TOWARD
THE CENTERED SCHOOL
IN
URBAN AREAS
The Creed
of the Centered School Student
THE
AFROCENTRIC CREED
I have faith
in myself
I have faith
in my teachers
I will accept
my duties and responsibilities
I respect
others and seek their respect
I have self
respect
I have self-control
I can learn
if I study hard
I will learn
because I will study hard
I love myself,
and loving myself, I will be myself
and know myself
I am the one
who is talking
EL
CREDO AFROCENTRICO
Creo en my
capacidad
Tengo confianza
en mis maestros
Acepto mis
responsibilades y tareas
Tengo auto-respeto
Si, puedo
controlar mis emociones
Si, puedo
aprender se estudio mucho
Aprendare
porque me dedico a mis estudios
Me quiero
y en mi amor para mi mismo, me realizo
y me conosco
Hablo yo en
esta oracion
THE
BASIC TENETS
OF
THE CENTERED SCHOOL
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1. At the centered school the student’s
culture must be taken into account in every subject and at every grade
level. Where there is multiplicity of cultures then the teacher
must seek to demonstrate during the school term that she or he has an
interest in centering the students of many cultures in the subject.
2. A centered school seeks to create lessons,
scopes, and sequences, that reflect an authentic voice concept. Centering
shall be the centerpiece of the classroom process and it shall be pursued
by seeking all ways to attach the student to history concepts, mythology,
science, mathematics, nature, motifs, and personalities that pervade the
lessons.
3. A centered school operates on the principle
of scientific generation where the school principal is a generator for
the building and the teacher is a generator for the classroom. A generator
is one who energized those who are directly connected to him or her. Thus,
the principal in a centered school must energize the faculty and the teacher
must energize the students.
4. A centered school is a positive school
where the environment itself reflects the centeredness of the students.
The school is clean, it is brightly painted, it is environmentally centered
to reflect the student population, and it is filled with color images,
posters, and slogans of achievement. Each classroom is an invitation to
learning.
5. A centered classroom is a laboratory for
creative discussion, discourse, debate and critical thinking. The idea
is to make every significant concept live by discussion. In such a classroom
the teacher corrects false information and irrational views with a sensitivity
that embraces discussion.
6. A centered school’s discipline is based
on respect for knowledge in both the bringer of knowledge and the seeker
of knowledge. This means that the students are taught to respect themselves,
the search for knowledge, the teacher and the other students. But discipline
is based on knowledge and the willingness of the teacher to listen to
and to accept questions from every student. The good teacher is always
able to say, “I do not know the answer at this time.”
7. A centered school celebrates the culture
of the students. Teachers feel comfortable wearing the fashions of the
student’s cultures, presenting speakers and performers from the culture,
and infusing their lessons with illustrations from the culture. A student
in such a school understands the historical role his or her people have
played in world events.
8. A centered school involves the parents
in the process of centering the students. However, it may be necessary
to center the parents before they understand how the center their children.
At public meetings, possibly held at the school, the principal or designee
should review the ideas behind the centered school. A brief history of
the Afrocentric school concept, with its applicability to centered schools,
might be necessary.
9. A centered school is high achieving school
where principal, teachers, and students meet regularly (at least once
a month) to re-pledge themselves to academic and professional excellence.
A high achieving school always has an academic and a cultural goal. The
academic goal is to succeed in being the best school possible on the basis
of the credentials of the students. In addition, the high achieving school
seeks to undergird all subjects with the cultural component.
10. A centered school asks the question,
Who are my students: In answering this question the centered school seeks
to apply principles of learning styles, relational attributes, personality,
and aesthetic sense to the issues of achievement, discipline, and environment.
Created by Molefi Kete Asante, 1993
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