Running head: TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
Transforming Pedagogy to Transform Learning
Paul L. Freeman
Strayer University
1
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
2
Abstract
In providing a rationale for instructional strategies to cultural diversity, my focus is on the sixth
grade level and my choice of diversity is young African American males. In my class lectures I
was astonished to be informed of the unacceptable results, in my opinion, of how children of the
African Diaspora are experiencing dire figures in terms of being educated. While this doesn’t
mean all, it is a fact that far too many African Diaspora children have been labeled lifetime
failures by the time they are eight years old (i.e. in third grade). Thus, my intention is to provide
guidelines that will enhance a multicultural educational plan that transforms pedagogy into
transformative learning by utilizing an enormous amount of pertinent information provided by an
array of multicultural scholars, as well as, information obtained through the common core
standards. Also, the instructional materials will include selections with titles and subjects that
grab boys’ attention (Ricks, 2013), of which a number of those selections are included in this
paper and the rest in the annotated biographies. In addition, students will have the choice of
writing a book report or creating a “biography box,” which according to educator, Dionna Ricks,
in her article Educating Boys for Success: Are today’s classrooms biased against boys?,
“requires students to bring in a box with 10 objects connected to the person or story they’ve been
researching, then the students write a list of the objects and a brief explanation of how the object
is connected to the story.” It is my belief that these materials combined with key multicultural
instruction techniques will constitute the necessary instruction materials to create a workable
lesson plan that aligns both with the standard core curriculum and increases multicultural
educational growth for all sixth graders, especially young black males.
Keywords: African Diaspora, Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, Barney Ford,
slavery, multicultural educational
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
3
Transforming Pedagogy to Transform Learning
According to sociologist, Jack Mezirow, transformative learning occurs when there is a
transformation in one of our beliefs or attitudes and is the process by which we transform our
taken for granted frames of reference (meaning schemes, habits, or mindsets).
Pedagogy happens daily with the professional instruction of teaching and learning theory
can be viewed as a continuum through cognition; including perception, memory, and judgment
(Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007). In the context of these extensions, repeated
paralleling this continuum is what could be termed teaching theory (Merriam, Caffarella,
Baumgartner, 2007). The importance of the pedagogy theory is that teaching has occurred rather
than learning has occurred (Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007). I believe that in the
pedagogy theory, learning should be as pertinent as teaching.
The Underground Railroad
African American History: Multicultural Instruction
The Underground Railroad was one of the most successful movements during the unjust
system of slavery in America. It was an organization dedicated to assisting runaway slaves
escape from bondage to free states and Canada via a network of secret routes and safe houses
located in at least twenty-one states (National Park Service, 2013).
Historians believe that this tenacious organization was started by the Quakers in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. However, over the existence of the Underground Railroad, free
black people of the north became the backbone of the organization. Slaves traveled by any means
necessary and often on their own pursing freedom in the north and Canada; although, the laws of
the United States did not guarantee freedom in the north because slaves could be caught and
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
4
returned to their previous plantations from whence they escaped. Nonetheless, they were assisted
with supplies, and boarding. If they made it to Canada they were guaranteed freedom.
According to Martin Kelly, in his article The Underground Railroad: An Ever-Evolving
Path to Freedom, some of the historical icons of the Underground Railroad were:

Frederick Douglass --- An African American abolitionist and publisher of the
North Star newspaper.

William Still --- A former slave, who purchased his own freedom and then
became a leader of the Underground Railroad and also wrote a book preserving
the stories of escaped slaves.

James Fairfield --- A white abolitionist, who rescued slaves by pretending to be a
slave trader.

Thomas Garrett --- A Quaker businessman from Wilmington, Delaware, who’s
credited with assisting more than 2,700 slaves find freedom.

Harriet Tubman --- An escaped slave known as Moses to those that longed for her
to bring them to freedom.
Harriet Tubman: The Face of the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman is considered the face of the Underground Railroad, for she risked her
life returning to the south many times, over a span of ten years, to lead slaves to freedom.
Tubman was born in 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland (About.com, 2013). Her parents
Harriet and Benjamin Ross were both born into slavery in Dorchester County. She was one of
their eleven children and her birth name was Amanita Ross (About.com, 2013). As a slave child
she was required to babysit a baby into the wee hours of the morning and if the child was heard
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
5
crying she was whipped (About.com, 2013). Such cruelty instilled in her, as a child, the desire
and determination to escape slavery (About.com, 2013).
In 1844, Ross married a free man named, John Tubman; took his last name and her
mother’s name Harriet (About.com, 2013). Concerned that she and her family would be sold she
decided to run away to freedom (About.com, 2013). Her husband refused to accompany her;
therefore, she and two of her brothers followed the North Star (About.com, 2013). However, her
brothers turned back but she continued onward and reached Philadelphia and freedom
(About.com, 2013).
