D180 Celebrates Black History Month

Actor Will Smith’s words greeted visitors to the Anne M. Jeans Elementary School Website on Feb. 23: “I don’t know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived.”

Smith’s comment was the quote of the day and is one of many the school used to celebrate Black History Month. It sat among others by civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Mary McCleod Bethune, athletes Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali and writer Langston Hughes.

“Black History Month is really important at the school, being highly diverse,” Rene DeGuzman, third grade teacher at Anne M. Jeans, says.

About 61 percent of Anne M. Jeans' student population is black, according to school report cards released by the Illinois State Board of Education.

“[The students] enjoy learning about their own culture,” says DeGuzman.

Other activities this month included an assembly with dance and songs by Urban Gateways, a one-man performance about King’s life and throughout February, there was a general emphasis on books by and about African-Americans. Fourth- and eighth-grade students participated in field trips to see the play The Boy Who Became Invisible, by the Black Theater Ensemble. The performance is a “play with a purpose,” written to teach children positive life lessons and values, according to the Black Theater Ensemble’s Website.

All of these events provide opportunities to discuss different situations, so the students are “making connections between what they see and hear, performances and real life,” Anne M. Jeans Principal Debbie LeBlanc says.

In addition to these many activities, DeGuzman and her co-teacher provided their 15 students with a new biography about King, called Young Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream.

For one week, the students practiced reading this book in class and then took it home to share with their families.

“It’s exciting for them to get a brand new book,” says DeGuzman. “It gives them that connection to their heritage. It helps them to be excited about reading.”

Burr Ridge Middle School also held the Urban Gateways and Black Ensemble Theater events. In addition, each student council member picked a famous African-American to research. They then presented facts about that person, according to Julie Bartell, principal of Burr Ridge Middle School.

The cultural figures that students study also provide role models.

Studying scholars, for instance, shows students a path different from the ones often presented in the media, LeBlanc says. In addition, studying other figures, such as Harriet Tubman, helps students to learn about admirable qualities, such as trustworthiness.

DeGuzman states that King and Rosa Parks, both civil rights figures, also work well as individuals for students to emulate.

“The lessons learned are that it doesn’t matter the color of our skin—we are all equal and should treat one another fairly and with respect. [Other lessons are] the importance of solving problems and standing up for what you believe in, in a nonviolent way, just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks did,” she says.

Principal LeBlanc agrees, indicating that King’s “peaceful nature” makes him someone that students can benefit from learning and talking about.

DeGuzman states that, for herself, Black History Month provides a chance to educate students about possible role models, whose actions they can take to heart: “To teach your students about their heritage and all of the obstacles that many of their ancestors overcame, and to encourage them to never give up and keep dreaming. One day your dream can come true with hard work, determination and perseverance.”

Principal Bartell agrees.

“The focus is about believing in yourself. [The focus is] on kids today; how they can be successful. It’s to be proud of who you are,” she says.