Education The Right Way | African Wholeness ApproachUnity Consciousness #164

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“As human beings... the ultimate objective of any rite of passage is the developmental process of pursuing perfection or deification, becoming One with God. ...within African deep thought the concepts of education and socialization were integrated into the larger process of human transformation, “the process of becoming more like the divine.” (1)

In addition to the wholeness approach to education mentioned above, many things synonymous with education must be restored. Some are as follows.

1. School meals must feed children wholesome food to complement the commitment to whole learning.

2. The teacher and student concepts must be merged into the same person. Both the teacher and the student must see themselves as each other.

3. That education begins before conception, must be recognized.

4. Education as a continuous home and communal responsibility must be recognized.

5. There must be emphasis on critical thinking and not on criticizing thinkers.

6. Human development must lead to knowledge of self, fulfillment of responsibilities and higher purposes.

7. Education must teach the proper use of power.

8. Self-study must be the norm.

9. The ability to recognize what education is must be cultivated. (2)
Ancestor Bobby Wright reminds us education is a liberating force. Education does not merely train you to work for others nor does it tie you to a life where basic needs hinge on economy, jobs, stores, utility companies and other man-made dependencies. Education increases options. It does not lead you into a narrow focus where a "good" job is the ultimate attainment and proof of a life on the right path.
Ancestor John Henrik Clarke reminds us, "Everything that touches your life, worth your time and your money, must become an instrument of your liberation or be thrown into the ashcan of history."

Classical African Education Model

Classical African civilization and culture existed in a time when African people stood up and taught the world that they were conscious and Divine. Education content and intent were governed by the Cardinal Virtues of Maat [wholeness].

Furthermore, education, in the true “classical” sense, is “the intergenerational transmission of the wisdom of the ancestors which begins with the original message from the Creator.
Thus education today, the right way, must serve several basic objectives:
a) Guide the creation of a divine order within human society.
b) Ensure intergenerational continuity, whereby the wisdom of the ancestors is passed down to future generations.
c) Create and sustain a seamless connection between the human person, the society, and the divine. This integration must be based upon the premise that divinity is fundamental and ubiquitous within the cosmos, the ecosphere, the community, and the human psyche. Humans can understand this divine order and reflect it within their culture via their approach to history, spiritual practices, social structures, and behavior. Finally, the maintenance of cultural continuity is the surest means to ensure the human capacity needed to envision and sustain a good society.” (3)

(1) Myers, Linda James, Ph.D. & Speight, Suzette L., Ph.D., "Reframing Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being Among Persons of African Descent: Africana/Black Psychology Meeting the Challenges of Fractured Social and Cultural Realities,"The Journal of Pan African Studies, (2010, June), vol.3, no.8, p. 75.
(2) Nobles, Wade W., "The Infusion of African and African-American. Content: A Question of Content and Intent," Accessed 12/12/14, www.nuatc.org/articles/pdf/Nobles_article.pdf, p. 5.
(3) Rashid, Kamau Ph.D., “Jacob H. Carruthers and the AfricanCentered Discourse on Knowledge,Worldview, and Power,”The Journal of Pan African Studies, (2012, June),vol.5, no.4, pp. 33-34.