Tubman was also dubbed the conductor of the Underground Railroad for she never lost a
passenger within her ten years of guiding others to freedom (About.com, 2013). There was even
a $40,000 reward for her capture (About.com, 2013). It has been said that if any slave wanted to
return to his Massa, she would say, “Yes, you can leave but before you go I must tell you, you
can’t leave alive” (About.com, 2013). Her trips were doing or die (About.com, 2013).
During the Civil War, Tubman worked as a nurse and a healer with the Union Army
(About.com, 2013). She made herbal teas that healed problems with diarrhea. Credited with
saving lives all of her life her tombstone reads “Servant of God, well done” (About.com, 2013).
British Fort and Fort Mose State Park
In British Fort and Fort Mose (Mohr-say) State Park, located in St. John’s County,
Florida, the resistance to slavery was seen before the mid 18th Century (National Park Service,
2013). Spanish St. Augustine was the earliest known legally sanctioned free black community
(National Park Service, 2013). Fort Mose inhabitants were runaway African Diaspora slaves
from the British Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia (National Park Service, 2013). This
Underground Railroad system began in 1687(National Park Service, 2013). Members of the
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
6
African Diaspora also began to live among the Seminole Indian community (National Park
Service, 2013).
In choosing this topic I think that the information obtained in regards to participation
from all cultures displays how people worked together to accomplish their goals. “In 1812,
British Major Edward Nicholls recruited Seminole and African Diasporas to assist the British in
their fight against America” (National Park Service, 2013).
Carrying the Running-Always is a true slave narrative about a man gaining freedom. The
story is told by escaped slave, Arnold Grayson, who endured slavery in Kentucky. Grayson’s
story is considered an Underground Railroad tale and relates the experience of rowing runaways
across the Ohio River (Hamilton, 1985).
Another escaped slave, Levi Perry, who was born into slavery, crossed the Ohio River
with his mother in 1854 (Hamilton, 1985). They were rescued by John Rankin, who was a
southern Presbyterian minister living in Ripley, Ohio (Hamilton, 1985). “A rickety wood
staircase leads up Liberty Hill from Ohio bottom lands to the Underground Station house of the
Rankin family” (Hamilton, 1985). According to Virginia Hamilton, more than 2000 slaves were
sheltered at his house and guided on by his sons to Canadian borders safely (Hamilton, 1985).
Levi Perry would tell his story every six months to his ten grandchildren, “I wanna tell ya’ll bout
slavery and how my mother and I ran away so you’ll know and never let it happen to you”
(Hamilton, 1985).
Barney L. Ford is also an interesting story pertaining to the Underground Railroad. Born
into slavery in 1822 in Stafford, Virginia, Ford escaped from a plantation in South Carolina to
Chicago and became involved in the abolition movement (National Park Service, 3013). He
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
7
married Henny O. Wagoner’s sister in-law, Julia Wagoner, who recruited Ford for the
Underground Railroad movement in Chicago (National Park Service, 3013).
Ford and his wife moved to Denver, Colorado where he purchased a building on Blake
Street that eventually burned down; however, he rebuilt it and opened an array of other
enterprises that included hotels in Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming (National Park Service,
3013). In 1884 he was generating the 14th highest income in the state of Colorado. Ford was also
the first African American to be nominated in the territorial legislature (National Park Service,
3013).
Thus, the accomplishments of African Diaspora former slaves validates that there have
always been African Americans that have made positive advancement within our society even
when their circumstances and positions within our society were lowly and deplorable.
The Subject of Multicultural Instruction
Selecting the Underground Railroad as my topic for this assignment was not my initial
intention; however, as I began to consider an effective subject that was diverse it became clear
that this topic is a sure winner. Most compelling is the fact that the subject revolves around a
sensitive historical event that we all seem to not want to discuss, slavery. That’s what makes the
story so powerful, for it demonstrates that against incredible odds members of the African
Diaspora, white Quakers, other white Americans, and free blacks living in the north were
engaged in unified efforts to end this worldly sickness.
What’s more, the beauty of the story demonstrates the tenacious character of all the
people involved within the movement. While I’m not elated to illuminate the fact that the
African Diaspora has sadly been fighting oppression since the 1600s and probably longer;
nevertheless, it’s important for all of us to acknowledge that many enslaved people were actively
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
8
looking for ways to escape and many, many, thousands succeeded. And among those that did
I’ve singled out Barney L. Ford to highlight for he escaped slavery in South Carolina, joined the
abolitionist movement in Chicago, moved to Denver, and became a prosperous entrepreneur.
