Although children of color continue to receive an inequitable education in terms of resources, equally as important are the inappropriate pedagogical approaches and a static curriculum. Engaging youth today revolves not around traditional teacher-student interactions but tapping into the critically conscious minds and hearts of students in urban schools.
Youth Historians in Harlem is part of Educating Harlem, co-directed by Ansley Erickson and Ernest Morrell at Teachers College, Columbia University. Educating Harlem seeks to fill the gap in the history of education in Harlem research, in part by community-based partnerships and youth and teacher participatory projects.
Using the connections via the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME), Youth Historians in Harlem is proud to conduct its research in NYC Department of Education public schools. This partnership between public schools and research institutes and universities is vital to 'pushing the envelope' in educational research.
Although children of color continue to receive an inequitable education in terms of resources, equally as important are the inappropriate pedagogical approaches and a static curriculum. Engaging youth today revolves not around traditional teacher-student interactions but tapping into the critically conscious minds and hearts of students in urban schools.
Critically conscious history for critically conscious youth
Welcome to the Youth Historians in Harlem Project!
The Youth Historians in Harlem (YHH) project is a new critical approach to teaching history in urban schools in Harlem, focusing on empowering youth through their own cultural experiences and involving students in the practice of "doing" history through guided projects, programs, and participatory action research. Through a collaboration between the History and Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME), Youth Historians in Harlem seeks to increase students' interest in history through innovative critical pedagogy that teaches them to become historians, researching the rich historical past of ‘their’ Harlem community via the historical process. While YHH seeks to advance the historical knowledge of education in Harlem, above all, our project seeks to make history relevant to urban students and promote high academic achievement.
Thank you to Office of the Provost and Dean at Teachers College for providing initial funds for this project!
Of course, Youth Historians in Harlem would not be possible without the support of Teacher College's Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) and the program in History and Education. Youth Historians in Harlem is an extension of Educating Harlem, a larger collaborative initiative between both IUME and the History and Education program at Teachers College that seeks to promote the study of history at both the K-12 and university level.
