«African studies experts deplore the fact that both college and secondary students in the U.S. know little about sub-Saharan African nations and cultures (Osunde, Tlou, & Brown, 1996). In some U.S. universities and colleges, the situation has been addressed through the implementation of Africana Studies Programs (Black or African American Studies). Research is still needed to determine how much of Africa and African people is represented in the curriculum, who are the students enrolled in these courses, and how well-versed the instructor is in African matters. Among the obstacles that the multiculural curriculum encounters is the shortage of culturally aware faculty willing to work in highly diverse schools (Ladson Billings, 1999; Sleeter, 2001). Ukpokodu (1996) raises the fact that the current teaching force, which is predominantly white and Eurocentric, is likely to have ―prejudicial attitudes and misconceptions, perhaps because of their own early socialization and cultures‖ (1996, n.p.). In contrast, teachers who are willing to step out of their comfort zone to learn about other cultures tend to value diversity and succeed in implementing a multicultural curriculum. Francis Kazemek (1995), an American secondary English instructor, who took a trip to Ghana as an exchange professor at the University of Cape Coast, discovered that ―Africa is infinitely more than starvation and strife‖ (p. 95). While guest teaching, Kazemek learned that the author selection for senior secondary students in Ghana was truly multicultural. In addition to African authors, the curriculum covered English and U.S. authors, such as Shakespeare, George Eliot, Richard Wright, Mark Twain, and Robert Frost. Insights gained from the Ghanaian classroom transformed Kazemek into an advocate for incorporating African literature in the secondary English Language Arts curriculum.»
1. The American schooling system is mostly eurocentric and incorporates little to no cultural studies, let alone those of minorities. Children grow up not knowing anything about certain cultures, which makes them have harmful misconceptions about people who come from said backgrounds. Take Africa, for example. If the educational system touches on the topic, it’s always about poverty, hunger, and scarcity of water. Students who don’t bother to do research on cultural topics on their own time would have no way of knowing how truly rich and beautiful African cultures are. It’s so so so much more than poverty issues in underdeveloped parts Africa, but children in American schools miss out on learning about it. Thankfully, more cultural studies about sub-Saharan nations are starting to be implemented in some schools as well as colleges across America. There’s still so much planning and monitoring to do, and many problems to overcome. There isn’t enough staff across the country that could be fit to teach students about these topics without misinforming them and putting those misconceptions in their heads, which would be the opposite of what we strive to achieve. Teachers and professors who are open minded and want their students to receive proper cultural education have to be knowledgeable on the topic themselves, and not many are willing to take their time to familiarize themselves with the topic enough to be able to present it to the class. Implementing sub-Saharan studies would take up a good chunk of the curriculum, which means the teachers would have quite a lot to learn and create lessons about. Another problem is that these lessons aren’t at all widespread, so the statistics about them are unclear. There’s a lot of studies to be done before it can become a widespread part of the American education system. The statistics on the classes aren’t clear yet, so more teaching staff has to step up before cultural studies can become normalized in our schools and colleges.
2. After watching “What I learnt as an african immigrant growing up in the US” by Atefieldtv I found it surprising how people of color separate themselves from each other based on their backgrounds. The author said that people from Nigeria often say, “I’m not black i’m Nigerian”, which she noted is separating the black community into many smaller groups. It’s always great to keep your culture alive and celebrate it, not forgetting your roots. But as the narrator stated, “This could be a point a point of connection instead of departure. So you can be Nigerian, and you can also be black.” I strongly agree with the statement she made because while it’s very important to not stray away from your culture, you can also remain a part of the whole community without trying to establish yourself as someone separate from them. This builds a stronger sense of unity and belonging, which is something there’s a huge lack of in the world right now
3. The source I picked out is a youtube video called “Culture and Diversity: A look at Africa”
It’s an example of something that can be presented during an introduction to an African culture class. It’s a very broad look at Africa as a whole. The video touches on subjects such as countries, languages, diversity, landscapes and climate, financial problems, slavery, different cultures etc. All of these could be turned into separate lessons and taught to students in detail. The video does a great job presenting all these topics in a way that isn’t overwhelming and would allow students to familiarize themselves with the general outline of the course.
