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ERIC Number: EJ1305972
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Black Boys and Policing: Rethinking the Community Helpers Curriculum
Wright, Brian L.
Learning Professional, v42 n3 p26-29 Jun 2021
It is a tragic irony that George Floyd Jr., once a brilliant Black boy with dreams to serve on the highest court in the U.S., would grow up to be murdered by a white law enforcement officer who pressed his knee needlessly against Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. What did young George Floyd learn about the justice system? What do young Black boys today learn in school about their relationship to the police and courts? The way educators frame the justice system and Black boys' relationships to it matter. But too often, educators are unaware of the messages they send, even in the earliest years of school. In this article, Brian Wright considers and challenges a familiar curriculum unit that introduces children in the early grades (pre-K-3) to "community helpers." Standard early childhood education social studies curricula are organized by thematic units that might include family, nature, and typically, community helpers, usually defined as anyone who works to help the community. The overall aim of the unit is to expose young children to how they can be active, responsible, and conscientious members of their community. Altering the community helpers unit in the early childhood curriculum is a start toward honoring Black boys' potential.
Learning Forward. 504 South Locust Street, Oxford, OH 45056. Tel: 800-727-7288; Fax: 513-523-0638; e-mail: office@learningforward.org; Web site: https://learningforward.org/the-learning-professional/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A