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FREEDOMWAYS  FOURTH QUARTER 1968

I mean, there has been no qualitative change in the assumptions which undergird this educational system . . . no qualitative change in the assumptions about man, about society or about the world. American education is still in the basic business of creating consumers, mainly, unquestioning consumers. Where there have been curriculum changes or modifications, such as the introduction of Afro-American history, foreign languages in elementary grades, programs with community agencies, wider application of problem solving techniques, wider use of artifacts, etc., the changes have been basically quantitative with the overriding emphasis on form, i.e., teaching techniques. The qualitative changes are still ahead of us, and will be realized only to a degree that a more accurate ideological base for "us" is arrive at in the interpretation of our historical relationship to the entity called the United States. If that ideological, or educational base is fallacious, we Afro-American educators in the main will continue the subjection of our children to limited objectives and/or wrong objectives, or have the repeat the same experiences and mistakes we have made. To that end, I want to submit several ideas for discussion which could be the basis for an accurate ideological, or educational, base. Let me add this: I mentioned earlier the Afro-American Educators Conference in Chicago. There were approximately 750 Afro-American Educators in attendance and the real cry which was raised in all of the papers, polemics, discussions, arguments and workshops was for an historically accurate and relevant ideological base for Afro-American educators and for education. It was not crystallized into statement but every act and every question raised it. "Give us a clear ideological base!" This was not answered. I do not think that answering that need was the intention of the conference. The organizers either were not flexible enough to move to where the consciousness demanded or they were not sufficiently conscious . . . an opportunity was missed and the Afro-American educators suffered.

Seemingly, the press of history into the inner city classroom today shortens considerably the postponing of the utilization of the lessons of our 350 years of struggle within the United States. All teachers face these objective conditions. The objective conditions of the classroom and the school today are forcing many teachers to realize that the lessons of a people's historical experience cannot be denied, in fact are the basis for their mentality and the roots of their education.

Altering the forms of school systems and teaching techniques and quantitative changes in the curriculum do not answer the kinds of

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