Preparing Community-Oriented Teachers

Abstract

The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of a local, segregated school. The Benjamin Banneker School served African American youth from 1915 to 1951. Oral histories from surviving alumni as well as primary documents from the times were sought. This article focuses on ways that one group of participants, 24 preservice teachers of color, experienced and interpreted the BHP. Data are reported in response to three questions: (a) Whose community does service learning serve? (b) What meanings do preservice teachers make of culturally responsive teaching? and (c) Does a community orientation count in teacher education? The author reflects on and draws insights from these data. She considers implications of this effort for community-oriented teacher education.