Photo Courtesy Of Andrea Stephenson
Author and educator Andrea Stephenson used Black history and Black historical figures to create a book that would teach youngsters about self-efficacy and African Americans’ contributions to science.
Andrea teamed up with her six-year-old son, Corban Stephenson, to write the book, in which they highlighted 12 Black STEM pioneers that made history with their discoveries and inventions. Titled “Our-Story Black History for Kids: Scientists,” it would provide readers with over 50 art, science, STEM DIY projects, and learning games for children. It also referenced Corban’s YouTube channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures, after some of the stories.
“Science is the way our world works, and because our world is moving so fast with technology and engineering, people who are well-versed in STEM are going to lead,” Andrea reportedly said. The author also talked about how vital it was to teach her son about Black history by teaching him about the trailblazers and innovators that came before them.
“I made the decision to teach my children about Black History at home when my son was born,” she said. “We started with bedtime stories about Black History and then went into hands-on experiments. With Benjamin Banneker, who invented the clock, we made our own clock. With Mae Jemison, who was the first Black woman in space, we made a rocket, all to help him remember the information that I was teaching him.”
Some of the fantastic inventors featured in “Our-Story Black History for Kids: Scientists” include Lonnie Johnson, who invented the Super Soaker, and Garett Morgan, who created the three-way traffic light.
Andrea reportedly learned about these inspiring figures at the tender age of nine, after barely receiving any information about historical Black figures besides Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks in grade school. She attended school in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where lessons about African American history were nearly non-existent.
However, she gained more knowledge about it through a program that her older brother and sister-in-law founded, called Our Story 101, led by Davidson College’s Black Student Coalition. The six-week program was designed to teach kids about visionaries of the African Diaspora, and it also taught youth about entrepreneurship.
“It gave me confidence when I went back to school,” she said, “To see and learn about people who looked like me who have invented things that have changed the world was eye-opening.”
Andrea attended Davidson College in North Carolina, then earned a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. After graduate school, she launched her Simply Outrageous Youth brand in 2006 to “utilize innovative and exciting methods of teaching business, financial, and life skills to 4th to 8th-grade students.”
Since then, the North Carolina native has become a successful author and educator, releasing several books that teach youngsters fundamentals of education, including reading, writing, and mathematics. She also wrote a book that would teach children about money through play. She credited her mother for encouraging her to write literature that would assist parents with teaching their kids a plethora of subjects.
“For kids to remember something, they have to experience it,” Andrea said. “Some kids are visual learners, some are auditory, [and] some are kinesthetic. When you do activities, like science experiments, you are incorporating all of those learning styles.”
You can purchase “Our-Story Black History for Kids: Scientists” and her other books online at Amazon.