Guest Post "Double Consciousness" by @Earth_Be

On “The Double Consciousness”—A Call to Black Educators

As an educator in the Chicago Public Schools system (five years as an English teacher, four years as an assistant principal, and currently a principal in the same system) I have observed that many of the programs, interventions, and “solutions” to the huge achievement gaps between students of color and their white peers is a direct reflection of WEB Dubois’s theory of “double consciousness.” In his work, “Souls of Black Folks,” Dubois speaks of the “twoness” of being an American, and a Negro; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” As a result, many interventions begin with teaching students the value of obtaining an American education. Programs stress the value of being a good, educated “Negro,” or “American.” To no one’s surprise, this model and approach to education has failed. Only thirty percent of students in the Chicago Public Schools system read, write, and perform basic math at grade level, and the drop-out rate is over fifty percent. With outcomes such as these, I began to ask myself, “What is the professional challenge that we as Black educators have, knowing that most of our children will attend traditional public schools?” I propose that our job is not to focus on the “double consciousness.” Instead, our professional challenge is to teach students of color about themselves in a system that attempts to erase them.

The first lesson that we must teach our students is that civilization began with the brilliance and intellect of people who looked just like them. With their wide noses, full lips, and dark skin, Africans were the first to discover principles of mathematics, science, and philosophy. Pyramids, for instance, did not build themselves. They were built by brilliant mathematicians who intuitively knew the value of slopes and other algebraic equations. Teaching students that they are the foundation of civilization will increase their confidence in their ability to acquire new information. And because there is a direct correlation between student achievement and self-confidence, teaching them about their history will increase their performance.

Yet another concept that we must teach our babies is that of the “collective conscious.” This theory suggests that there is a single, original consciousness that exists among people of color. This collective “mind,” “intelligence,” or body of knowledge is not one that is limited by time or space. Instead, it is one that they can access by tapping into the recesses of their spirit, or energy. When students begin to see themselves as connected to and one with Africa and the ancestors, they will understand that intelligence, creativity, and ingenuity are hardwired into their DNA. Having the ability to access it at will, students will perform at optimal levels.

There is one lesson that is often lost in translation. That is, while we teach students to master the essential aspects of American culture-- its language, its laws, and its political and financial systems-- it is no way to superior to what is original. This, indeed, must become the third lesson that we teach. Understanding the vital elements of any culture gives one access to that culture and its currency. However, as educators, we must be careful to reject the underlying message that is often communicated—that a “formally educated Black person” is in some way superior to one who is not. This lesson will allow students to properly contextualize the value of a formal education, and as result, increase their ability to use it as a tool by which they navigate through a specific culture—the American one.

In short, the responsibility of every Black, so called “educator” is not to teach students how to grapple with a “double consciousness.” On the contrary, it is to reach students, to remind them of who they are, to teach them how to access their original consciousness, and to teach them to navigate through a foreign culture without losing knowledge of self.