout February, as our nation has recognized Black History month, our students have participated in a variety of purposeful classroom experiences geared to hone their understanding of the important moments and movements that have changed the course of our nation’s history. At Wesleyan, we fully recognize that history based on true events and people is indeed an integral part of explaining who America was and has become. Therefore it is critical to educate our students accordingly.
This month, Dr. David Ray, Wesleyan’s elementary principal, challenged our elementary students to decorate their homeroom doors to reflect the lives of famous African Americans that have made significant impacts for the advancement of the Gospel such as Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Tony Dungy, and Ben Carson leading to a final “reveal” this Friday, when a winner for the “Best Door” will be chosen. As is age-appropriate, through this exercise, our elementary teachers’ goal is to establish a strong foundation, which includes developing respect and honor for the stories of these great Americans.
Meanwhile, Enrichment Center students have covered a wide range of topics in each of their classes. Curriculums ranged from fact-based trivia games to more thoughtful-oriented discussions. In the following paragraphs, you’ll find a few examples of what our teachers have been covering in our classes this month.
In Mrs. Kelly Kohn’s Understanding The Times class, student’s discussed the beliefs and lives of African American theologians and apologists. While this was a special month, Mrs. Kohns shared that she regularly incorporates these discussions into her class and shared, “This month was a good reminder to be diligent in offering the students sound teaching from a variety of voices.”
Coach C.J. Lee, Enrichment 7th grade Geography teacher, overlapped the class’s study of United States geography with the “Great Migration”. Students investigated how the migration patterns of African Americans from the South after slavery have shaped different regions of our country and why African Americans settled in the regions they did. Coach Lee is passionate about this topic. As he explains, “”So many times, the temptation for many is to solely focus on “famous” black Americans during Black History Month, but there is so much more! Celebration coupled with education about the dynamic storylines within the black community provide us with greater insight into the past and present.”
After pausing to reflect on subjects like these, we are delighted when teachers incorporate these topics into their ongoing curriculums. And that’s just what teacher Lauren Miller hopes to do. “I am encouraging our students to continue their reading about important characters in black history using the Scholastic Rookie Biographies series, which offers an accompanying website that provides even more information about each individual. I also look forward to creating a timeline of events with my students, with the goal of providing a bigger picture of our nation’s history, as it correlates to African American history.”
As we reflect on Black History in America, may we keep an eye to the heavens, remembering that the history of African American people in our nation is inseparable from our nation’s history and the history of fellow believers in Jesus Christ. And may we pray for His grace, His mercy, His truth, and His love to unite us each day as His children as we navigate the ebb and flow of our ongoing national conversation, and our future, together.
Serving Him,
Wesleyan Christian Academy Administration