VCU to bring Africa into secondary classrooms

By Mary Beth Alford

RICHMOND, Va. – By exploring African literature, Virginia secondary teachers will have an opportunity to develop new strategies for presenting African life and culture in their classrooms while meeting Standards of Learning demands.

With a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University will offer a series of six workshops. Participants will earn up to 60 teacher recertification points while they read, watch films and participate in discussion groups about African literature and culture. VCU English professors, along with professors from VCU’s Division of Teacher Education, will assist participants in preparing lesson plans to take back to their classrooms.

"The workshops will enable teachers to bring to their students an understanding of a new literature," said Richard Priebe, Ph.D., VCU professor of English and workshop instructor. "More importantly, we will provide a framework in which teachers can discuss the continent and its peoples."

Workshops will take place Feb. 9 and 16 and March 2 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Location on VCU's Academic Campus is still to be determined. Although the workshops are free, participants will need to purchase four textbooks. The deadline for application is Dec. 3. The 40 applicants will be accepted on a first-come basis. For more information and registration forms, call (804) 828-1669 or rpriebe@vcu.edu.