EDUCATE BUT DONT VIOLATE!!

"If you love your children, if you love your country, if you love the God of love, clear your hands from slaves, burden not your children or your country with them".
Richard Allen

 Today I had a class presentation for 4th forms/ grade 11 students on Identity and Culture(part of the Dominican Youth Counsel initiative excellent 12 module program),so I figured I am in the Caribbean I will use a Caribbean man to get my point across and I asked my question with enthusiasm "who knows Marcus Garvey"...silence...any one? no miss we don't know him...

at this point my mind is going on 100 miles a second,I ask again are you sure? they all look at each other yes Miss we sure...I explained and continued the presentation we had a beautiful session!!....

I left with a meditative heart,deep sadness and determination, a group of 4th forms/grade 11 are not aware of there history/herstory such unfairness continuos mental enslavement...one student tried to console me by saying "feel no way Miss we don't do history"

I strongly believe there are things that all black people should know AS part of our common knowledge, where ever you are or from it should be standard knowledge schooled or not.I do not blame the children at all BUT we educators need to step up our game 3 knots higher!!! and give our black children back their story!!!

" for a man/woman who does not know where they are from and who they are,they are twice defeated in the race of life" Marcus Garvey

We also need a strong interactive and functioning link between the Caribbean and Africa based on youth interactions! exchange programs class to class skype sessions,poetry exchange etc.

My thing is that we as teachers we have been through this inadequate education system based on how it turned out for us..why are we not putting into place relevant education if during apartheid (South Africa ) teachers who cared even at deaths face they taught their students about their reality and their story…

America time and time again as back as forced slavery to all kinds of civil unrest black teachers who understood and been through the system found a way to educate and empower their students with the realities facing the black race.

 Now 2014 "freedom" at hand we cant teach our children nothing of who they are, where they from, and how they ended where they are and how to get out of this mess too/ so what does moving forward mean? yes they can articulate it but do they understand or is it a separate reality from themselves?