Therefore, I believe the story of his life will have a strong impact on all youth not to mention
young African American males. Truly, how does one top a person escaping slavery then starting
a multitude of businesses that ultimately results in that individual becoming one of the wealthiest
people in a state within a country that considers slavery legal and justifiable?
Furthermore, Harriet Tubman’s story is equally compelling because she had the courage
to persevere and journey forth seeking freedom even after her brothers turned back. And once
free, she risked her life and freedom numerous times by returning to the south to help thousands
of others gain freedom.
That said, I’m troubled by the thought of the many productive lives that were lost because
of slavery. Yet, I realize that’s a topic for another time. Nonetheless, I fully believe that the
history of the participants of the Underground Railroad will inspire and motivate not only
children of color but children of all cultures and races to look deep inside of themselves to
realize and achieve their passions regardless of the circumstances and obstacles they encounter;
thereby, elevating multicultural instruction to an even more significant role within the
educational system.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
9
Supportive Reading Assignments
The National Park Service’s website is an excellent resource tool that provides
superlative articles that can be utilized for assigned reading about Barney L. Ford, British Fort,
and Fort Mose.
The building at 1514 Blake Street was one of the earliest
commercial successes for Barney L. Ford, a pivotal black leader in
the early history of Colorado. Ford was a black pioneer,
businessman, civic leader and politician who actively fought for
African American civil rights in his state. Born January 22, 1822
in Stafford, Virginia, Ford grew up as a slave on a South Carolina
plantation but escaped to Chicago. He became active in the
abolition movement while in Chicago after meeting Henry O.
Wagoner, an active member of the Underground Railroad. Ford
later married Wagoner's sister-in-law Julia.
The Fords moved to Colorado, purchased land on Blake Street in
Denver and built a small building there only to have it destroyed
by fire the following year. He rebuilt the current brick building in
which was located a restaurant, bar, barber shop and hair salon.
From this initial business venture, Ford expanded his commercial
holdings steadily. By 1854, Ford was generating the 14th highest
income in the state of Colorado, the result of his numerous
income-producing properties, including hotels in Denver and
Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ford played a significant role in the
admission of Colorado to the Union as a free state. A member of
the Republican party, Ford was the first African American to be
Barney L. Ford Building, Denver, Colorado
Photograph courtesy of Jenny Masur, NPS
nominated to the Territorial Legislature. In 1865, Ford
successfully lobbied the Federal government for black voting rights in Colorado, enlisting the support of
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.
The Barney L. Ford Building is located at 1514 Blake St. in Denver, CO. It is privately owned and not
open to the public.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
British Fort, a National Historic Landmark,
like Fort Mose in St. John's County, Florida, is a
precursor site to the Underground Railroad,
demonstrating that resistance to slavery arose
decades before abolitionism became organized
and influential. Located in northwest Florida's
Franklin County, approximately 15 miles from the
mouth of the Apalachicola River, British Fort is a
symbol of the strong relationship between
runaway slaves and the Seminole Indians. During
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,
slaves from the Carolinas and Georgia escaped to
northern Florida, at that time under Spanish
control, and sought and received refuge from the
Seminole Indians. In return, the runaway slaves
would cultivate crops, paying one-third of their
produce to the Indians. Seminoles welcomed the
development of black communities alongside
their villages. Knowledgeable in the white man's
languages of English, French, and Spanish, the
fugitive slaves often acted as interpreters and
intelligence agents for the Seminole community.
An artist's rendition of British Fort being shelled by
the American army in July of 1816.
Painting by Pat Elliott, courtesy of Apalachicola National
Forest.
In the summer and fall of 1814, near the
conclusion of the War of 1812, British Major
Edward Nicholls led an expedition to recruit
Seminoles and blacks to assist the British fight
against America. British soldiers and the black
and Indian recruits constructed a fort 500 feet
Portrait of an early 19th century Seminole Indian.
by Pat Elliott, courtesy of Apalachicola National
from the river bank on Prospect Bluff, which they Painting
Forest.
