what does Shayla's dad say about the lesson on ralph waldo Emerson

In Chapter 9, when Shayla mentions learning about Ralph Waldo Emerson in school, her father comments that teachers are “teaching the dead white men a lot earlier these days” (49). When Shayla asks what he means, her mother explains that a good deal of what they will learn in school will be presented from a certain perspective, that of dead white men. Richard, Shayla’s father, explains that he likes what Emerson had to say, but he wishes the schools would teach students about some of the Blacks who were great thinkers.