The student said “I was running and I buss a skid out round the corner to get here in time.” Imagine that, “skid out” is still used along with many other terms many of us grew up with.
Walking through the corridors of various schools random children said “Good Morning.” There was a sense that our community has not been lost. Our culture, though it has been bruised, is still intact. What now? How do we continue to nurture the vision in the eyes of a child for a better tomorrow when so many threaten our very fabric of existence?
Community?! Can we stop talking about how to be and take action by just being there for each other? Each one teach one? Each one love one…
How can someone grow up in a neighborhood in the VI and not do what they can to alter the status quo? Their children attend public or private schools yet they don’t care about the state of affairs? How can someone sleep at night knowing they are taking away from the community? Talking heads making promises while the youth suffer. These individuals take the fruit of the tree but never add nutrients to the soil, water to the roots and sunlight for growth.
Our community has not sunk to the bottom of the ocean, but we need to work on our homes, our family, our environment, our Virgin Islands.
Today we all have something we can give. Our time, love and skill is very valuable. You can mentor a child now. Maybe reading at preschool, maybe sharing your gift at an elementary school, maybe helping a junior in high school make decisions about a promising future? What will we do?
Together we can create security for each other so we can continue enjoying our culture as we expand into the 21st century. We can’t continue taking from the tree of natural beauty and not expect to give back.
Storms will come but how prepared will we be. United we have strength divided the selfish and greedy will succeed. How do we see the future of our community? What will we do to ensure we get there?
Virgin Islands Movement for Change 
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October 14, 2010 at 5:27 pm
DaraMonifah Cooper
My brotha…
This work is a labor of love. The things I am learning from simply going into the schools and sharing knowledge, talents, culture and love are simply immeasurable. This week as we both went around the schools of St. Thomas, I felt our purpose more than ever before.
Through the arts, we can share and teach so much that is necessary for the youth of today to learn in order to successfully not only make it through, but succeed in the challenges that they currently face in the classroom academically, on the school campuses socially and throughout our island home.
As I took Sowah Mensah, a Master drummer from Ghana, West Africa around to the various schools to teach during our week long tour of the schools, I witnessed first hand how the students excitedly and easily learned basic principles that translated into reassurance within their teachers, administrators and parents.
As I moved silently through the desks, chairs and students, I saw and could feel the children assimilating the following lessons:
to follow the leader before they try to lead on their own
to listen first and then speak after being spoken to
to hear in entirety and comprehend before responding
to think before talking
They were learning to pay attention… and the pros and cons of what can happen if they do versus when they don’t.
…and so much more, which further emphasized to me and everyone else watching that so, so much can be done using the arts as a tool to get through to today’s students.
Through this experience I re-learned and was reminded that many of our youth can no hear because they are so busy listening to themselves. They want to speak before we finish talking because they feel or think they already know enough. They are not consciously aware of how much more there is to learn and so are easily bored, thinking they will be learning things they already know.
…sigh of joy. 🙂
there is so much to learn from the youth of today, before we can try to teach them…anything.
We too, can learn from listening first.
More in time,
DaraMonifah Cooper
October 14, 2010 at 6:42 pm
DaraMonifah Cooper
My brotha…
This work is a labor of love. The things I am learning from simply going into the schools and sharing knowledge, talents, culture and love are simply immeasurable. This week as we both went around the schools of St. Thomas, I felt our purpose(s) more than ever before.
Through mentoring using the arts, we can share and teach so much that is necessary for the youth of today to learn in order to successfully not only make it through, but succeed in the challenges that they currently face in the classroom academically, on the school campuses socially and throughout our island home.
As I took Sowah Mensah, a Master drummer from Ghana, West Africa around to the various schools to teach during our week long tour of the schools, I witnessed first hand how the students excitedly and easily learned basic principles that translated into blessed reassurance within their teachers, administrators and parents… and ourselves, the organizers.
As I moved silently through the desks, chairs and students trying to capture every moment of happiness, struggle, nurturing, accomplishment and surprise, I saw and could feel the children eagerly and easily assimilating the following lessons:
following the “leader” before they try to lead on their own
listening first and then speak after being spoken to
hearing in entirety and comprehend before responding
thinking before talking
They were learning to pay attention… as well as the pros and cons of what can happen if/when they do versus when they don’t.
…and so much more, which further emphasizes to me and everyone else watching that so, so much more can be done using the arts as a tool to get through to today’s students.
Through this experience I/we re-learned and was/were reminded that many of our youth simply can not hear because they are so busy listening to themselves. They want to speak before we finish talking because they feel or think they already know enough. They are not consciously aware of how much more there is to learn and so are easily bored, thinking they will be learning things they already know.
…sigh of joy.
there is so much to learn from the youth of today, before we can try to teach them…anything.
We too, can learn from listening first.
More in time,
DaraMonifah Cooper