Ancestral Path Youth Weekend 'Schule' (School)

Ancestral Path Youth Weekend Schule   I frequently get asked about child-rearing issues ranging from what to teach young Black kids  to youth gangs to school work/dropouts, etc. While I am far from an expert in these fields, my personal experiences with independent Afrikan-centered schools such as our own former Kujichagulia Academy in Chesapeake, the celebrated Marcus Garvey Academy in LA, and the Watoto Schules in DC have shown me that those kinds of efforts have profound impacts on the kids in terms of improving their self-esteem, educational competence, behaviors and other benefits. The school is intended to serve as a cultural awareness/life style resource for our young children, thus instilling in them a heightened sense of self worthiness/esteem that has been show to be essential for our children to hopefully survive the tremendous pressures of being a Black child in the US and to live a meaningful, purposeful, successful life. Building upon those experiences, while not actually starting a daily school, I am proposing an alternative for your consideration.  which is the Ancestral Path Youth Weekend Schule.  The school will have  Pre-teen (ages 7-12) and a Teen  (ages 13-19) components for both girls and boys together.  The classes will meet on Saturday and Sundays  (parents choice) for 1.5 hours each session, and while the curriculum is not yet set, it will focus on such areas as Ancient Afrikan history; Black history in the western hemisphere including the documented history of the Afrikan presence in America over 40,000 years ago and a comprehensive treatment of the history of Afrikans in America up to current time; contributions of our people to the civilizations of the world including coverage of the thousands of significant inventions of Black people, past and present; self-esteem awareness; dealing with bullies and gangs; public speaking; table manners; respect for elders and authority figures;  and many other areas. Parents may suggest any other areas that they would like to include in the curriculum. The school will also include, on a voluntary basis with parental consent, confidence-building training through Black Martial Arts professionals in Norfolk and in Newport News who acknowledge the Afrikan origin of the martial arts. We will NOT teach religious/spiritual issues.  However, for parents who wish to have their children introduced to traditional Afrika -based spiritual systems, we can facilitate that with trained Afrikan priests. The school is not intended to be a substitute for regular academic schools, but is an adjunct to them. I do not propose to teach academic skills per se, such as reading, language, mathematics, composition, etc., unless we get qualified volunteers to do so.  If we get qualified volunteers, we may consider adding a tutorial program.  If at some point this effort takes root, it may well evolve into an academic school, but not at present. The school is not an Afrikan-based "Rites of Passage program, or Initiation program." The Imani Foundation, has, or had, such a Rites program for youth.  Further, traditional Afrikan initiation programs for boys are typically very strenuous and dangerous.  Traditional Afrikan initiation programs for girls are less onerous, but they also include sensitive training areas that we will not cover such as female menses issues, religious matters, housekeeping, etc.   The basic approach that we will use in this effort is one in which we build a healthy sense of self worth into the children that typically translates into them internalizing values that guide them in integrated settings in regular school and society and gives them a certain confidence about themselves as apart of the Black community that does not need to emulate other alien communities in order to live a meaningful and  successful life. The cost for each session will be held to a minimum, likely in the $10 per child/session range.  Children from low-income homes will receive a discount. The instruction will be participatory so that each child gets many opportunities to grow and shine.  Following the tradition of the acclaimed Marcus Garvey Academy in Los Angeles, the school will shower each child with an outpouring of righteous love.  Dr. Palmer of the Garvey Academy said that it is all about love and infusing in each child the belief that we EXPECT them to do well in life, coupled with our teaching skills.   The Garvey Academy achieved fame a few years ago when their 3rd grade students totally outperformed the 6th grade students from a predominately white, wealthy private school, in academic  tests.  All of the Garvey kids came from the hood and were categorized by the LA school system as being "at-risk  kids".  This pattern of success has been replicated in many other Afrikan-centered schools across the country.  While our weekend school will not be a full-time one, I expect that we can accomplish our goals to rescue our kids from the current path of low self-esteem and consequent low academic performance and life styles flaws that seem to characterize many of our children today. A ll of the children will be greeted with hugs every session.  Each child is precious and each child will be respected. Parents may overview our sessions, if desired. We would also like to include local and regional trips to such places as the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum in Baltimore, and local historical sites.  The likely venue is the House of Consciousness, but may also include local libraries. Parents who live on the Peninsula should contact me about a Peninsula location as well. Thanks for your interest.   Kwasi Imhotep Ancestral Path kwa708@aol.com 757-338-5828