Login  |  Register

Shop Author Titles

Young Jacob
The Man Jacob
Teen Jacob
School Days
Biz Kidz Country Adventure
Biz Kidz City Adventure
Monday, 21 December 2015 17:45

Learning IS the Institution

Written by
Rate this item
(1 Vote)

pexels photo 356086

A great deal of effort and expense is invested in education; in learning, which is indeed a necessary tool in order to contend and compete in the workforce or any specialized area of study or interest.

As a man who has been blessed with 81 life years, thus far, I find that I learn each and every day. I spend quite a bit of time on YouTube and one of my favorite commentators is Dr. Neely Fuller. When asked how he is, his response is always, "I'm still learning," and I concur with that wholeheartedly. I am learning more now than in my former days.

Questions around my history and the origins of African American people, led me on a quest to research subject matter that was not a part of my education process. I discovered how much I didn't know and realized the value of the investment of personal study. This quest has now evolved into 23 years of sharing what I've learned with others as the black history instructor at my local church assembly.

I'd like to pose a few questions to the readership.

  1. How much of what we learn in the various institutions that we frequent, do we research to validate the integrity of the information presented to us?
  2. How much of what we say and practice is information passed down without knowing where it originated?

A lot of what we accept as truth is really tradition and a lot of what we say and repeat is predicated upon what we "heard' coming up. Even a lot of gossip and rumor have been passed down through generations as a result.

As we soon enter into a new calendar year, 2016, and I resurrect this blog, I want to begin to share some "DID YOU KNOW's," which I pray will cause us to access information so readily available to us via the internet and written resources to validate, invalidate, and/or expound upon what we think we already know, so that we may then be guilty of knowing the difference between what is true and what is not.

Most of us won't just eat what someone puts in front of us without some inspection of what is on the plate. Let us perform the same diligence with regard to what we learn, do and say.

I believe it is vital to bring LEARNING outside of the established norms. We must make learning the INSTITUTION as opposed to relying solely on learning institutions.

Stay tuned for next week's "DID YOU KNOW."

Til next time.

Clarence Matthews
The Elder's Ledger

PLEASE NOTE: All who reside in the Jersey City area are welcome to attend our black history class. We meet every Saturday at 10:30 am.

Monumental Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. Ercel F. Webb Education Building
Lafayette Street
Jersey City NJ 07304

Clarence Matthews

Thank you for visiting the Elder's Ledger. Please comment. I'd love to hear from you!

facebook logo
THE ELDER'S LEDGER ON FACEBOOK


jacob media


press_thumb

Author's Media Kit
Includes: the author's biography, book synopsis, press release, author inspiration and contact information.

download .pdf


Blog photo credits: pexels.com, pixabay.com

blog content

  • Ode to the Community Consumer

    local 2974159 1280The blog post this week is directed toward the consumers,  yes, the customers. We have a tendency to be very hard on the merchants in our community. We place more stringent rules and guidelines for patronage on our local merchants than on the larger stores and mall merchants we often frequent.

    Read 3267 times
  • Consumption & Waste

    pexels photo 802221Today, let’s talk about CONSUMPTION and WASTE. These fall in line with stewardship and causes us to examine what we do with what we have. The answer isn’t necessarily that we need more money or even more income, but that we better regulate the use of what we already have.

    Read 1608 times
  • Work Your Side Hustle: A Part-time Business

    people 2562605 1920A young man approached me and inquired about going into business part time. My response to him was phrased in the form of question. I asked him, “What are you good at? 

    Read 1688 times
  • The Practice of Group Economics

    pexels photo 331990What is Group Economics? Group Economics defined, is creating and exchanging resources (e.g., currency, talents, gifts, skills, goods and services) that a group deems valuable amongst another. It is time for the black community to pool our resources in order to produce community wealth. 

    Read 9991 times
  • IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF? Survival of the Fittest — A Family Affair

    1 dSu27Tw7p6q8FyS6Ve1OAQ2x

    By definition, survival is the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. The ways and means by which we live are relevant to every member of our society, community, or family to include adults and children alike.

    I was born in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930s and raised by God-fearing parents who upheld a standard of morality and passed down a good work ethic. During those years, times were very tough; and families came together in order to respond to the challenges of that era...

    Read 0 times