called British Post. Consisting of an octagonal
earthwork holding the principal magazine and surrounded by an extensive rectangular
enclosure covering about seven acres with bastions on the eastern corners having parapets
15 feet high and 18 feet thick, the fort was used as the British headquarters for negotiations
10
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
between the black and Indian communities. In 1815 when the British withdrew from the
area, the fort, including its artillery and military supplies, were given to the many blacks
and a few Indians that had moved into it, seeking the protection it offered and cultivating
successful and profitable plantations around it. The fort became known as "Negro Fort" and
it served as a "beacon of light to restless and rebellious slaves." In 1816, the American
army, under the command of Major General Andrew Jackson, constructed Fort Scott on the
Flint River a few miles from Florida to protect the American border between Georgia and
Florida and to destroy Negro Fort, which was perceived as a threat to white slaveholders in
Georgia. In July of that year, Jackson gave the order to destroy Negro fort and to return the
blacks to their white owners. In the insuing warfare, an American shell hit an open
magazine within the fort, killing approximately 300 men, women, and children. The few
survivors were taken prisoner and turned over to Georgia slaveholders who justified their
title to them by saying that their ancestors had owned the ancestors of the prisoners. This
"savage and negro war," as Andrew Jackson himself called it, was devised to destroy black
towns in Florida, depriving slaves of bordering states of a refuge, while at the same time
bringing the entire Florida province under American rule. In 1818, Jackson ordered
Lieutenant James Gadsden to build a new fort (which became known as Fort Gadsden)
upon the site of the old Negro Fort, due to its strategic location on Apalachicola River.
American forces were garrisoned there until Florida ceded to the United States.
British Fort, or Fort Gadsden, is located in the Apalachicola National Forest and is a short
distance from State Road 65, near Sumatra, Florida. The site is open to the public seven
days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
11
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
12
Drawing of how Fort Mose may have appeared in the
18th century.
Fort Mose, now a Historic State Park, is a precursor
site of the Underground Railroad, demonstrating that
resistance to slavery was both early and fierce, and
that it arose decades before abolitionism became
organized and influential. The fort, established as part
of the northern defense line for Spanish St. Augustine
during the mid-18th century, was the earliest known
legally sanctioned free black community in the
present United States. Its site contains archeological
evidence of Native American occupations and the
later British, second Spanish, and American presence.
National Park Service employees examining the site.
NHL-NPS Photos
Fort Mose's inhabitants were mainly runaway black
slaves from the British colonies of South Carolina
and Georgia, who escaped to freedom to Spanish,
Florida in small groups at least as early as 1687. The
Spanish Governors of Florida established Fort Mose
in 1738, abandoned it in 1740, but reestablished the
fort at a nearby site in 1752. In defending their
freedom and Spanish Florida in the middle decades of
the 18th century, the black inhabitants of Fort Mose
played a significant role in the geopolitical conflicts
between Britain and Spain in the Southeast.
The Fort Mose Historic State Park is open to the public. Visitors can still view the land where
the settlement once stood, although there are no remains of the earth and wooden structures.
Visitors can visit the newly constructed visitor center and museum or explore the ground and
view the many exhibits available. You can visit Fort Mose Historic State Park's website here.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
13
The National Park Service website also provides the list of states that comprised the
Underground Railroad, as well as, links to pertinent articles about locations of historical significance
within the network of Underground Railroad states that enable students to research the topic indepth.
KANSAS
1. John Brown Cabin--Osawatomie
IOWA
1. Tabor Antislavery Historic District--Tabor
2. George B. Hitchcock House--Lewis vicinity
3. Henderson Lewelling House--Salem
4. Jordan House--West Des Moines
WISCONSIN
1. Milton House--Milton
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
14
ILLINOIS
1. Owen Lovejoy House--Princeton
2. John Hossack House--Ottawa
3. Dr. Richard Eells House--Quincy
MICHIGAN
1. Dr. Nathan Thomas House--Schoolcraft
2. Second Baptist Church--Detroit
INDIANA
1. Bethel AME Church--Indianapolis
2. Levi Coffin House--Fountain City
3. Eleutherian College Classroom and Chapel Building--Lancaster
OHIO
1. Harriet Beecher Stowe House--Cincinnati
2. John P. Parker House--Ripley
3. John Rankin House--Ripley
4. Village of Mt. Pleasant Historic District--Mt. Pleasant
5. Wilson Bruce Evans House--Oberlin
6. Rush R. Sloane House--Sandusky
7. Daniel Howell Hise House--Salem
8. Col. William Hubbard House--Ashtabula
9. Reuben Benedict House--Marengo
10. Samuel and Sally Wilson House--Cincinnati
11. James and Sophia Clemens Farmstead--Greenville
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
12. Spring Hill--Massillon
13. Putnam Historic District--Zanesville
PENNSYLVANIA
1. F. Julius LeMoyne House--Washington
2. John Brown House--Chambersburg
3. Bethel AME Zion Church--Reading
4. Oakdale--Chadds Ford
5. White Horse Farm--Phoenixville
6. Johnson House--Philadelphia
NEW YORK
1. Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Residence and Thompson
AME Zion Church--Auburn
