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It
is quite clear that African people in America continue
to be miseducated. This problem is discussed in a variety
of ways in conversations everyday in our communities throughout
America. From time to time we should consult the wisdom
of those who have addressed this problem whom we may have
forgotten. One such person who addressed this problem
is the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
To
address the problem of miseducation among African people
in America, Garvey presented his formula for learning
in his courses on African Philosophy in the 1930s. I think
it is only appropriate to review Mr. Garvey�s formula
for learning as we continue to build the Reparations Movement
and seek specific guideposts to our development as a people.
These
lessons and guideposts in learning can be found in Message
to the People: The Course of African Philosophy,
edited by Dr. Tony Martin.
Lesson
1: One must never stop reading. Read everything that you
can read, that is of standard knowledge. Don�t waste time
reading trashy literature. The idea is that personal experience
is not enough for a human to get all the useful knowledge
of life, because the individual life it too short, so
we must feed on the experience of others.
Lesson
2: Read history incessantly until you master it. This
means your own national history, the history of the world,
social history, industrial history, and the history of
the different sciences; but primarily, the history of
man. If you do not know what went on before you came here
and what is happening at the time you live, but away from
you, you will not know the world and will be ignorant
of the world and mankind.
Lesson
3: To be able to read intelligently, you must first
be able to master the language of your country. To do
this, you must be well acquainted with its grammar and
the science of it. People judge you by your writing
and your speech. If you write badly and incorrectly
they become prejudiced towards your intelligence, and
if you speak badly and incorrectly, those who hear you
become disgusted and will not pay much attention to
you, but in their hearts laugh after you.
Lesson
4: A leader who is to teach men and present any fact of
truth to man must first be taught in his subject.
Lesson
5: Never write or speak on a subject you know nothing
about, for there is always somebody who knows that particular
subject to laugh at you or to ask you embarrassing questions
that may make others laugh at you.
Lesson
6: You should read four hours a day. The best time to
read is in the evening after you have retired from your
work and after you have rested and before sleeping hours,
but do so before morning, so that during your sleeping
hours what you read may become subconscious, that is to
say, planted in your memory.
Lesson
7: Never keep the constant company of anybody who doesn�t
know as much as you or (is) as educated as you, and from
whom you cannot learn something from or reciprocate your
learning.
Lesson
8: Continue always in the application of the things
you desire educationally, culturally, or otherwise,
and never give up until you reach your objective.
Lesson
9: Try never to repeat yourself in any one discourse in
saying the same thing over and over again except when
you are making new points, because repetition is tiresome
and it annoys those who hear the repetition.
Lesson
10: Knowledge is power. When you know a thing and can
hold your ground on that thing and win over your opponents
on that thing, those who hear you learn to have confidence
in you and will trust your ability.
Lesson
11: In reading books written by white authors, of whatever
kind, be aware of the fact that they are not written for
your particular benefit of your race. They always write
from their own point of view and only in the interest
of their own race.
Garvey
had many other lessons of learning, in his formula that
journalistic constraints will not allow me to elaborate
at this time. However, I encourage you to read Message
to the People: The Course of African Philosophy,
and as we celebrate begin to internalize and incorporate
these �Lessons In Learning.�
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Conrad W. Worrill, PhD, is the
National Chairman Emeritus of the National Black United
Front (NBUF).
Click here
to contact Dr. Worrill.
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Dec 16, 2010 - Issue 406 |
is
published every Thursday |
Est. April 5, 2002 |
Executive Editor:
David A. Love, JD |
Managing Editor:
Nancy Littlefield, MBA |
Publisher:
Peter Gamble |
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