There comes along from time to time a book that is meant to revolutionize the way we think about society and its institutions. The book, The Afrocentric Praxis of Teaching for Freedom: Connecting Culture to Learning, by two veteran educators Joyce E. King and Ellen E. Swartz, is just such a remarkable intervention in our thinking about teaching....Not only do I recommend this book for use by current teachers, but I also insist that it should be required reading and study in all schools of education across the nation. What an honor to have read this singularly important work and to be able to urge its adoption. - Molefi Kete Asante in Journal of Black Studies, January 2016
The lead authors, King (urban teaching and educational policy, Georgia State Univ.) and Swartz (education consultant), present as strong a case as readers are likely to find for recapturing what has been all but lost through the entrenched maginalization of minorities in the K-12 curriculum, while illustrating the truth behind the adage that history is written by the victors. Best of all, however, is their incorporation of specific examples of how the curriculum can be modified-while still meeting those ubiquitous learning standards-not be proselytizing, but by promoting critical thinking among students and their teachers...Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections. - H. M. Miller, Mercy College, in CHOICE, January 2015
...an important book with a range of implications and possibilities for public school practitioners and teacher educators, 'Re-Membering' History provides compelling examples of educators' moving theory, ideas, and ideals into action. It showcases firsthand how teachers are able to utilize history to inform learning inside of classrooms. The practitioner examples demonstrate how teachers can be transformed and transformative in the fight to expose students to real history. The book not only 'talks the talk,' it shows practitioners how to walk the talk.
H. Richard Milner IV, Helen Faison Endowed Chair in Urban Education, University of Pittsburgh, USA
This book presents a bold invitation for rethinking the purpose and representation of the grand narrative in teaching the history of the United States in elementary schools. Serious scholars will find refreshing originality in the use of Afrocentric theory, principles of culturally informed curricular practice, and practitioner research to produce 'democratized' student texts.
Etta R. Hollins, Kauffman Endowed Chair for Urban Teacher Education, University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA
'Re-Membering' History in Student and Teacher Learning comes as a gift to all educators who believe that it is still possible to modify, even radically change, our attitudes about culture-based teaching.
Molefi Kete Asante, Temple University, USA and Visiting Professor, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. From the Foreword