2. St. James AME Zion Church--Ithaca
3. Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office--Peterboro
4. John Brown Farm and Gravesite--Lake Placid
5. Foster Memorial AME Zion Church--Tarrytown
6. Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims--Brooklyn
VERMONT
1. Rokeby--Ferrisburgh
MAINE
1. Harriet Beecher Stowe House--Brunswick
15
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
MASSACHUSETTS
1. African American National Historic Site--Boston
2. William Lloyd Garrison House--Boston
3. William Ingersoll Bowditch House--Brookline
4. The Wayside--Concord
5. Liberty Farm--Worcester
6. Nathan and Mary Johnson House--New Bedford
7. Jackson Homestead--Newton
8. Ross Farm (Hill Ross Farm) Northampton
9. Dorsey--Jones House -- Northampton
CONNECTICUT
1. Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House--Farmington
NEW JERSEY
1. The Grimes Homestead--Mountain Lakes
2. Peter Mott House--Lawnside Borough
3. Bethel AME Church--Greenwich
4. Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and Mount
Zion Cemetery--Woolwich Township
DELAWARE
1. Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House--Odessa
2. Friends Meeting House--Wilmington
16
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
1. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
2. Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
MARYLAND
1. John Brown's Headquarters--Sample's Manor
VIRGINIA
1. Bruin's Slave Jail --Alexandria
WEST VIRGINIA
1. Jefferson County Courthouse--Charles Town
2. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park--Harpers Ferry
FLORIDA
1. British Fort--Sumatra vicinity
2. Ft. Mose Site--St. John's County
17
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
18
COLORADO
1. Barney L. Ford Building--Denver
Effective Multicultural Teaching Profile
The chart below, from Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, provides
important guidelines and appropriate ettiquette for teacher interaction with students in a multicultural education classroom setting.
Relationships and
Interactions
1. Caring for students as
culturally located
individuals
The Effective Teaching Profile (ETP)
Definition
Examples of Teacher
Behavior
The teacher acknowledges
 Incorporates terms in
students’ cultural identities
teacher presentations from
and allows students to “be
students’ first language/s
themselves” through learning
 Correctly pronounces
interactions that are nurturing
students’ names
and show respect for students’  References cultural
language and culture.
constructs and community
activities
2. Caring about student
performance
The teacher has high
expectations for student
learning and participation in
classroom learning activities.
 Reinforces that all students
can be effective learners
 Gives all students positive
and corrective feedback on
how to improve
 Encourages goal setting and
praises effective learning
behavior, including
scaffolding, “You can do
this: I’ll help”
3. Managing the class to
promote learning
The teacher has classroom
management and curricular
flexibility skills reflecting
both individual and collective
roles and responsibilities to
achieve positive student
 Has in place a class wide
management system that
creates a caring learning
community (e.g., Tribes)
 Redirects off-task or
disruptive behavior in an
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
outcomes.
19
effective,
non-confrontational way
and is a “warm demander”*
 After learning activity is
introduced, engages
personally with individual
and small groups of
students
4. Interacting with students
The teacher promotes student
 Incorporates co-operative
discursively and
dialogue and debate to share
learning principles and
co-constructing knowledge new knowledge and encourage
practices in group work
problem solving and higher Promotes student-to-student
order thinking.
problem solving rather than
primarily teacher-directed
knowledge
 Solicits students’ local
stories, community
experiences, and prior
knowledge to develop new
knowledge
5. Using a range of strategies
for teaching and learning
activities
The teacher uses different
instructional strategies that
involve teachers’ and
students’ learning through
interactions with one another.
 Facilitates student-led
inquiry (e.g., students
formulate questions rather
than answer teacher
questions)
 Uses concept maps, thingpair-share, numbered heads
together, jigsaw, and roleplaying
 Links new knowledge and
concepts with students’
lives through discussion of
films/stories
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
20
Self-Directed Learning Activities
The self-directed learning activities align with the guidelines espoused in the before
mentioned Effective Teaching Profile (ETP). The class will be evenly divided into groups of
three or four students to perform the following suggested activities and to promote student-tostudent problem solving:
1) Select and research the lives of three Underground Railroad icons that inspire you and
perform the following:

Write a team book report that includes Title, Author, A three paragraph
Summary.

Create a Biography Box by collecting or making 10 objects connected to the
person or story you read then write a list of the objects and a brief explanation of
how the object is connected to the story.
2) In addition, to the book report or biography box, write four questions that pertain to the
information you read and answer those questions.
3) Create a monologue, poem, or skit that involves your icons.
4) Each individual student must choose from the internet one Underground Railroad site
(location) for participation in class discussion.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
Social Studies 6th Grade --- 6 Week Unit Quiz
Teacher’s Assessment of Knowledge
Listed below are questions for a teacher assessment of the knowledge gained by the
students.
1) What was the Underground Railroad?
