Growing up as a Black student, very few of my schooling experiences stoked a deep love of learning. School wasn’t a place where I could bring my full self and find acceptance, affirmation or fun. I believe Black students deserve opportunities at school to embrace the joy and silliness of childhood. They deserve to make noise and follow their curiosity and see affirmations of their own brilliant potential. But too often, student behaviors in our schools are met with “consequences” rather than conversations, and over-disciplining of our Black students can squelch some students’ natural love for learning and lower opportunities for achievement.

This was a factor in my own experiences as a student – but I also saw a glimpse of what education can and should feel like for Black students when I chose to attend a Historically Black College or University. When I arrived on the campuses at both Fisk  and Clark Atlanta Universities for college, I felt the difference right away. HBCUs are intensively family-oriented college environments. The intentionality with which professors approach relationships leads to an intentionality in students’ connections with each other, creating a sustaining, all-encompassing world of support.

At HBCUs, Black students get the opportunity to see people who look like us achieving success across all fields. My experience attending an HBCU gave me confidence, connections and a grounded sense of my culture and my potential. 

I Want My Students to Experience what I Experienced at My HBCU

I’ve been working in education for 20 years, and when I began teaching computer science in Atlanta K-5 programs, the disparities in our education system felt stark to me. The kids I worked with, primarily Black students, weren’t getting quality STEM instruction or experiences; they weren’t getting the skills they needed to be successful or seeing models of successful people in STEM who looked like them. In other words, I saw that my Black students were lacking the type of support that I received at my HBCU.

My students are brilliant, and I see how they thrive when they realize an adult at school is invested in them – when someone is willing to nurture their brilliance and hold them accountable to high expectations. I’ve developed a passion for providing that type of relationship-based, child-centered learning environment, where my students know I believe in them. I’ve also developed a passion for teaching them about HBCUs and the affirming world available to them in college should they choose to pursue it.

Too often, HBCUs are introduced to students as an afterthought during the college application process, and I believe in introducing them early. Regardless of whether students are ready to start making college plans, just learning that these highly respected, Black-centered institutions exist is empowering.

How I Make HBCUs Part of My Students’ STEM Learning

My students’ exposure to HBCUs varies greatly. Recently, there’s been a boom of exposure and interest in HBCUs, which is amazing. Living in Atlanta, of course I teach some of the children of alumni of Morehouse,Spelman, Clark Atlanta and Morris Brown among other HBCUs,  but for years I’ve noticed that only about half of my students are aware of HBCUs at all. 

I initially introduce students to HBCUs through videos, articles and conversations. Here are a few of my favorite introductions to the world of HBCUs:

• HBCU-Historically Black Colleges & Universities: Reasons to Attend
  • YouTube video by “Journey with Jordana” (recommended for grades 4 and up)
• Yard Talk 101- HBCU History Lesson
  • YouTube video by “Yard Talk” (recommended for grades 3 and up)
• The Extraordinary History of HBCUs
  • YouTube video by “Noire Media LLC” (recommended for grades 3 and up)

Once they have a basic understanding, we use that as a launching point for STEM assignments. As a STEM teacher, all my students’ assignments are rooted in the real world, so HBCUs provide that grounding and authenticity as my students build project-based digital artifacts. This way, they’re interacting with empowering information about Black achievement while applying new STEM skills.

Past student projects have included designing a model HBCU campus with Minecraft, designing an HBCU website and designing a Shark-Tank-style app.

Types of HBCU Student Research Slides

Minecraft HBCU Exemplar Video Link

Different kids pick upon different pieces of the HBCU experience that resonate with them, whether they’re enamored of the marching bands, excited by the sports teams or intrigued by the campuses. The diversity of entry points speaks to the diversity of the HBCU experience. As students work within the content of the HBCUs, they’re realizing that there are all these people who look like them, doing important work across important fields.

The Impact

I’ve been teaching long enough to see many classes of students graduate, and many of them have gone on to choose HBCUs. For quite a few of those students, the initial exposure came through their STEM projects in my class. Regardless of where students go on to attend college, I see this exposure to HBCUs as one piece of providing the support my Black students deserve. It’s one small way I can affirm their genius. The foundation for success already exists within each of my students, and it’s my role to offer experiences that build their confidence and help them envision themselves as successful. Once they’ve seen that vision, it’s amazing how quickly they grow.