What One Can Learn At An Alternative Education Web Site

Probably more than any other group, African-Americans feel victimized by the educational system. For them, lack of quality education means more than fund shortages, inefficient administrators, teacher shortages and an overall “broke” system. To African-Americans, lack of quality education also means the almost complete absence of a Black presence. From the failure to give Blacks credit for the contributions they have made to the development of this country, to the erasure of the Black element from the “American” way of life- to be educated in the United States is to relegate Black People to after thought status.

Additionally, we need to ask ourselves, “How often do schools use Black authored textbooks?” They are a rarity at best, from elementary school through graduate school. What about Black instructors who do not present a status quo perspective? They are at greater risk of coming under pressure or being fired because a Black perspective does not contribute to standardized testing objectives (which, by the way, are more arbitrary than most of us admit). Even worse, the much ballyhooed standardized objectives have produced disappointing results when compared to the education students receive in most advanced European countries. It should not be surprising, then, if some African-Americans think that the educational system is more concerned about protecting the white mythology than producing well-balanced students who can analyze and establish reasonable priorities.

With that line of thought in mind, I went in search of and discovered a web site that offers an educational perspective that I believe appeals to more Blacks in the United States than we want to believe. It is the home of Aset University. Blacks who feel slighted by the public and private education system are paying attention to educational philosophies that revolve around a Black core of classes, home schooling and a curriculum that is not the least bit geared toward satisfying standardized testing objectives or gaining accreditation recognition from status quo agencies.

On the home page of the site, there are links to Aset University and a list of the available courses. Those links take one to a menu that includes course names like Black Nationalism, Black History, Black Power Economics, Integration, Leadership, Profiles in Black, International Law, Black Psychology and others. Each course consists of from 10 to 17 class sessions that come closer to espousing an independent Black America than any I have ever seen. It is an educational paradigm, one of several I now know, that demonstrates a lack of esteem for not only the educational system in the United States, but status quo educators as well. And, it is not just critical of white educators and schools, but treads in uncomplimentary fashion on such heretofore hollowed ground as independent Black colleges and universities. For the love of money and maintenance of white power, they all teach Black students to forsake their Blackness in order to increase their chances of being a successful part of a hostile system. Aset University redefines success and makes it clear that Black students can experience a rewarding life without trivializing their roots and heritage.

Should the education system in the United States be as one sided as it is? I think millions of African-Americans think not. Will the country be hurt by a more multicultural approach? African-Americans probably don’t think so. But status quo figures have made it clear that they think otherwise, and they are the ones who have to adjust in order to control the popularity of schools like Aset University. If adjustments are not made that render the status quo education more inclusive, the education process in the United States might be faced by some extremely diverse challenges in the very near future.