2) In what era of U.S. history did the Underground Railroad exist? When did it end?
3) How many states inhabited the Underground Railroad?
A. 6
B. 13
C. 19
D. 21
4) Name six of the states.
5) When did the Underground Railroad begin?
A. 1849
B. 1687
C. 1822
D. 1814
6) What abolitionist pretended to be a slave trader to assist in freeing slaves?
7) Who guided 2,700 slaves to freedom?
8) Why did the majority of the escaped slaves relocate to Canada?
9) Who was John Rankin?
10) In what Underground State are Fort Mose and British Fort?
21
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
22
11) In your opinion can Fort Mose and British Fort be considered Underground Railroad
sites? Why?
12) How does awareness of the Underground Railroad affect your life? How does the
knowledge of the Underground Railroad transform your prior beliefs?
Five Approaches to Multicultural Education
According to Harvard Review (Sleeter and Grant, 1987), Christine Sleeter and Carl Grant
defined the sociopolitical power to define multicultural education as their “Human Relations
Approach,” which develops positive relationships among diverse groups and individuals. This
approach is designed to fight stereotyping and promote unity. However, critics of this approach
think that it simplifies cultures and identities and avoids analyzing the causes of discrimination
and inequality; thereby, running the risk of promoting feel good tactics and weakness in
academic achievement. One such critic, Geneva Gay (2004) (p. 193) contends that curriculum
desegregation requires every discipline to be analyzed and should be extended to all subjects
being taught. Also, “Gay (2003) describes developmental paradigms that bridge multicultural
theory and practice as a growing process. Gay (2004) further explains that multicultural
education through the instructional approaches and the shift pedagogy (i.e. the science of
teaching youth) places value on “how to effectively teach diverse students, as well as what to
teach them.”
Author and educator, John Dewey said, “We learn by doing.” “The more you can get
students to do for themselves the more they learn.”(Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007)
He further instructs that background information should be thorough (Merriam, Caffarella,
Baumgartner, 2007). And pedagogy transforming can happen when students are supplied with
selections (Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007). Using this approach, which I’ve utilized
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
within my test, encourages students to read the selections themselves and to design their own
questions about the selection and in turn provides an opportunity for instruction to require
students to respond (Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007). In essence, this is the
transforming of pedagogy to transform learning.
23
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
24
Annotative Bibliographies
Bennett, L. (1987) Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America (6th Ed.). Chicago:
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.
Lerone Bennett Jr., is a social historian and author of nine books on the life and history of the
people of the African Diaspora. His poems, short stories and articles have been translated into
French, German, Japanese, Swedish, and Arabic. Bennett has been writing historical data for
Ebony Magazine since I was a child.
The sixth edition of Before the Mayflower speaks of the popularity of his information in regard to
African American history. The following excerpt is an example of the historical data Bennett
includes within his book.
600,000 years ago Africa and Africans led the world.
Civilization began in the river valleys of Africa and Asia.
Africans were among the first people to use tools, paint
pictures, plant seeds, and worship God. Ethiopia was
considered to be the exception and the vacation spot of the
Gods. Homer praised Memnon, King of Ethiopia and black
Eurybates. “Oh visage solemn, sad, but sable hue, short,
wooly curls, o’erfleeced his bending head. Eurybates, in
whose large soul alone, Ulysses viewed an image of his
own.”
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
25
Collins, P. (1990) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of
Empowerment. New York: Routledge (2008 by original publisher’s permission).
Sociologist and author, Patricia Hill Collins is also a professor of Afro-American Studies at the
University of Cincinnati. In her book Collins explains that black women intellectuals often
encounter two distinct epistemologies: One representing elite white male interests; and the other
expressing Afro-centric Feminist concerns. She further contends that institutions and all avenues
of knowledge validation procedures are controlled by white men; however, the white male
process doesn’t require total management by white males themselves. As a result, the systematic
folkways of the established community seem to challenge every other method of intelligence
except their own. She further exerts that in this systematic framework white women think they
are free and black women know there are not.
In my opinion, this is an exceptionally good book, in particular the information pertaining to
Afro-centric feminist epistemology is more than worth reading! Collin’s brings an extremely eye
opening awareness to the subject.
Freire, P. & Ramos, M. (1993) Pedagogy of the Oppressed: A Concerned Analysis of the
Instructor Student Relationship at Any Level, Inside or Outside School. London:
Continuum Publishing Company.
Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was born in Brazil. His development theory for educating adult
illiterates was based upon the belief that every human being is capable of looking critically upon
his or her situation. And in this book he writes:
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
26
Content, whether of values or empirical dimensions of
reality tends, in the process of being narrated, to become
lifeless and petrified. Education is sick from narration.
