SHIKAMO - The Children are the Future, but Childlike Adults are a Cause for Concern

It is a regularly used phrase, The Children are the Future. However this phrase neglects to mention the type of future we are headed toward. The children could create a beautiful future, or they might not. Will we leave this process up to children? Will we continue to send our children to schools founded on lies or will we bring our children back home and teach them how to increase their value and give them opportunities to share their natural God given gifts with the world? As a result of our emphasis on children as being the future, the formal education system, and not the traditional value system, has been implemented. This causes a course of study that creates the perfect employee, while on the other hand many big business persons inherit their understanding of fiscal and business affairs directly from their parents and close relatives. Just as it occurred in that famous motivational book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. That being said, many more children are being led astray than those being taught by their parents. Jamaica has an entire culture that has been shaped by a consistently disparate difference between the son of the African and the son of the European. Their histories have placed on a modern island separate groups of peoples that have been deceptively wrapped together in the tapestry of the motto, Out of Many One People. The literate and the illiterate live side by side, none with the awareness, none caring for the capability of the neighbor. Likewise the poor and the rich live side by side. But not every battle can be fought on the same day. It is my intention to create a national reading program targeting adults and elders, built on the backs of volunteer teachers and former teachers, like myself. The clarity of thought and decision one must receive when learning to read as an adult, must be mind- blowing. I can only imagine it. The liberty and independence it gives you in a world governed by silent signs and text messages must be unbelievable. I will be blogging about this experience as it unfolds. I feel it will be rich and I will be able to learn endlessly from my elders as i teach them. In closing, I call this project "Shikamo" which is a Swahili word: Shikamo — Literally translates to “I hold your feet. or i bow at your feet” This is a greeting for elders. I pray I may execute this powerful mission bestowed upon me. It is needed #publish #steps #checklist