Little Black Boy Back of the Class
February 5, 2007
There are a number of things that have led me to live the type of life I am living. Last week, there was something that happened that affirmed many of my earlier life decisions.
February the 1st of 2007 I was visiting a classroom of elementary school children in the city of
This group of children happened to be a class of 3rd graders. I had visited their room on two previous occasions and we had built an understanding of one another. I had promised them that if they committed to memory the things we had talked about previously then I would simply bring them more music and newer stories to enjoy. Needless to say there was a 100% retention rate of the information disseminated during the previous visits. It is amazing what incentives can do isn’t it?
I apologize in advance, but I have to take a little side track here. I think we too often expect immediate results from our children. Our obsessive testing culture has bullied most of us into thinking that we must produce immediate, confirmable, statistic oriented data in order to properly assess our successes with our children. Unfortunately for the testing jihadists, human beings are not programmable bits and bites. Fortunate for me and many others who share my passions, we already are aware of this fact. I prefer to think in terms of seeds being planted and one day, for some children maybe it will be tomorrow and others maybe weeks, months or even years, but one day these seeds will grow and bear fruit. Many of the children I come into contact with will utilize the information I give them but only when they are ready.
I know I’m venturing further off of that road we were traveling, but bear with me. I once gave a young man a book; it was a rather thick book. He smiled at me kind of impishly and simply said, “Thanks Baba.” I knew by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t very pleased. I explained that I knew he was not going to read the book anytime soon, but it wasn’t meant for him to read today. He laughed that type of laugh when the truth about you has been exposed. Most adults know what I’m talking about. I told him that there would come a day when this book would have meaning for him and that maybe I would not be around share that day with him. For this reason I gave him the book today. This is the type of philosophy that I strive to live by.
Anyway… back to the classroom visit. Yes, I tend to veer a little off of the beaten path but I will always get us back. I was in this classroom planting seeds as I love to call what I do. We were singing, learning together and aiding each other in the telling of the tale. When we finished I had something to say before I departed the room.
I have statements that I like to make before I depart a classroom. I have been doing this for a number of years and it has become an automated response to closing out a session. As I was closing I was explaining that I love my work as a storyteller and I would not trade it for the world. I went on to say that we may enjoy ourselves immensely during these sessions and that is a good thing, but everyone must understand that these are aspects of my cultural heritage, a legacy bestowed upon me from my ancestors that I am sharing with them. I have an immense pride in who I am and what I do. I am very proud to be an African-American Man.
This day, when I closed with this, there was a young brother seated at the back of the room. He had been an exemplary student on each of my visits and I thoroughly enjoyed the energy he brought to the table. At my close, when I spoke of my intense pride in being an African-American Man, he sat straight up in his desk and loudly proclaimed, “I AM TOO!”
I don’t know what more a person can ask for as far as job satisfaction. That young man affirmed me and my work in that split second of his heightened excitement. I should say we affirmed one another. His teacher later told me that he had been a problem student in class prior to my visits. I didn’t see it. I could only see myself in him.
This is why I do what I do.
“Dooni dooni kononi bè nyaga da.”
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