Some people believe that knowledge is an external thing, that it comes
from outside ourselves. To educate children we must open their minds and fill
their sweet little brain vessel with neatly prepackaged ideas so that they learn to think
just the way we would like them to think.
Only after they have worked hard in just the way we tell them to work and internalize our carefully marketed ideas, will they achieve this status of being "educated." Perhaps this education is manifested as a high school diploma, or a GED. Perhaps it is more like this cartoon:
Far too often I have heard educators in the Rochester City School
District talk about how children must attend school, for if they don’t (cue
horror movie music) they won’t learn. I know that nothing could be farther from the
truth. While I agree that attendance is important, we also must remember to always respect the students and their families.
Knowledge is something that each individual person creates inside themselves. This will happen regardless of the formal education and schooling that is provided to the public. Quality education, I believe, teaches people how to think. It facilitates conscious choices of the thought patterns we form in our own minds. It begins at infancy and progresses through the entire life. Some individuals choose to deeply ingrain specific thought patterns, or neural pathways in their mind, and others continually seek new experiences and knowledge to add to already complex thinking pathways.
Dr. Thomas explored the concept of intellectual freedom from a vividly authentic perspective. The question he spent his lifetime asking was this: How does mind transition from the perspective of a slave, into a mind embracing the concept of freedom?
He was born in 1918 in the Jim Crow south, around the year all four of my Grandparents were born. He was raised up by his Grandmother, who was a nurse working to educate the black community on proper hygiene and health issues. The Black church was a noted source of empowerment for people in the community. In 1952, the year both my own parents were born, he became a research technologist at Eastman Kodak, where my maternal Grandfather worked. Very few blacks were accepted into Kodak at that time, in fact he was the only black scientist in the highly secret department studying emulsion. Perhaps Grampa knew him.
Thomas collected books written by African Americans, many of which were rare. He went through the formal schooling of a medical doctor, and proudly discussed achievements of his race. He wasn't known to drink or enjoy bad habits, though he was often seen out of his home, late into the night discussing intellectual concepts with delinquents. He sought out a wide variety of people with which to enjoy intellectual conversation. Yet he didn't have an ego about his knowledge. He was like a beacon of light to all. I find his cultural competence inspiring. I also find it interesting that one of his closest friends from Rochester had the same name as one of my students.
Dr. Thomas did not want credit for his intellectual contributions, rather he would say that the root of "university" is "universe," and knowledge is available to anyone who seeks. And knowledge isn't knowledge until it is shared with someone else. He kept a library in the trunk of his car.
The end result of reading this book is that I fascinated by the man, but very disappointed with the editing. There is a lot of potential here. With the right editor or writing coach, it would be a very inspiring read. I still think it is a must read for African Americans interested in libraries or librarianship.
The end result of reading this book is that I fascinated by the man, but very disappointed with the editing. There is a lot of potential here. With the right editor or writing coach, it would be a very inspiring read. I still think it is a must read for African Americans interested in libraries or librarianship.
