The Dreamkeepers: A Critique
The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Childrenis a unique book. It is also a book with a timely topic, one which is veryrelevant and meaningful for our academic community today. In this book,Gloria Ladson Billings looks at the problem of education for African-American children, the reasons these children do not achieve as muchacademically as they should, and what can be done about it. Billingsdiscusses the current state of education for African-American children.The achievements and contributions of African-Americans are not discussedmuch, if at all, in public schools today. When African-Americans arediscussed as part of the school curriculum at all it is usually in anegative way, or simply a focus on slavery in United States history. Thiscan often cause low-self esteem to flourish in African-American children.It can also cause a lack of interest in them, as the curriculum focuses oncultures that they are not a part of. Further, African-American childrenare often subjected to teachers who are not of their own culture and whohave no understanding of African-American culture. This can lead tocommunication problems between teacher and student, a lack of understanding
While thismay not be a concept that is currently being taught in teacher educationcolleges, Billings clearly and succinctly demonstrates how this techniqueis likely the missing link in the quest for positive academic experiencesfor African-American students. The reason why this sort of teaching is successful, Billingsdeduces, is that by teaching the students things that are relevant andpositive about their own culture, the students are not only kept interestedin the curriculum, they also experience raised self-esteem and a strongerbelief in their own abilities which transfers to their performance in theclassroom. The book is full of tips and techniquesthat these teachers can use in order to better reach their students. The whole concept of culturally relevant teaching is also somewhat ofa new one. Since the students that the book is trying to help areAfrican-American students, Billings also is clear on the fact that shebelieves that African-American teachers are the best teachers for thesestudents. This is not to say that African-American female teachers are the onlypeople to whom this book is directed. When African-Americans are mentioned in the curriculum, they are oftenportrayed in a negative light as a race. It imparts knowledge and ideas that most colleges donot teach, and that few prospective teachers may have considered. Billings points out in her book that the African-American race is often overlooked in mainstream education. Again, this isanecdotal evidence that may not be considered reliable in formal academicresearch, but for the type of book this is--one that focuses on real worldsituations--the evidence is reliable. Thisnegativity of perception leads to poor self-esteem and a lack of belief intheir own abilities. The main audience for thisbook is teachers who teach African-American students, particularly African-American female teachers. How to reach African-American students academically is an issuethat has been plaguing academia for some time now, and it is something thateveryone is looking for a way to improve. For a thorough understanding of this book, it is first of allnecessary to understand just who this book is intended for. All of these things can combine to create anunpleasant and unwelcoming academic environment for African-Americanstudents.
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