Chapter 6: And How are The Boys?: Towards an “African American Male Pedagogy” to Promote Academic and Social Success Among Black Boys in Early Childhood Education

In her most recent book titled Educating African-American Children: And How are the Children?, Boutte (2016) details the story of what is considered one of the fiercest and most intelligent East African tribes, the Maasai warriors, to draw attention to the dire need to prioritize the education of AfricanAmerican children and to encourage culturally relevant teaching in public pre-K–12 schools. In so doing, Boutte emphasizes the way Maasai warriors exchange greetings with each other to make her points clear. She explains that when a Maasai greets another warrior, s/he asks the following question, “And how are the children?” The typical response to said question is, “All the children are well!” Therefore, the wellbeing of the children signifies not only the wellbeing of the individual but also the Maasai community (Boutte, 2016).