Education is suffering.
Freire goes on to contend that the banking concept of education occurs when knowledge is
presented by those who are considered knowledgeable furnish information to those they consider
less knowledgeable. Thus, students are regarded as adaptable, manageable, individuals. The less
they develop critical consciousness (which is the transforming catalyst) the less capable they are.
Therefore, in Freire’s opinion, the solution to eliminating pedagogy oppression is to allow
education to expand into transformative learning, which occurs when students are allowed to be
a part of the selection process and are included in the decision making, then oppression will
diminish.
Interestingly, Paulo Freire was jailed in 1964 because of his political views and activities. After
living in exile in Chile, he returned to Brazil in 1980 following political amnesty. In 1989 he
was named Secretary of Education in Sao Paulo.
Hamilton, Virginia (2009) The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. London: Knopf
Books for Young Readers.
Virginia Hamilton’s compilation of folk tales is entertaining and educational. They can be
enjoyed by children, teens, and adults alike. The folk tales included in The People Could Fly
relate to incidents and challenges that always favor the underdog, who seems to win and
overcome whatever adverse situation they encounter.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
27
Folklore plays a significant role in African American history. Being a storyteller myself, I know
from performing in several eastern states that every professional storyteller, regardless of their
race has utilized African American folklore in their presentations.
Hamilton is the author of 41 books, has won every major award in youth literature, and defines
her work as “liberation literature.” And I believe it’s impossible for anyone not to enjoy this
book and Carrying the Running-Aways is one of the stories included in the book that explains
how slaves escaped. The theme of freeing slaves is prevalent within seven folk tales in
Hamilton’s book but also supernatural, extravagant, fanciful, and animal tales are incorporated
too.
Hawke, D. (1989) Everyday Life in Early America. New York: Harper & Row.
The story of Everyday Life in Early America is a tale of individuals, who were poor gentlemen,
broken tradesmen, rakes and libertines, footmen, and others that traveled to the new frontier in
pursuit of a more stable life. Displaced in their native European British environments, they were
basically seeking freedom. The people on the other side of the water thought that they lost people
of little importance to America.
Since people who live in contentment rarely immigrate, only a fraction of people left England
but those that did had their own varied reasons (i.e. ending love affairs, greed, freedom of
religion, poverty, etc.). And this book covers all of the situations involved in coming to the new
world such as settling in, farming, makeshift beginnings, health, rites and ceremonies. Also
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
28
included in this story are the manners, morals, and lives of the red, white, and black folds. I
found this book an informative and delightful read.
Hurst, Rodney (2008) It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke: A personal account of the
1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida and Axe Handle Saturday.
Livermore: WingSpan Press.
During the 1960 sit-in demonstrations, I was 13 years old and a member of the NAACP Youth
Council, in Jacksonville, FL. Ruledge Henry Pearson organized the Youth Council, and the
author of this book, Rodney Hurst, was my classmate and friend, who at age 15 became
president of the Youth Council.
In this book, Hurst tells the story of how a group of young black youth, both male and female,
protested against segregation and Jim Crow laws in Jacksonville. However, what makes
Jacksonville’s story unique is the fact that we were 34 unified black teens in middle school and
high school; although, I was a spy rather than a demonstrator.
Upon reflection, I remember that this was the way we spent our summer vacation. I had a job
working as a busboy at Woolworth 5 & 10 Department Store where the demonstrations began.
Needless to say, white people were frantic and totally shocked as protesters sat down at the lunch
counters. They ran away like birds scatter from traffic.
After the third day of sit-ins, the white folks wanted to know when they could come and leave
before the demonstrators arrived. I would over hear my supervisor tell them the best time to
come and then I would call the church and tell the demonstrators what time to show up.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
29
Nevertheless, Axe Handle Saturday was the true fiasco and it occurred when 200 or more white
citizens decided to suppress the protestors by catching them downtown and beating them with an
axe handle. However, their plan back fired for it motivated the entire black community to
support the movement
Johnson, J. (1912) The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Las Vegas: CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform (2012).
A few decades ago, a lady friend of mine introduced me to the unbelievable world of
professional storytelling. Actually, that’s not completely true because really my mother was a
storyteller. When I was a child she would take us to religious events where she performed essays,
poems, and songs by authors such as Paul Laurence Dunbar and James Weldon Johnson. So
much so, that they are as familiar to me as my mother’s apple pie.
