Growing Up African American in Catholic Schools.

Abstract

which personalizes the mix of racial, religious, cultural, and school variables active in Catholic schools. Further, they accent the resiliency and adaptability of African American children, demonstrate the overlap between school and family experiences, and describe the delicate balance attained by African American students and parents in negotiating their presence, and sometimes leadership roles, in Catholic schools. In the final chapter, Irvine provides a coherent synthesis of the lessons learned from Catholic schools about the education of African Americans and discusses their implications for public school reform. She organizes these lessons into three themes: curriculum and instruction, common values shared, and race and racial identity. She deduces that curriculum and pedagogy in Catholic schools are generally academic, structured, and very traditional. Additionally, she maintains, Catholic schools offer a strong set of clearly articulated, accepted values embraced by Catholic school educators, students, and parents. On the subject of race, Irvine concludes that African American children in Catholic schools learn a lot about race and their own racial identity as a result of the Catholic school experience; they also learn how other children, school personnel, and society define and value racial differences. However, she asserts that Catholic (and public) school personnel must make more of an effort to examine the overt and hidden racial messages in their curricula and maximize their formal and informal interactions with African American students. Irvine concludes her summative analysis of the African American Catholic school experience by sharing with readers some guidelines for the education of African American students based on the findings of these essays. As she attests, the first of these is that, despite the nature of that curriculum or the particular pedagogical approach, African American students profit from a demanding curriculum taught by individuals who are mission-oriented and who believe that African Americans must learn and achieve in school. Second, African American parents and their families must share the values and mission of the school and support the school in ways that are mutually agreed upon and negotiated. Third, schools must also acknowledge the identity of their students' African American heritage and understand that African Americans are not simply colorful prototypes of White students but students who strongly identify with their culture. What makes this book great reading is the depth and breadth of information and experiences offered; however, the recollections of individuals who attended Catholic schools in different regions of the United States and even the Caribbean or Africa would have added a broader dimension to this book. It would also have been helpful if the original sources of all these articles had been noted. Despite these limitations, Growing Up African American in Catholic Schools achieves its objectives. It strongly challenges the dominant theory that portrays African Americans as helpless victims in a marginalized culture that exists in constant opposition to Eurocentric beliefs and practices. It also succeeds in presenting a lucid historical and sociological treatment of the education of African Americans in Catholic schools. Irvine and Foster have compiled in this volume a collection of educational research and interpretation that is honest, noteworthy, insightful, and opportune. This book should prove useful to teachers and school administrators in public and private schools, especially African American teachers and school administrators who interact with African American students in Catholic schools. It is also strongly recommended for African American parents who are exploring Catholic schools as one of many options for the schooling of their children. Growing Up African American in Catholic Schools, edited by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine and Michele Foster. …