We’ve had a variety of workshops and wonderful experiences thus far, from a traditional Ga naming ceremony, to formal and informal education, to dance, to an examination of textiles, to walking a wobbly rope bridge through the canopy of the rainforest, and visiting two castles that were instrumental in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Throughout every experience were a variety of themes - story-telling, tradition, and respect for elders. Everything, from movements, to patterns, to colors, to song, to rhythms all tell a story, a history, and is meant to impart a message to those who are attentive enough to truly observe.
The workshop on formal and informal education with Dr. Sylvanus K. Kuwor happened to be our second activity in our thoughtfully created itinerary. He spoke about the different cultures within Ghana, the various languages, some key facts, and then began to describe the informal/indigenous education system that originally existed in Ghana. Education began with parents and was a communal process. Professional skills were learned in the home - cooking, washing, fishing, farming, basket-weaving - whatever the ancestors had passed down from generation to generation. Through this process, interpersonal, cognitive, and psychomotor skills were developed. Dr. Kuwor warned that those on the outside might view this as child labor, which does exist in Ghana, but it is distinct from informal/indigenous education. Through this informal/indigenous education process, the history of a people, wisdom, morals, perseverance, respect and many more lessons/ideals were passed on through daily tasks, story-telling, and existing within the community
Dr. Kuwor described the following aesthetic values as tools for informal/indigenous education:
• Music - sound, rhythm, vibration, and text
• Dance - movement of the body, gestures, and games
• Story-telling - fables, proverbs, riddles, myths, and dramatic enactment
• Visual forms - patterns, shapes, designs, colors, and symbols.
Each of these elements were essential in informal/indigenous education, and included multi-sensory modalities, including balance, internal feelings and touched on spirituality as well.
Formal education didn’t start until missionaries and colonizers arrived, with some systems only beginning for the purpose of educating the children that resulted from the sexual violence imposed on African women by white men in power.
Above is a photo of the doors where the children birthed by African women were taught school lessons at Cape Coast Castle. In addition, church services were also delivered in the same space. To the left of the doorway you can see wooden planks surrounded by a short wall. Through this hole, one could view the dungeon where enslaved men were kept, sometimes for months, before being placed on a ship for the Americas. In addition to whatever formal instructional lessons/sermons were taught, can’t even imagine the unspoken messages that were being reinforced day after day as children and men walked past dungeons of enslaved men. I wonder which unspoken lessons transformed into cultural beliefs. I wonder which of these beliefs were passed down generationally and linger in our current society.
Dr. Kuwor is one of the African scholars who have developed a new curriculum for the formal school system in Ghana. There is emphasis placed on the learner, inclusion, and cultural diversity. Education is based on Ghanaian cultures and cultural forms, including music, dance, and their respective languages. There is emphasis placed on the aesthetic values and use them as vehicles for the transmission of knowledge.
The Kente Cloth above is a symbol of unity for Ghana’s many cultures.
When I travel, I can’t help but hold the culture and essence of the United States up for comparison. The United States is a nation comprised of the descendants of indigenous peoples, enslaved people, colonizers, and immigrants. What would the aesthetic values be in our country? Would we even be able to agree on what they should be? Would they be rooted in our constitution, which talks about individual liberties and rights, or could they take on a more communal value and focus on the phrase that’s on the back of much of our currency? “E pluribus unum” (Out of many, one). Is it symbolic of our times that many in the US don’t even carry cash and coin anymore? Would we even value the same things that were traditional valued at the start of our nation? With majority of the Americans in power being descendants of colonizers, which traditions, values, and beliefs rooted in slavery continue in our present day society?
The Adinkra symbol, Sankofa, meaning “look to the past to learn”
This entire experience reminds me of the importance of asking questions, scrutinizing traditions/beliefs, and being able to defend those that persist to anyone involved, and to all who might observe them. Why must we celebrate certain holidays? Where does some belief come from? How might our traditions be interpreted by others? Should we care? The answer to this last one almost always should be “yes.” Only those traditions, beliefs, and morals that can withstand the intense scrutiny of critical questions should be passed down. I can only hope that we’ve learned this process, ask the right questions, and scrutinize our ethics to ensure that barbaric systems such as the enslavement of humans never happen again.
By Jennifer Youk See
Math Teacher, Beaver Country Day School, Chestnut Hill MA