Cracking the White Supremacist Hold on The Afrikan Mind: 3 Types of Students

[TShango]

A movie everyone must see is Night John. I often feel like Night John.

Each year I find myself forced to move to a new plantation/ school, generally because freeing Afrikan minds is not what the European American Education system is designed to do.

I am an Afrikan "maroon" teacher and one thing I know racism/ white supremacy got a grip on the minds of our children and the teachers in these schools. So as one of my tactics I often tell stories that seem like they have nothing to do with Afrika, since in 2008 so many people who profess to want justice and equality hate all things Afrikan. In order to begin to attempt to pull the Afrikan mind out of the grips of Racism/ White supremacist thought I must not refer to Afrika but really challenge the people to think differently then they are being programed to think.

Please see my explanation of the 3 types of students as a way to reawaken the Afrikan genius mind. I hope you can use it to help our people wherever you are.

3 Types of Students

Created by T’Shango Mbilishaka

At Howard University my Professor, a world renown psychologist Dr. Wade Boykin said, “In my thirty years of teaching I have always come across three types of students; The Rock, the Sponge, and the Spark.”

The Rock:
The Rock just sits there. They do nothing except take up space in the classroom. They are often gazing out the window or putting their head down on the table. The rock does not add anything to the class. If you talk to a rock the rock says nothing back.

The rock receives F’s, or D’s in some schools, if they just want the child to move on to the next grade.

Later in life… The rock ends up in two places. All life is about motion, you are either moving towards progress or towards extinction. So, no matter what you are always moving. Therefore the Rock has two options they are either in jail or dead.

The Sponge:
The sponge soaks up information, they can memorize everything given to them and then regurgitate the information back. The sponge can memorize dates, names, equations, English and other language vocabulary.

The sponge receives A’s in school because the American school systems only require students to memorize and regurgitate information to be successful. The sponge can soak up grape juice but all you will get out of that same sponge is dirty grape juice never apple juice or freshly squeezed orange juice. The Sponge lacks creativity. The sponge often asks to copy others notes and copies others actions and words.

Later in life… The sponge has many options. They either end up sponging off people by asking “can you spare a dime” or “Can you loan me some money just until Tuesday”. The Sponge may get a job working from early in the morning to late at night. They look forward to the weekends and never really accomplish anything spectacular. Sponges work everywhere McDonalds to IBM. They always work for someone else and after working hard for forty years they receive a watch or a clock or a certificate for their had work.

The Spark:
The final type of student is the most amazing. This student makes all who know them proud and is a real pleasure to teach. You see in nature fire is one of the most powerful forces. It can either keep you warm and help you stay alive or it can be a destructive force that burns forests and houses for miles. A fire is started from a series of Sparks that get together.
- A Spark sits in the front of the class.
- The Spark takes notes on everything the teacher says and does.
- The Spark always raises their hands to make intelligent comments and ask insightful questions.
- The Spark does not believe everything the teacher says
- The Spark does extra research at the library and on the internet.
- The Spark reads books about what is discussed in class outside of class.
- The Spark tries to become an expert on the subject matter.
- The Spark goes to extra help on a regular basis.
- The Spark sets up study groups.
- The Spark thinks outside the box.
- The Spark understands it is Confidence + Effort = Achievement

The Spark may get an “A” or may even get a “C” because the teacher completely disagreed with the students view point. But the Spark always presents work that represents themselves and their families with pride and includes detailed research and quotes. The Spark applies everything they learn to real life situations.

Later in life… The Spark becomes an entrepreneur or expert in numerous fields. The Spark makes their own schedule and employs other people. The Spark provides for their family, travels the world, and creates change for the community. The amount of money a spark can make is limitless. The spark obtains power, respect and prestige. The Sparks are never forgotten.

Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Queen Hatshepsut, Dessalines, Shaka Zulu, Queen Nzingha, Arthur Afroboriqueno Shomberg, Huey P. Newton, Kwame Ture, Ida B. Wells, Carlos A Cooks, Kwame Nkrumah, Gabriel Prosser, Yaa Asantawa, Queen Mother Moore, Martin Luther King, Tupac Shakur all of these people were Sparks.

We as community do not need any more rocks or sponges, we see them enough on the street corners and on television acting foolish. We need Sparks.

The good news is if you have been a rock you can become a Spark. If you take two rocks and hit them together you get a spark. If you have been a sponge you can become a Spark. When a sponge decides to dry up because they realize they can only get so far, they become flammable and a Spark can light them on fire.

The bad news is a Spark can become a Rock if they give up or do not receive the proper encouragement. A Spark can become a Sponge if they just do enough to get by.

Ask yourself what do you want to be? It does not matter any more what you have been. What do you want to be? What do you need to be? What do we need you to be?

I became a teacher to create Sparks but I will not be able to do it alone. It will take Sparks to ignite the minds of other Sparks. Ashea.

[Nefertiti-Feyikemi]

Right on Point!!! And I see it