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"The African-American Experience"
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 03:33 pmThat's the title of one of the topics our Abi (A-level) candidates have to do.
Anyone else worried?
Yeah.
I was secretly convinced they'd read "To Kill a Mocking Bird", but it turns out they're reading "Black Like Me", which, while I have to admit that I don't know it, doesn't really inspire confidence, either (a white man in blackface goes to segregated New Orleans and writes about his experiences - why not at least take "Soul Sister", which has the experiences of a white woman passing as black?), and they're supposed to listen to "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash:
The students taking the advanced course are reading "A Lesson Before Dying", which, again, I'm not familiar with, so I have to wait and see what it's like. Still, the fact that it's not by a white author makes me hopeful.
I fear that neither curriculum inspires great confidence in the classes of '11 and '12's knowledge of this topic. Still, what with white Europeans teaching white Europeans about racial segregation and the situation of POC in the in the US today, I'm not sure what else I'd expect. Can't say I'm all that convinced I'd do better.
Anyone else worried?
Yeah.
I was secretly convinced they'd read "To Kill a Mocking Bird", but it turns out they're reading "Black Like Me", which, while I have to admit that I don't know it, doesn't really inspire confidence, either (a white man in blackface goes to segregated New Orleans and writes about his experiences - why not at least take "Soul Sister", which has the experiences of a white woman passing as black?), and they're supposed to listen to "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash:
The students taking the advanced course are reading "A Lesson Before Dying", which, again, I'm not familiar with, so I have to wait and see what it's like. Still, the fact that it's not by a white author makes me hopeful.
I fear that neither curriculum inspires great confidence in the classes of '11 and '12's knowledge of this topic. Still, what with white Europeans teaching white Europeans about racial segregation and the situation of POC in the in the US today, I'm not sure what else I'd expect. Can't say I'm all that convinced I'd do better.
