CAMDEN, S.C. — Black History Month celebrations are still in full swing. Students at Pine Tree Hill Elementary School in Camden became teachers for the day as they shared songs projects and even dressed up as historical African American individuals.
“The point of teaching them Black history is being able to let them be well-rounded individuals, not just learning one piece of history but multiple facets of history so they are the most complete learners and individuals and leaders that we can have here at Pine Tree Hill,” fourth grade teacher Corey Johnson said.
As part of their Heritage Tea Projects, students researched a famous African American person of their choosing. Friday, friends and family got to see those projects come to life as they walked through the “living wax museum,” hearing facts about these historical individuals.
"I really want to play tennis one day so I wanted to be her today," said Aira Clark, a fourth grade student dressed as Serena Williams.
The Black History Showcase also displayed student projects and songs about Black history.
“The goal was to try to get as many students involved. With our Black art, you had our kindergarten through second grade students doing that, and you had our first graders singing the songs because we wanted all students to feel as though they’re a part of this program,” Johnson said.
April Bocknight’s son Austin is a second grader at Pine Tree Hill. She says the presentation was an amazing teaching experience for her son.
“Today is a great day. We fought a long time to get here and we as Black people have come a long way but we still have a long way to go. I encourage everyone to learn more about Black history, our American history,” she said.
