I stopped in McDonald’s in Savannah, Georgia, a couple of years ago, on my way to do a workshop with the 12th graders at the historic Beach High School. I got a cup of coffee and Danish. As I looked around the seating area, I was amazed to see the place filled with African American senior citizens. Many of them appeared to be 70, 80 and 90 years of age, reminding me of when I was a young boy going into the Barber Shop in New York with all the conversation going back and forth. Most of them were wearing old casual clothing as if they just got off the night shift at work.
I had a little time before my engagement, so I got a seat close enough to hear what was going on. I was always enthralled with the talks of our elders because they had the best stories about life and circumstances that affected them and those they grew up with. I guess I was expecting that same type of dialogue, but I was extremely surprised and astounded at what they were talking about. Their discussions were on ancient African civilization and its philosophical and cultural impact on modern society. Going through dates of the great Pharaoh’s and how the Egyptian civilization was the mother of Western civilization and the rest of the world.
I guess I was looking like a sheepish little kid and was close enough to make eye contact with a few of the elders sitting near by. One of the gentlemen had looked at me and asked a question related to the Pharaoh Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty, just to see if I would respond. I was tickled initially, because it threw me back in time when I was asked questions by one of my mentors, Dr. Yoseph ben-Jochanon, to see if I was paying attention. I was able to answer, plus a few more that was thrown my way. Based on that I was invited to sit with them. We introduced ourselves and continued in playing what I would call the African Centered Jeopardy game. After about 15 minutes of this I asked where they had acquired this depth of historical knowledge. They all responded by saying it was what they had been taught in school prior to integration. You can only image the expression on my face in hearing this. The amazement in learning that our elders were well read in history and world events, were excellent in computation skills, and many only having a formal education up to the 8th grade. Most of them were retired farmers, bricklayers, masons, carpenters and steel workers.
I asked, with this wealth of wisdom and knowledge, why were they not sharing it with the students in school? They said, “we were never asked.” I could do nothing but shake my head in shame. Our elders hold such valuable information and we let it wilt away like a beautiful un-kept, uncared for flower. The value of such knowledge as it’s said, is priceless, and the wisdom, irreplaceable. We are all aware of the fact that those 80 and 90 dollars books used in our schools have a lot of misinformation when it pertains to African, African-American history and culture. How do we incorporate our elders into the entire education process, which is vital to the intellectual growth and development of our children?
In schools across America, elder teachers are encouraged to retire as soon as possible in order to bring in a whole new generation of younger people and at lesser salaries, with the emphasis placed on lesser salaries. However, if young teachers are not provided with adequate and appropriate information about the past as it relates to mis-education, it will be difficult for them to touch the hearts and minds of those who are expected to be the leaders of tomorrow. Our children are the sleeping giants of tomorrow and it is incumbent upon society/educators to help children find their purpose, their path in life. So, is poor education really based on the lack of financial resources or something even deeper, which is more closely related to sharing of economic opportunity and the social class system?
Posted By: Dr. Okpara Nosakhere
Friday, February 20th 2009 at 3:42AM
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