In my opinion, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man should be required reading for all
people at any age above the 5th grade level. Johnson tells the story of a fair skinned black male of
mixed race that doesn’t actually realize he’s black until the teacher asks all the white children in
her class to stand and when he stands up she asks him to sit down. The confusion in his mind that
results leads him to discover from his mother, who is also has a fair complexion that she is black
and his father is a white man from a wealthy family. As the character grows up he mingles
within both black and white society never claiming either race. He’s extremely intelligent, multilingual, and an accomplished pianist. But, after he witnesses a white mob deciding whether or
not to hang or burn a black man and then ultimately deciding to burn him, he decides that in this
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
30
racist world it’s just easier to pass for white. He notes, “I will never forget the smell of human
flesh burning.”
Kessler, G. (1998). Voices of Wisdom: A Multicultural Philosophy Reader. Belmont: Wadsworth
Publishing Company.
Voices of Wisdom is an intellectual read that is enjoyable because it has such a wide array of
philosophers. The following excerpts demonstrate the variety:

Confucius said, “Those who are capable of sweet words and fine appearances are
rarely men of virtue.”

Rene Descartes Meditations I and II on The Nature of the Human Mind, Which is
Better Known Than the Body.

Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham, “So here we are moving toward
jail. The exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted
to the status quo. Standing as a taillight behind other community agencies rather
than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice.”
Also, included are Fred Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, Peter Singer’s All Animals are
Equal, and Susan Leigh Anderson’s Equal Opportunity: Freedom and Sex-Stereotyping, to name
a few. And it has a glossary that’s fun-to-mental. Have I got your attention? Author, Gary E.
Kessler compilation is exceptional! There can be no amount of disappointment from reading this
book. And I’m inclined to say that it could be considered a philosopher manual.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
31
Perry, R. (1979) The Black Chronicle: The Paper That Tells The Truth. Oklahoma City: Perry
Publishing Company.
I find it probable that most educational scholars would appreciate this historical magazine, if
they were aware of it. If multicultural instruction is pertinent in terms of tracking history, this
newspaper/magazine is a must have! The articles from news sources since 1778 to 1956 cover an
enormous amount of African Diaspora history. Stories, headlines, and quotes such as Crispus
Attucks: Black Merchant Seaman and Escaped Slave was the 1st casualty of the Revolutionary
War or this quote from the 1948 article Joe Louis, The Brown Bomber Heavyweight Champion:
Louis Speaks Out Against Jim Crow, “I’ve often wondered how many punches my chin can take
from prejudice but someday I’ll be able to counter with a KO punch myself.” And this quote
from an article by W.E. DuBois, “The main thing is you beneath the clothes and skin --- the
ability to do, the will to conquer, the determination to understand and know this great wonderful
curious world.” Simply put Black Chronicle is a fascinating read!
Rudd, A. (2008). From Slavery to Wealth: The Life of Scott Bond. Fayetteville: University of
Arkansas Press.
Scott Bond was born into slavery in Mississippi. He spent most of his life in Arkansas, in Cross a
Francis Counties. His mother was a “bright Mulatto girl named Ann” and a native of North
Carolina.
As a child, Bond road horseback seated behind his mistress while she inspected her plantation.
Plantations during slavery were fenced in to keep public grazing off private property. Young
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
32
Bond’s job was to “jump down and unlock gates she had to pass through” on her rounds across
the plantation. This is the story of a former slave, who became a wealthy man via farming, real
estate, and cattle ranching. Bond was known throughout black America and well respected by his
white associates. He was a close friend of Booker T. Washington. When I think of Multicultural
Education and the conditions African Diaspora males face in our society (i.e. disproportionately
higher unemployment rates, incarceration rates, high school dropout rates, poverty, heart disease,
prostate cancer, diabetes, and drug addiction). I believe that books like this one for reading
assignments should help build the self-esteem of young boys and transform their attitudes into a
nothing less than success mentality.
TRANSFORMING PEDAGOGY TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
33
References
About .com (2013) Harriet Tubman - Leading Slaves into Freedom. About.com Inventors.
Retrieved from. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blharriettubman.htm
Banks, A., & Banks, C. (2012) Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives. Hoboken, NJ.
Hamilton, Virginia (2009) The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. London, UK.
Martin, Kelly The Underground Railroad: An Ever-Evolving Path to Freedom. About.com
American History. Retrieved from.
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/blackhistory/a/under_railroad.htm
Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, J. (2007) Learning in Adulthood (3rd ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
National Park Service. (2013) Aboard the Underground Railroad: British Fort National Park
Service U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved from.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/fl1.htm
National Park Service. (2013) Aboard the Underground Railroad: Fort Mose Site. National Park
Service U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved from.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/fl2.htm
National Park Service. (2013) Aboard the Underground Railroad: Barney L. Ford. National
Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved from.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/co1.htm
Ricks, Dionna (2011), Educating Boys for Success. National Education Association (NEA).
Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/44609.htm.