About the Name. . .
My colleagues and I hope that the S.C.A.M.™ acronym will make you chuckle... and think of our nerve to redefine the word with a brand new twist! Remember, our S.C.A.M.™ is the tool parents can use to help their children while "flipping-the-script" on the real Eurocentric scam of education force fed to our African American students. Our guided assessment device helps parents ask specific questions, then measure and score the answers about what their child's school is really teaching them about themselves.
S.C.A.M.™ is also a helpful tool for relationship building with all the adults employed at the school, and encourages working with other concerned parents, too.
— Baba V. Gibson
Introduction
There is NO cost associated with "running" a S.C.A.M.™ on your school. To download the School Cultural Assessment Matrix, we're requesting you to register and tell us about you in a very brief survey form.
Our only other ASK is a small donation to the Dexter Elmhurst Community Center in Detroit, a certified non-profit organization.
Link here to learn more about the Community Center and why all funds collected for the Cultural Matrix will be going to support their youth, family and community-wide programming.
The following information explains how parents can determine or measure whether (or not) their African American child’s school is doing a good job of delivering a rich, culturally relevant education to its students. Depending upon the results of the assessment, parents can then determine for themselves— or as a group of parents— next steps.
Since parents and families are the first, and often most important teachers in a child’s development, every parent has the right to decide for themselves what course of action is necessary to ensure that their child is learning in such a way as to enrich their knowledge of self, their African history, and an understanding of the cultural importance of the African American community. Lastly— to guide them in their growth to be able to choose for themselves, as a cultured, informed and intelligent individual— what role they want to have in this society.
The School Cultural Matrix is not an absolute measure of a school’s ability to provide a meaningful education to children of color. It is only to provide parents a framework or guideline when considering where, and how their child will develop the fundamental skills with which to solve the issues of being an “African living in America.” It can also serve as a guide to supplement areas of content that their child is not receiving in school.
The S.C.A.M. Toolkit is divided into 4 main parts.
Part 1 refers to the historical framework of education in America, and as importantly, how politics, policy-makers and school practices have negated the rich ancestries of African American (and other children of color).
Part 2 of this introduction will explain the reasoning behind the development of the School Cultural Assessment Matrix as a parent Toolkit.
Part 3 briefly explains the definition of African Centered Education (ACE), why it is important for nurturing the well-being of our children, and the benefits to the African American community.
Part 4 is devoted to understanding, applying and scoring the S.C.A.M.™
Towards the back of the PDF toolkit, parents will find additional information pertaining to African Centered Education. There are also some added resources and thoughts to consider about the important role a child's development has in shaping happy, healthy and successful young people and adults.
The S.C.A.M. enables parents to ask guided questions pertaining to culture at the school in four (4) specific categories.
Each answer is then scored, and depending upon the totals, parents will be better able to assess exactly what kind of education and images of self-worth their African American child is receiving. From there, parents can determine if they need to supplement their child's learning with extra-curricula activities that are culturally rich during after-school, on weekends and school breaks.