Illinois Dean Lectures on Literacy of African-American Boys

Alfred W. Tatum, dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s college of education, gave a lecture Thursday outlining some possible approaches to improving the reading and writing skills of African-American boys.

In his lecture in front of more than one hundred people in the Graduate School of Education’s Longfellow Hall, Tatum presented his audience with observations from his research concerning what and how African American children are learning.

“When I started asking kids in middle school if they had read a text that they...had a meaningful exchange with, they all said ‘no,’” Tatum said. “So even if you have perfect attendance, something is missing in their classroom.”

Discussing his belief in the “power of text,” Tatum emphasized the role that of classroom reading selections play in engaging African-American boys.

“We have severed the relationships these boys had with their texts, and their reading instruction does not feel legitimate,” he said.

Although Tatum stressed the importance of selecting texts for the classroom that are relatable for African-American students, he warned against choosing readings based solely on issues of cultural or gender identity.

“If it’s up to me as a teacher as to decide which identity I should pay attention to, there’s the probability that I can miss the mark,” he said.

Additionally, Tatum said that teachers should think more carefully about why specific texts are taught, instead of simply asking “are these texts at [the students’] reading level?”

Cornelius Lee, a GSE student who attended the lecture, said that “the issue of African-American boys’ education has become a national conversation,” citing how historically, black men have academically underperformed compared to other groups.

“It’s a conversation that’s long overdue and now that it’s at the forefront, it’s become very fascinating,” Lee said.